03 Jan This must be contained

FAS110 Living the Theatre

Final Project

The project will be based on Water by the Spoonful (pages 403-435 in your textbook.) You will chooseone of the following jobs to fulfill: director, actor, designer, or administrator.

Below are complete guidelines for each job. Remember, choose something that plays to your skill set or

to skills that you wish to improve upon. If you have absolutely no ability to draw, you may still be able to

design a costume through a collage rendering. Do not let your inexperience discourage you from trying

something new!

Director

Your job is to write a director’s concept for Water by the Spoonful addressing the following questions:

? What themes are present in Water by the Spoonful? How do you plan to highlight those themes?

? What is the mood/atmosphere of this piece? How do you plan to create that mood/atmosphere?

? What artifacts in the characters’ lives might be part of the physical environment? In what ways is

the environment personalized? Is one character’s point of view more important than another’s in

determining the details of the physical environment? Does someone seem to own or dominate

the space?

? What are the basic actions of the characters in the play? What are the necessary entrances and

exits and the physical actions that the stage space must accommodate and support? What

importance will you give to the online portions of the play? How will you direct your designers to

tackle the online world of the play?

The paper must be:

? Double-spaced

? In 12-point font

? Between 500 and 1000 words

Submit this assignment to the Assignment box no later than Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT of Module 8.

(This Assignment box may be linked to Turnitin.)

Actor

You will choose one of the monologues on the next page to memorize and perform. You will record this

performance with your digital camera, cell phone, web cam, etc. and place that recording in the

Assignment box.

Video files tend to be large, so upload times to the Assignment box will vary depending on your Internet

connection speed. Before you submit your video, convert it to either a .wmv or .mov file as these file

types will be most readily viewable by your instructor. There are many free video conversion software

packages available on the Internet. Just search for, select, and download the one you want to use and

follow the instructions for converting videos. You may want to compress your video as well. Like

conversion software, there are many free compression software packages available on the Internet.

You may choose from the following monologues from Water by the Spoonful:

Elliot’s Monologue, p. 404 (cut for continuity’s sake)

Yaz, you gotta help me with my mom.

She cooked breakfast.

The docs said she can’t be eating all that junk, it’ll mess with her chemo, so she crawls out

of bed for the first time in days and cooks eggs for breakfast. In two inches of pork chop

fat. I’m like, mom, recycle glass and plastic, not grease. She thinks putting the egg on top

of a paper towel after you cook it makes it healthy. I told her, mom you gotta cook egg

whites. In Pam spray. But it has to be her way. Like, “That’s how we ate them in Puerto

Rico and we turned out fine.” You gotta talk to her. I’m trying to teach her about quinoa.

Broccoli rabe. So I get home the other day, she had made quinoa with bacon. She was like,

“It’s healthy!”

I gave those eggs to the dogs when she went to the bathroom.

or

Yaz’s monologue, p. 413 (cut for continuity’s sake)

They should have a frequent flower card. They punch a hole. Buy nine funeral bouquets,

get the tenth free. We’d be living in a house full of lilies. Look at that guy. Arranging his

daisies like little treasures. What do you think it’s like to be him? To be normal?

I bet his family funerals are rare occasions. I bet he’s never seen a cousin get arrested. Let

alone one under the age of eighteen. I bet he never saw his eight-year-old cousin sipping

rum through a twisty straw or…I just remembered this time cousin Maria was babysitting

me…

I was dyeing her hair. I had never dyed hair before so I asked her to read me the next step

and she handed me the box and said, “You read it.” And I said, “My rubber gloves are

covered in toxic goop, I can’t really hold that right now.” And so she held it in front of my

eyes and said, “You gonna have to read it.”

I said, “But you graduated from high school.” She sad, “They just pass you, I just stood in

the back.” I was in fourth grade. I could read!

You must also submit a character analysis of your character that addresses the questions provided for

character analysis in your textbook on page 479.

NOTE: Sometimes you have to fill in the gaps; the playwright may not give you all of the information.

The analysis must be double-spaced and in 12-point font.

Submit the video and analysis as separate files to the Assignment box no later than Sunday 11:59 PM

EST/EDT of Module 8. (This Assignment box may be linked to Turnitin.)

Designer

If you choose to play the role of the designer, you may choose between sets or costumes. Whether you

choose sets or costumes, you must submit a written design concept for Water by the Spoonful in addition

to a rendering that visually communicates your idea.

Set Design

Your concept should address the following:

1. How does the playwright describe the setting? How do you see the world of the play? Are

there any major differences between what you envision and what the playwright set

forth?

2. What seems to be the impact of the online world on the different characters? How

important is it in their lives? In what ways does it limit them? What makes it a comfortable

environment? What changes when the characters leave the online world for the physical

world?

3. What specific area of the non-online, physical world are most important to the play? What

are the parts of these places that need to be seen onstage by the audience? Since there

are so many scene changes, how do you imagine changing from one location to another?

Your rendering can either be hand-drawn by you (you will need to scan it if so) or you may create

a PowerPoint that incorporates research for your set design. Include exterior and interior pictures

of buildings that give the feeling of the places in Water by the Spoonful suggested by the script

and that fit your concept. Make sure you list your sources!

The design concept must be double-spaced and in 12-point font.

Submit the written concept and the rendering or PowerPoint to the Assignment box no later than

Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT of Module 8. (This Assignment box may be linked to Turnitin.)

Costume Design

If you choose to be the costume designer, you must design a costume for either Odessa, Yaz, or

Elliot. You will turn in a rendering or PowerPoint and a written design concept that addresses the

following:

1. What symbols are associated with the character?

2. What time period do the costumes come from?

3. What color (s) might represent the life of this character? Are specific colors called for in

the script?

4. Do they cover or hide themselves in their clothes or do they dress to impress? How do

think the characters feel about what they wear?

Your rendering can either be hand-drawn by you (you will need to scan it if so) or you may create

a PowerPoint that incorporates research for your costume design. Include photos of fabric

swatches, accessories, and period clothing that you feel would be appropriate for your character.

Make sure you list your sources!

The design concept must be double-spaced and in 12-point font

Submit the written concept and the rendering or PowerPoint to the Assignment box no later than

Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT of Module 8. (This Assignment box may be linked to Turnitin.)

Administrator

If you choose to act as the marketing director (administrator) for the final project, you will be required to

create a marketing plan that will require you to:

1. Brand your “production”

? Create a poster design for the show. Must include information about the show and some eye

catching graphics.

? Keep the graphics and fonts consistent from the poster to the program.

? Must turn in a copy on the day of the final.

2. Create a concept for the lobby. Often, productions concoct some sort of lobby display to extend the

environment outside of the theatre. What would suggest that might help set the mood and extend the

environment beyond the theatre?

3. Consider how you would market the event aside from the posters. Any interesting ideas? Would you

include radio spots, social media, public appearances? How might you get the word out to your

target audience?

This must be contained in a written Word document. You may attach the poster separately if you wish.

Poster files may be in Microsoft Publisher or Word; JPEG; or PDF.

The marketing plan must be double-spaced and in 12-point font.

Submit the marketing plan to the Assignment box no later than Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT of Module

8. (This Assignment box may be linked to Turnitin.)