Reflecting On The Design Process So Far

What do I want to say? I'm not sure. We've just overcome a major hurtle (several actually) in the last week and it seems like this would be a good point in the journey to sit back and reflect on what we've just gone through and where we are now headed because of it.

I've often said that theatre (at least amateur / community / regional theatre) is the art of turning the mundane into magic. I don't mean that quite literally, but it's no secret that I have actually used garbage, discarded materials and even cardboard boxes to make sets, props and costumes. Many of us at this level have. Obviously we have access to some of the greatest scripts ever written, and the script is the most important ingredient, but the greatest script isn't a guarantee either. Sometimes it's a kiss of death if you aren't up to it. And this script in particular (The Duchess of Malfi) can be a killer.

We (local theatre in general) simply don't have the resources that the big theatres like Stratford have that allow them to literally take on anything. We never will. It's the nature of the beast. We're just regular people with day jobs attempting to create something extraordinary out of materials that are very ordinary. And that is why some of these shows can really seem magical to me. Seeing a Disney-backed show that cost a million dollars to create is spectacular, but that doesn't inspire me. Those folks can do anything, and often do. They have to. It's expected of them. And for the money they charge, they'd better. But when a local company can surprise an audience and really take their breath away, that's when I fall in love with this medium. That's what we are trying to achieve here.

Our director, Bernard Hopkins has spent the last 40 years or so performing, teaching and directing theatre projects at the highest possible levels. I'll admit that when he asked me to work with him it was intimidating. I thought, "How difficult is this going to be to execute the vision of a man who's used to having exactly what he needs, exactly when he needs it, often crafted by some of the finest fabricators and artists in the world? Do I want that responsibility? Expectations are quite high from everyone involved and arguably expectations are highest from the audiences themselves who will come out to see the work of world famous author John Webster and renowned theatre scholar and director Bernard Hopkins.

But we have been very fortunate to assemble some great talent, albeit lesser known ones. And we've been given considerable support from The London Community Players, Farhi Holdings, and several other stars of The Stratford Festival 'stable of talent' all willing to come to London to support their long-time friend and mentor, Bernard Hopkins. It's been truly inspiring and an incredible education for me. I'm blessed to be a part of something like this because clearly it will never happen again. Please understand that. This is a near impossibility that will never occur again.

This particular version of the script was adapted by Mr. Hopkins himself and it employs some very unique concepts, several of which are still in development now. The set design alone was destined to be unusual in order to accommodate this incredible story and the supporting cast -the eight characters we refer to as 'The Elementals'- are also unique to our script and continue to confound me. Dozens of concepts are all spinning about in the air -unfinished, incomplete, taunting me- as we workshop, rehearse, test and push ourselves to higher levels. It's risky to work this way, always searching ahead, rethinking and retesting, creating and disposing of good ideas as better ones appear, but it's the only way that we can be certain that we have done everything possible and used every possible resource that we have (including time) to it's greatest potential. To a certain degree, we'll do this right up until opening night.

I believe this working philosophy represents an arguably unreasonable commitment to excellence (Whatever that means to those of us involved). It drives some people crazy. It can make the wrong person a nervous, anxious wreck. Fortunately it's how I always work. We are not wishy-washy. That's not why we keep things fluid. And we certainly aren't lazy. We'll be working as hard as possible until the final curtain goes down. It's just how this particular team has decided to get things done. Until no better idea can be thought up, everything we've decided on will be required to constantly prove to us that it's the best that we can do. If not... it's out.

Most recently, our set design, an effort that took several months to complete, was jettisoned completely. Our director knew it wouldn't work as intended. He was sure - and we know he was right- that the set would have suffocated the production instead of supporting it.
It was a heart attack for me -at least initially- and it was very difficult to share the news with the lead designer because it was exactly what we had originally asked for. Its retirement is in no way a reflection of his skill or commitment, but with it now gone, so to is he, due to other commitments. I was on my own to solve a very complicated problem.

It was Thursday November 11. After spending several hours carefully taping out the original set design inside the Farhi Holdings rehearsal space, Bernard stood at it's edge and declared it unusable. Sunday the 14th we were scheduled to start blocking the show and we needed a design in place. Two and a half days to replace a design that took months. So... Bernard and I sat and talked about it. Then I sketched out something that was impossible. I showed it to him and made a second drawing based on his feedback. Friday I completed a new relatively accurate model and presented that to him. It went over very well. Saturday Stage Manager Kaila Jarmain and I spent hours taping out the new design with further modifications. Sunday night, Bernard had the most fun I've seen him have yet blocking out the first few scenes. It's a fantastic feeling to beat a challenge like that. And to inspire a man like Bernard Hopkins.

Earlier in the month a similar thing happened during a production meeting with Scott Shpak, our Sound Designer, Bernard and myself. The meeting was about the sound scape and the musical direction Bernard wanted to pursue, but inadvertently ideas came out of that conversation that forced us to dispose of everything we had planned to for our Elementals. And this latest set revision has done that again. All of these events make the project stronger. And in the coming days, I'll get around to posting updates in our Set Design section and in the Costume Design section. In short, everything in our site that has anything to do with Set or the Elementals is no longer up to date to say the least. All that work has been discarded. But it all led us here. So it's hardly worthless. It will never see the light of day, but it kept the evolution of this project alive and vibrant, so for that I'm (and I think all of us) are very grateful.

Ideas and concepts that are much, much better for our purposes are now in the works.
And although I'm a little worn out... I couldn't be happier about it
Stay tuned.

Jordan Morris
Producer / Production Designer
The Duchess of Malfi directed by Bernard Hopkins

A Satisfied Tenant is Our Greatest Asset!

* Farhi Holdings is a proud sponsor of
the London Community Players production of The Duchess of Malfi

Our stage production is
Executive Produced
by the
London Community Players
and will run at their home venue,
The Palace Theatre
in February 2011
.

JordanMorris	Latest page update: made by JordanMorris , Nov 17 2010, 1:42 PM EST (about this update About This Update Edited by JordanMorris 23 words added 8 words deleted view changes - complete history)
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