Below are the director vision/concept statements and venue preferences by Nick and Ben for MR. MARMALADE (lifted out the questionnaire). Because we know that they both would be okay co-directing or Nick directing with Ben's assistance, we'll let that detail of the arrangement up to them; so we're not voting on who is directing, but approving or disapproving of their collaboration.
For an anonymous vote, email me decker.theatre@gmail.com or text me at (563) 590.9562 when you "Approve" or "Disapprove" of a Johnson & Johnson directorship (see what I did there?).
With our current CORE company and vetting system, we need 8 APPROVES plus Gwen and I in agreement to make the decision official. Anyone who doesn't reply is considered abstaining.
The faster I hear back from 8 people in approval, the faster it becomes official; auditions are Nov. 17.
Thank you! ~ Decker
NICK:
In my mind the show is about loneliness and how it effects people. I want to
present the show as much from a child’s perspective as possible and try to
highlight how serious everything is to children even when it’s ridiculous and
silly. I plan on keeping the show as simple as possible visually and
stylistically and working with the actors on conveying the material from a child’s
perspective.
I’m not sure [the concept] really deviates from the script, but I’m picturing the kids and imaginary elements as being bright and vivid (especially costume wise) and the adult and mundane elements being dull and drab. I think it helps get across the contrast in point of view.
Venues: (1) Smokestack; (2) DAAC
BEN:
It is about how
children, in their vulnerability, construct an understanding of their world
through the adult relationships which they witness. They take this
understanding and take on those roles in their play time. This understanding
seeps into their actual relationships with each other, and begins to have real
consequences.
I envision a setting in which the audience will not feel comfortable seeing children. The stage will get progressively more filthy. The interactions will get more and more violent. The consequeces of these interactions will move from imaginary to real. [I plan to achieve this vision by] differentiating between the imaginary characters and the real characters through costume. Also, distinguish the scene actions which impact reality from those which have an impact only in Lucy's imagination. This can be done by giving the imaginary characters cartoonish behavior and clothing whilst giving the real characters more natural behvior and clothing. The apartment in which she lives gets more and more messy as the result of her mother's negligence. As her real circumstances deteriorate, her imaginary world becomes less and less child-like until it becomes the nightmare of a marriage made explicit in scene 5. I think there is an appropriate parallel to be made between god(s) and imaginary friends.
I would like it to be as minimal and open as possible in keeping with the note that the set is more a "suggestion of a living room". It needs only a few pieces of furniture (table, chair, TV stand) and a single window frame hanging from chords or propped up on a stand. The story itself largely involves Lucy playing games with either real or imaginary friends. Because of its minimal and open nature, the set can give the impression of Lucy's vulnerability which becomes apparent in the events of her game playing.
Venues: (1) Smokestack, for its bareness; (2) St. Marks Community Center, for the irony of doing this play in a primarily religious space