Movement Vocabulary:

A capella, direct, gesture, pantomime, rhythmic, loud, comedic.

Synopsis of Plot:

A girl sits at a bar in a cocktail lounge, ready to order a drink. She sees her Ex-boyfriend and his new date about to leave the lounge. They make eye contact and memories surface [cue the bell/movement sequence]. He leaves with his date and she gets her drink.

[Creative Process Continues—Q&A]:

Major Dramatic Question(s) of the Play’s Plot:

1.    What is the relationship between Glass and the Ex?

2.    Will Glass ever get that shot of gin she ordered?

Overall Theme:

How can written subtext be conveyed in an abstract form?

Emphasis you are Striving to Create: Taking the musical technique/style of Philip Glass and transferring it upon a scenario with human beings as the instruments.

What was your greatest challenge or obstacle in directing this play?

• Establishing Philip Glasses repetitive style into the movement, without allowing the movement to look monotonous.
• Trying to create/show relationships between characters amidst the repetitious dialogue.
• Connecting the ‘normal’ time dialogue/movement with the ‘rhythmic’ dialogue/movement, so that the act remains seamless. My goal was to create a continuous flow of motion throughout. The audience must see that even though the characters are acting abnormally, the actions themselves seem natural and (obviously) feasible… since they are doing them.
• Creating a new scenario other than Philip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread.
• Do you feel that you successfully met the challenge or overcame the obstacle?
  

 

Do you feel that you successfully met the challenge or overcame the obstacle?

Yes. The text helped a lot more than I thought it would. For the most part, each word had a different movement. When the word ‘changed’, in essence, I simply altered an element of the movement that enhanced the subtext of that word. [Which, of course, depended on where the characters were in space at that time]. When two characters said the same word or phrase, they usually kept identical movement patterns. One begins to see the importance of the words through the quality of the movement.

Since I created the movement, it was a unique experience because I had the freedom to choose which words and phrases deserve more intensity. For example, where in the text did I choose to start allowing the audience to see a former relationship between Phyllis Glass and the Ex? What about the relationship between Glass and the new Girlfriend? How is the Bartender and innocent bystander? Why is that a necessary element to the story? Also, it was interesting to deal in this pattern, with the revised script, because of the gender switching. Glass was a man and the Ex was a woman, in the original. Also, there was not a love triangle. The second woman was a friend to the Ex. By making these alterations to the text, I gave myself more options to experiment with.

One of those options was in the set design. I wanted emphasize all areas of the stage.  The set design was simple, yet precise. I used shapes, angles and levels to create dimension to the scene, not only in movement, but dialogue as well. I chose minimal props, which relates to the Philip Glass technique. I only chose the bare essentials (bottle of gin, ‘no change’/’Blue Martini’ sign, ‘no bread’ sign, and the clock). It was most effective. It told the audience what was important and where to focus.

In terms of the continuity, leaving the ‘bell’ on the counter of the stage is a new tactic. Normally, it is chimed offstage; however, I feel it would have created separation between the normal/rhythm sections and also leave the audience wondering where the sound came from. By having the Bartender initiate the start and end of the rhythm section, it not only saves me from having to do it, but also keeps the audience engaged.