3. Select a passage from a novel you have chosen to study which deals with despair and euphoria. How might staging, design and acting combine to register one of these experiences for an audience?
I choose the chapter 16 from the novel my love my love. In the chapter 16, the hotel was holding a wedding for Daniel and Andrea. Desiree was kicked out by the groundkeeper Luficus. On the street she was desperate, and everybody forgot who she was. Then she saw "Daniel limped up to the gate, and threw out handful of coins to the crowds. Daniel looked out at them and laughed, and his eyes fell on Desiree at the moment. Then he turned and strode away."(pg 165) The expression in Daniel's eyes was just like his father, which made Desiree feel desperate. I want to adapt this part because it is a pretty interesting scene that shows the relationship between Desiree and Daniel.
Talking about the staging in this scene, peasants and nobles/patrons should stand at the opposite side of the stage. Peasants should stand at stage right, and nobles should stand at stage left. In the stage center, there should be a big gate that separates two different groups. Desiree in this scene should stand in the center of peasants, it shows that she is the main character of the scene, and her dress is different with others which I will talk about this in the following paragraph. Closing to the gate there should be a step or stair for Daniel to stand. On the step, Daniel is going to throw the coins to the crowds. Because of the steps, Daniel's position is higher than Desiree, and this could interpret as the unbridgeable gap between this two character. For Desiree, it is like the place that she cannot reach, and this makes her desperate.
Talking about the design of the scene, Desiree's dress is different with other people. Because this is a wedding, everybody is wearing something good no matter they are the poor or the rich. However, Desiree should wear the rugged dress. She is bare feet, wild hairs, and with mud on her face. This shows that she is unrest for rest of the days after she is kicked out by the guard. Also, it makes Desiree special in the crowd, so that audience know that who is the main character. For Daniel, his dress should be gaudy. He should wear the golden blazer with white pants. The golden color shows that he is the lead of the scene(wedding) and also showing that he is rich. By comparing the two different wearing, it shows the status difference, and it also shows that Desiree and Daniel does not belong to one world. This creates a feeling of desperation to Desiree, and Audience can see it directly.
The acting of actors is also important in order to show the despair that Desiree has. In the book when Daniel throws the coins, he glances at Desiree for a second. This could connects to the scene when Desiree first meets Daniel's father, Gabriel. Daniel right here gives Desiree a same look that just like his father did. When Desiree sees that, she knows that Daniel at that moment is not the same Daniel that used to love her; she will be desperate. In order to show the despair, the actress of Desiree should kneel down, hold her head, and start to scream. The facial expression for Desiree should be panic-stricken, as she knows that Daniel does not like him anymore. Other peasants at that moment should ignore Desiree and bend over to collect coins that Daniel throws. By doing this, it not only shows that nobody actually cares about Desiree, but also highlights Desiree since she is the main character in that scene. This creates an atmosphere of desperation, and the scream also shows that Desiree is desperate. When Daniel glances at Desiree, he should put on an air of extreme arrogance. This strengthens the situation that nobody actually cares about Desiree, so that audience can put themselves in Desiree's view and feel the desperation that Desiree has.
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