Compare the theatrical techniques and staging in act one of Oleanna and Street Car Named Desire
The two plays Street car named desire and Oleanna are very different plays in their use of theatrical devices. Tennesse Williams’ play Street Car Named Desire gives us a long description of the New Orleans world its based in. Describing the flats with the name “elysan fields” relating the to heaven despite the appearance of the street that seems “falling apart at the fabric of the seems”, the colour of the sky “tender blue”, even the smell of “bananas and coffee” making the set described seem more exotic with the imagery of plantations. Whilst in David Mamet’s play Oleanna we are simply told how Carol is sitting opposite John who is
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Oleanna doesn’t seem to include stage directions other than the phone ringing and John either igonoring it or picking it up.
Lighting is also an important theatrical technique used in Street Car Named Desire. It is especially utillised in Almadova’s fim interpretation of the play, as he uses the strong primary coloured lighting pallette throughout. Stanley and the boys are given strong primary colours, shown by what they wear and the description of the room often red and blue. This is excluding Mitch who wears checked or soft colour shirts to highlight his difference to the other men in the play. Whilst Blanche has to hide from the “natural light” and cover it with paper laterns, in an attempt to hide from the cruel reality of life. In Oleanna there is no mention of lighting so again it is up to the audience or director to imagine how the single room would be lit.
Music and sounds are another theatical technique often used is Street Car Named Desire. The blues piano is often heard in the background of act one and throughout the play. Linking to the culture of New Orleans and the political freedom and less disrciminatory nature of the area. There is also the sound of the train that symbolises Stanley and his power and masculinity . The polka tune that blanche hears in her head relating to her past and the “young boy” linking to her happy past, that ends with the sound of a shot. Much like convesation stops with the phone ringing in
Comparing the play versus, the movie versions of A Streetcar Named Desire has been entertaining and enlightening. Originally written as a play, Tennessee Williams later adapted it into a screenplay for the film version. Consequently, both versions were extremely popular in their own right. Drama and social taboos create an emotionally charged viewing adventure. Williams characters are complex, exciting and just crazy enough to keep the audience spellbound. The DuBois sisters are complete opposites sharing only their love for each other as common ground. Blanche, the older sister, shows up for an impromptu visit with her sister Stella Kowalski. Stella and her husband Stanley live in New Orleans, in the French Quarter. Blanche has become destitute and has lost the family plantation. Stanley, incensed by the idea that Blanche has taken the plantation from him, sets out to destroy her by any and all means. The characters and performers provide a riveting and consequently soulful performance that is hauntingly unforgettable. Williams writing moves the audience to tears with dynamic characters, conflict and catastrophe of unimaginable depth.
Another key element in the story is the blue piano. Whenever this piano is heard playing during the play it signifies that Stanley has had a victory over Blanche in some way. The blue piano also signifies that Blanches illusion is begging to unravel. The reality of Blanches situation becomes apparent to Stanley who then tries to expose Blanche for what she really
The technical aspects of the production such as scenery, properties and costumes also played a keynote in the productions success. The scenery was fabulous it truly made the play. It was very realistic and extremely vibrant. Almost the entire play was performed in one setting, except for the railcar and dance scenes. The house, the main setting, was magnificent with painstakingly placed detail in every corner. All elements in the house matched wonderfully, for example the furniture, the photos on the wall, the telephone and even the trash can. Little bits of detail were everywhere adding to the beautification of the set, for example the lace decorations on the chairs, the etched glass above the front door and even the Christmas tree.
Hytner made changes to the play so that that the viewer of the movie has information about what is occurring. From the start Hytner alters the first scene; girls dancing in the forest undressed, Abigail drinking chicken blood, while Tituba sang in Barbados. In the play, this scene was explained through words, and was talked about in the past. Another difference from the play is the way Betty was shown. In the movie Betty is fierce and desperate, in the play she cries for mom. Tituba's character in the movie is whipped and treated harshly in front of everyone, while in the play she was only threatened to be whipped while being accused by Abigail of being a witch. Unlike the play, that has narration, Hytner is forced to change the scenes so that the viewer can keep up with the story without deviating from the
Sexual desires are a common interest several people tend to have and Blanche Dubois significantly portray and represents the theme of sexual intimacy in A Street Car Named Desire as Tennessee Williams uses allegory, allusion, symbolism, and foreshadow in order to demonstrate how do Blanche’s “trip” through several street cars correspond to the theme of sexual intensions. Each of the “street-car” or form of transportation Blanche rode in have a distinguishing name for each which provides a metaphorical ideology for the trains. Blanche riding in the
I also had compared Act Two, Scene 3, in the play and the film. The setting in the play is on a Saturday, moving day, one week later. In the film, the setting is the same as the play, with lighting and costumes. The plot in the play is Linder tries to buy back the house from the Younger family. In the film, the plot is the same as the play. The dialogue in the film has some deletions from play; new dialogue is added in replacement of the deleted dialogue. Some film techniques used in this scene are: the film cuts back and forth to different characters, and the room is well lit with the sunshine coming in through the window. Perhaps the biggest
Based on Tennessee William’s A Streetcar Named Desire, Elia Kazan creates an award winning movie that helps readers visualize Stanley’s primal masculinity, the inner torments of the Kowalski women and the clash of the other characters’ problems which create a chaotic mess. Using stage directions in the play, William hints that Blanche is not who she appears to be while the movie subtly sheds light on Blanche’s strange little habits that suggests a bigger issue. The movie also censors many of the main themes in Williams’ play but makes up for it by having its actors flawlessly portray the characters’ emotions, allowing the readers to see the
The music is symbolic of typical life for the inhabitants of that part of the city and "plays for a brief interval" (P43) following Stanley's violent attack on Stella, reinforcing to the audience that Stanley's violence is part of the way of life in Elysian Fields. It also returns at the end of scene ten when Stanley rapes Blanche. The symbolism Williams uses in the opening scene of A Streetcar Named Desire gives the reader more insight into the main characters of the play, makes them more vivid and also hints at the outcome for these characters. Stanley as he enters scene one, "carries … a red stained package from a butcher's" (P20).
and self - pitying ways from the death of her husband and the lies of
Michael Hoffman’s 1999 film version of Shakespeare's midsummer night’s dream was able to modify the audience experience of the play. Michael Hoffman had successfully turned the play into a film and was able to show a visible expression of the characters to the audience. He had also made some changes, like the settings and made his version modernized. Though the film was based on the Shakespeare’s play, the audience’s experience is still different.
In the opening of the play Blanche says, “They told [her] to take a street-car named Desire, and then transfer to one called Cemeteries and ride six blocks and get off at—at Elysian Fields!”(1.1). This sentence sets the theme for the entire play. The streetcar “Desire” brought her to Stella’s home, but symbolically it shows that Blanche’s
The play A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams, is a play about a woman named Blanche Dubois who goes to live with her sister after she loses her home in Mississippi. Between the hardships of her previous life and the way she is treated now, she is not in a good way by the time the play ends. She basically has a mental breakdown. There are three stages of Blanche’s mental state. She lives in a fantasy, Mitch rejecting her, and Stanley raping her, Blanche is mentally unstable by the end of this ply.
The themes of A streetcar Named Desire are mainly built on conflict, the conflicts between men and women, the conflicts of race, class and attitude to life, and these are especially embodied in Stanley and Blanche. Even in Blanche’s own mind there are conflicts of truth and lies, reality and illusion, and by the end of the play, most of these conflicts have been resolved.
The main similarity between the play and the movie is the theme of the role of women in the society especially in marriage. Throughout the different periods of the past generations, pieces of art such as plays and films have
The play A Streetcar Named Desire revolves around Blanche DuBois; therefore, the main theme of the drama concerns her directly. In Blanche is seen the tragedy of an individual caught between two worlds-the world of the past and the world of the present-unwilling to let go of the past and unable, because of her character, to come to any sort of terms with the present. The final result is her destruction. This process began long before her clash with Stanley Kowalski. It started with the death of her young husband, a weak and perverted boy who committed suicide when she taunted him with her disgust at the discovery of his perversion. In retrospect, she knows that he was the only man she had ever loved, and from this early catastrophe