Prompt 7

If I were to take a theatrical performance, and convert to a show worthy of environmental theatre, I would choose Eurydice as this show. I would choose this because it is the text with which I am most familiar at this point and also because there are so many strong design choices, especially in terms of set, that would lend itself to something site-specific. In terms of the dialogue, I believe that not much would need to change. Although environmental theatre does not rely heavily on text, in this scenario I would actually add various dialogues for the different parts of the show. In Eurydice, there are many events that occur at about the same time. However due to the nature of a theatrical production, these events are seen in sequence. In adapting the show, I would allow for these events to occur at the same time. For example, Orpheus would be in a room upstairs writing or playing music, writing letters, succumbing to his depression, etc. Meanwhile in the basement, Eurydice’s father would be teaching Eurydice the various lessons that are mentioned in the script. You would get to see a lot more of Orpheus’s decline and much more of Eurydice and the Father’s relationship becoming stronger. In terms of set, I would stage the performance in a house. The audience would start in on the first floor and would see the first scene where Orpheus and Eurydice get engaged. After this, the audience would be invited into the next room where the wedding would be taking place. There would be party guests being greeted by Eurydice while Orpheus is nowhere to be found. Also the audience at this point would be invited into the basement and the second floor. In the basement would be the underworld with several pipes dripping water, a river running through a section, and several stones, three of which would be endowed with speaking parts. Here would also be the “business section of the Underworld where the dad would go to work. On the second floor is Orpheus’ room where he writes music and letters. There would be a piano there. Also on the second floor is the Lord of the Underworld’s high-rise apartment. Between Orpheus’ room and the Underworld would be a pneumatic tube with which letters would be passed between the underworld and the world above. When the third act occurs, all the patrons of the show would unite in the basement and watch the great ascension. They would see the failure and the conclusion of the play down in the Underworld. I believe that this show would have a very powerful affect on the audience, especially with interactions between the stones, the wedding scene, the incessant musical interludes from Orpheus’ room, and with the terrifying intrusions of the Lord of the Underworld.

I do believe with Kantor’s view on theatre. I believe that an audience who goes to a stage production knows exactly what they are going to get. This is much like going to a blockbuster hit at the movie theater. When the process becomes interactive with the audience a performance then does not break the fourth wall but transcends it, evolving from a two dimensional performance to a three dimensional performance. In the same way, when you go on a “ride” at Universal Studios that brings the action directly to you, a film then transcends the same type of boundary.