Behind the Top of the Show, Process Notebook 1.30.13

Today we worked the top of the show.

here are some notes on the thoughts behind the movement and direction of the prologue, and Scene 1, constitutional convention.

With the prologue we want a dark and menacing tone. Almost this sense of soullessness. Of wall street and mortgage bundles and money scams. But we didn't want to isolate the audience from playing the lottery so we know we're walking a middle ground. David's drive in the prologue is to go from the the highest point, and then fall down to the absolute lowest point, then build to the highest point again, only to fall even lower. We are really looking to establish this boom and bust cyclical nature from the top of the show.

(*every time I watch the prologue Aaron nails this American Pyscho-esque interpretation of the wall street party boy!) 

Scene 1, Constitutional Convention. We tightened the movements of the four actors behind Benjamin Franklin. Each one is playing one of the founding father's he references. So that Alexander Hamilton, Jimmy Madison, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson are represented onstage through the silhouettes. Each silhouette makes a really defined movement right before Ben mentions what they said, that way when Ben speaks for each of the founding father's he copies the gestures the silhouette made.

*so the top of the show feels like from American Psycho into the Founding Fathers. It'll be interesting to note after we open which scene will seem creepier.