Project #3: Concept Statement

Shakespeare’s comedy The Tempest is a fantastically whimsical play, with supernatural elements, magic, love, and adventure. As I read the play, I knew I wanted it to never lose its sense of fun or fancy, and I began to see colors in my head first, before any other images or ideas came to me. I found paintings with bright color palettes. I became very attracted to jewel tones and the idea of nature on the island looking enchanted, through the use of vibrant colors and mystical lighting. As I continued looking through images and thinking about the characters, and the way the story is told, for whatever reason I could not get the idea of a circus out of my head. I played with it in my mind for a while- how could I make it work? I finally came up with what is the concept for my production of The Tempest: The characters are a bunch of circus performers, Prospero being the original ring leader, as well as an accomplished magician. When his ambitious brother overtakes him, he and Miranda are sent to an old abandoned circus/carnival site off the coast. The area is inhabited by magical beings, such as Ariel and Caliban, who are very close to nature and the elements. Therefore, when designing the set I would like the man-made pieces (old carousel horses, ferris wheel, tent, etc.) to have a faded, distressed look. Not ugly, but just a little forgotten. But I want the set to look as though nature has overtaken it, or at least fused with it. These natural elements (flowers, shrubs, water, etc.) should look almost unnaturally beautiful and vivid; this is where the jewel tones will be most bright.
The characters will all have their distinct roles and should be identifiable as belonging to a certain part of the circus. There are many characters in the show; I chose to concentrate on Prospero, Miranda, Ferdinand, and Ariel. Prospero is, of course, the ring leader. It makes sense because 1.) The ring leader is the highest position in the circus, so his being usurped is logical in this role and 2.) Prospero plays very much a ring leader in the course of events of the play. He sees himself as being in control and often drives the action of the play forward. Miranda is a delicate tight-rope walker. I see her as looking very doll like, and often behaving sweet and mild, like a doll. However, as she grows and falls in love, she gains independence and self-confidence. Ferdinand is a knife thrower. He is bold, but sweet. Skilled, but can act rashly. I drew my inspiration for Ariel, a spirit, from Cirque Du Soleil. I did not want him/her to be a “classic” clown or anything to gimmicky, but rather something unworldly, even for the circus. The look of Cirque Du Soleil does very well at establishing a look that says “performance” but is still magical.
I want the show to reflect in its design a sort of lost beauty in that which is old- such as the abandoned grounds, and Prospero’s garb- contrasted with the birth of new, natural beauty
found in the growth of flowers and plants over the grounds, and the vitality that new love and life brings through the young lovers.

Project #3: Directorial Concept: The Tempest

My concept for the show is set in an abandoned circus ground, and this picture caught my eye because of the bright colors contrasted with the dark storm clouds. This was an important idea to me, considering the show revolves around the aftermath of a great storm.


This photo captures the lost feeling I would want the set to have. Its too literal to represent what i would want to show to look like exactly, but there are elements i love, like the asymmetry of the picture.



I love this picture because, again, there is a really beautiful contrast between the vibrant colors of the circus objects and the dimmer hues found in the natural elements: forest and water.



I loved the image because it is sort of classically beautiful and lonely, and there while the colors are soft and pretty, there is just a hint of deterioration.



This picture shows the abandoned ferris wheel out of place in a very overgrown area, which is an element I want in the set. I want it to look as though the abandoned circus/carnival pieces have sort of fused with nature in an almost supernatural way.



This picture caught my eye for much of the same reason as above. Its as though nature is taking over the ferris wheel. It is pretty, but also kind of sad.



This image is very distressed, which I like. I don't want the set to be too sad and droopy, but I want the man-made elements to look somewhat old and forgotten.



I love the idea of carousel horses as an element of the set, because they give this beautiful but almost eerie sense of life-but frozen. I think that is something that Prospero would relate to very much.



This is a painting called magic circus and I loved the...well...magic in it. The Tempest contains many elements of the super natural and magical, and it is of course a comedy. This picture contains those aspects. I don't want the show to become too lost or lonely in mood, because that would destroy the intent of the work itself.



This picture and the one below are very important because they contain the color scheme I am inspired by for the show. I love the bright jewel tones, and how they are all mixed together. This, to me, is the show's palette. Not everything is this bright. The natural/super-natural elements (Ariel,the flowers, trees, etc.) are to be much brighter. The abandoned circus objects should be these colors, but distressed some. Miranda and Prospero will be costumed in slightly darker shades of these bright colors, while the Shipwrecked men where either slightly more earthy tones or much more garish tones.






I love the color and lighting of this picture. I think it would be so beautiful to be able to light the flowers and trees that have grown in the tent/carnival area to give them a sense of supernaturality.



In a circus setting, it only makes sense to make Prospero the ringleader as he is largely in control of the events of the show from the beginning.However, finding costumes I liked was a little difficult, because I don't want him to look like he is straight from Barnum and Bailey's. He must look wordly and wise, not big and clownish. I liked this because it looks a little opulent, but if distressed could reflect the fall of Prospero's life and the loss of wealth and title.



This is a cool hat. I like it because it says ringleader without screaming circus too hard.



I loved this picture because I immediately saw Prospero and Miranda in it. The costuming isn't exactly right, but it reflects at least one aspect of their relationship as father and daughter at the play's beginning- he is in control, and she is ready to follow his lead.



I think of Miranda, the young lover character, as a beautiful tight rope walker. Here is a classic depiction, very youthful and sweet.



This is a slightly sexier version of the same idea. I do not want her to be this vampy, but I like the idea of making her a little more womanly. Somewhere between a little girl and a woman.



I love the colors of the skirt, and the slightly off-period sensibility of the whole outfit. I think this is the direction I would most want to go in in terms of attitude for her(for both the lovers, actually). Sweet, but with an ever so slight hint of rock and roll.



I want Miranda to look like a doll, so I loved the big pink cheeks and exaggerated lips. But the extreme bottom lashes give her an edge, and this makeup helps her look a little more womanly and not like such a little girl.She is transitioning.



The second I saw this picture, from Cirque Du soleil, I thought of Ariel. Being that Ariel is not all human, I want him/her to not look be so easily identified as a circus "performer". Ariel is water and air, and everything from the colors to the ruff on the neck is perfection to me.



This picture and the one below really struck me in terms of costuming Ferdinand. They are both remniscent of turn of the century costuming, but a little updated, giving it a sense of fantasy for the piece. Also, the careful distressing in both reflects the trials Ferdinand experienced in the ship wreck.


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The two younger males in the picture were another image I liked when I was thinking of costuming Ferdinand- it isn't too "circusy" but it has the flavor while still maintaining the sense of fashion of the time.