The process for the mock Director’s Notebook is going well. I began the process out of order. After I read the script, Lysistrata, I began searching for settings and time periods to set it in. I ended up choosing Paris in World War I, as the Peloponnesian War and WW1 have many similarities (war, death, plague, a shift of power, etc.). Then, I started designing costumes and a set directly after, connecting their personalities, social status, etc. into their costumes.
After this, I delved into the cultural context of the Peloponnesian War more in-depth, which therefore inforced that WW1 was a good setting. I had trouble finding additional context outside of the Peloponnesian War and struggled to find the theoretical context of Lysistrata. It was relatively easy to identify and analyze the themes of Lysistrata and how it ties into the context in which this play was written. The main example being that the play is anti-war (and was written in a time of war) and anti-sexism (when it was common for Athenian women to not be allowed many rights). The most difficult process for this Director’s Notebook will most likely be recalling past theatre productions, as I did not pay attention to the production techniques of the plays I have seen until recently. Even then, I am excited to incorporate pieces of productions I have seen into the set, costumes, props, lighting, and movement.
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I've decided to set Lysistrata in Paris, France towards the end of World War I (October/November of 1918). This is because many sentiments of that time tie into themes and events in Lysistrata as well as the Peloponnesian War.
Such commonalities are:
Lysistrata will be French, as will her neighbor Kleonike (near the main front, the Western Front). Myrrhine and her husband Kinesias would be from the United Kingdom. Lampito would be from Germany, and possibly a field nurse. The chorus of men would be French and mostly middle-higher class, the leader being a French army officer. The chorus of women would also be French, but mostly lower-middle class and more diverse than the men. The women would also barricade themselves in the Pantheon in Paris, as it is the main parliament building in France. This mock Director's Notebook will focus on Lysistrata by Aristophanes.
To begin, Lysistrata was created during the Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.) in Ancient Greece. The main conflict rested with Athens and Sparta, who fought because the Athenians believed that a war between the two superpowers of Greece was inevitable. During the beginning of the war, a plague broke out in Athens, providing a brief setback for their army. Athens eventually won the war. This play was written before the war had ended. Lysistrata itself is an antiwar text in which a woman named Lysistrata leads a group of different women from each of the countries involved in the Peloponnesian War against the war. They had negotiated for peace in the end. This is quite a feat, as at this time and place, women did not hold nor have power. The main themes of this play are;
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