My own productions staging of Dr Faustus.

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Dr Faustus

The reason for a Prologue is to give the audience background information about Faustus’ life and education and set the mood, as well as prepare the audience for what they are about to see. In this play, the Chorus, a single actor, introduces the plot of the play and starts by stating what it will not be about. He says that it will involve neither love nor war, but instead will trace the “form of Faustus’ fortunes”. The Chorus goes on to explicitly tell how his swelling pride will lead to his downfall.  

In my own production’s staging of it I intend to inform, as well as prompt, a reaction from the audience and indicate how their reaction should be by the way my Chorus delivers his lines. It will be a fairly young man in his late twenties. He will wear ordinary 21st century clothes (a t-shirt, jeans and trainers). He will casually, with his hands in his pockets, walk to the front of the stage and deliver the lines as if he normally spoke the way it is written. I chose to have him this way because if you read between the lines, you can see that there is a connection between him and the prologue. By coming out and stating what it won’t be about and telling the audience that even though it’s not what you expected, that doesn’t mean that it won’t be good. He is actually a living example as he doesn’t look like the way an audience would expect, but that still doesn’t mean that he isn’t as good. As he is walking slowly to the stage there will be contemporary music played in the background. The song I have in mind is a very newly released song that I think is perfect because the lyrics match his relaxed attitude:

Join now!

“Chill out, what are you yelling for

Lay back, it’s all been done before

You’re somebody else

Around everyone else

You’re trying to be cool

You look like a fool, to me

Why did you have to go

And make things so complicated

I see the way you’re acting

Like somebody else

Getting me frustrated….”

Faustus, himself, will already be on the stage before the Chorus comes on. The stage set will be very simple with Faustus’ desk and chair as well as a few books and little things to make it look like his study. I ...

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