Traverse – This is where the acting area is in between two opposing sets of seating. This type of staging, like in the round, makes it very hard for the actor who has to then make sure that everyone in audience can see what he is doing and hear what he is saying. No props or scenery can be more than one metre high and there are no backdrops otherwise the audience from one side will not be bale to see what is happening in the play.
3D Designers Sketch
This is a 3D view of the Capulets palace. The reason why there is no wall along the sides (as shown in the ground plan earlier but not explained) is because some of the scenes, most notably the balcony scene (act two scene two) and act three scene two requires the audience to be able to see that this (or some of it) is happening inside the building. In act two scene two a curtain will come across the room and there will be a candle on the bed so that when Romeo enters, he see the silhouettes of the nurse and Juliet in the room and gives his speech to the audience. The balcony is low so that at one point in the scene, Romeo and Juliet can intimately interact and Juliet can come down easily or Romeo can come up easily to do this. In act three scene two, Romeo and Juliet will wake up on the bed after having spent the night together. After their brief conversation, Romeo will leave through the balcony and climb up the trellis and escape into the Montagues area which the audience wont see because the angle of the staging will conceal it. When they come in, Lady Capulet and Capulet will enter through the door on the right-hand side from the generic Chinese backdrop, which again will not be seen by the audience
This is the 3D view of the Montagues’ house. The pillar is only there to support the structure; otherwise it will be standing on three legs. The area is empty because, unlike the Capulets’ palace, this room does not need any objects as none of the scenes that will be performed here will require the use of any. The flooring will be brown marble that looks like wood so that when Mercutio and Tybalt get killed, the blood can be wiped off when this part of the stage is hidden.
This is the 3D view of the generic Chinese backdrop. The reason for having this is so it can accommodate other scenes and settings such as that of Church – one used frequently for when Romeo and Juliet go to the friar for advice and when they get married. It will also be used for the scene where they get killed. It has not got any objects/props on it because ach scene will require different ones – for example, the scene where they die will have a coffin whereas he scene where Romeo takes Advice from the Friar will have some religious statues and perhaps a shrine.
This is a quick drawing of how the church (or perhaps the interior) will look like. The cockerel will represent the French invasion and will be projected onto the arch using a fixed projector in front of the audience.
Design Ideas
For the Capulets backdrop, I decided to use gold as the main colour because it somewhat shows their high position in China, being the emperor and therefore the ruler of the Chinese empire. Gold, along with purple, was like a ‘luxury colour’ in the past because the pigments were hard to make and that is why I chose gold.
The design and shape will be something like this because it is a typical Chinese structure and will immediately inform the audience of the setting.
The backdrop of the Montague family will have a mixture of Chinese and English designs. The national colour of blue will be the dominant colour in the designs.
The generic Chinese Backdrop would resemble a less ornate design or the Capulets backdrop with slightly more dull colours:
Costume Research
I have created the costumes for the Capulet family, the Montague family, Mercutio, Tybalt and the Prince. The pictures shown of the final designs are those taken of the costumes themselves. They are not ideal because I did not have a large variety of colours or designs to choose from but certainly point out the direction I am heading towards.
The Capulets & Tybalt
The Capulets are the ruling body of China and would therefore wear beautiful Chinese clothes of a high quality. I did some initial research and retrieved these pictures. I used them as the basis of my costumes for the Capulets. Tybalt is Juliet’s cousin and is therefore Chinese.
All these dresses have specific features and symbols which make them Chinese dresses. (From left to right) The red dress has a brilliant, totally oriental, collar and the colour scheme is very striking. The black dress is that of an average Chinese citizen. In contrast to the red dress, it has large sleeves, almost like something a wizard would wear. The belt around the waist is very tight and the colour scheme is not as rich as the female dress. The final picture continues the concept of males having plainer designs than females. The large sleeves are also evident as is the belt. An interesting feature in the woman’s dress is that it has a short protruding ‘tail’. On the next page is one of the newspaper pictures I collected. The design on the collar and the way it comes off onto the sides is very nice though I am not too sure of the colour scheme used (red and green?). This is the first time I have seen a sleeveless Chinese design.
The Montagues & Mercutio
To show that this family is English but living in China I decided to mix the Chinese and English designs and to do that I had to take pictures of both types of designs as part of my research. Mercutio is a friend of Romeo’s but is Chinese so he would also fall under this category and have similar designs to the Montagues.
(Top to bottom, left to right) The blue sailor outfit is a typical English design and has features that I would like to use when making the costumes for Montague such as the large collar that comes down and an average fitting style (not too tight, not too loose). The second picture represents the kind of suits the rich in the 16th century would put on. The tight fitting and raised collar are features that I intend to use. The coat has a small tail and is quite long in length compared to the previous clothing. The black Chinese suit has a tight fitting and again, there is the raised collar which has been a consistent feature of the Chinese research material. The reason why I picked this image is because it has a very wide lower half. That is not because the women are fat but in fact it was a fashion in the 16th century for women to wear cages under their skirts – It would keep unwanted men from touching them and would also hide their figure (society at that time was very censored). The final design is actually a Chinese man’s clothing. Unusually it has very bright colours and if full of designs. The large sleeve and belt are gain evident in this picture.
Prince
I researched some military designs for the prince who is French general overlooking things in this play.
(From left to right ) The picture of the army general shows that dark green was the predominant colour used for such ranks. The collar is slightly raised but apart form that there are no other distinct features (excluding the ridiculous number of badges). The green piper’s jacket shows the ideal colour scheme I would like to use. There are minimal designs on it and the collar is, again, slightly raised. Both suits are bottle green and therefore I will also select a dark green fabric to make his costume.
Final Designs
To create the costumes, I took a one hour crash-course from my mother before creating them using a sewing machine and a pair of scissors.
The Capulets & Tybalt
(From top to bottom, left to right) I decided to use red as the main colour for the Capulets’ costumes because red is the main colour on the Chinese flag and often the representatives of countries (presidents etc) wear the colours of that country. Capulet’s outfit has some typical Chinese features in it. There is a belt which is tied around the sides and the sleeves are very wide (wizard-like). The design is not too heavy and the gold on red shows his high position. The gold represents his character in the first half of the play where he comes across as a reasonable person. The colours represent dramatic irony though when he becomes aggressive and very ill-tempered in act three. Lady Capulet’s costume is red with black stripes. The dress has a tail which was a common feature in Chinese clothing and more so in royal Chinese clothing. It also has wide sleeves and a unique v-neck shaped neckline. The black stripes represent that she is not as nice as she looks in the first act. This of course is backed up by what she does and how she becomes a villain for the audience later on in the play. Juliet’s costume is the most beautiful because she is ‘the girl of the play’. It is again red but has an array of colours and designs on it. The raised collar and v-shaped neckline look very nice and are different Chinese features put together as one. The tail is again there to represent her royal heritage. Tybalt’s outfit is a simple black and white colour to show that he is either a friend or an enemy in this play because once analysed, it can be argued that Tybalt is either right or wrong in doing what he does.
The Montagues & Mercutio
(From top to bottom, right to left) I decided to use blue as the main colour for the Montagues’ costumes because blue is the colour that all the national sports teams in England use as part of their kit. British Politicians are almost always seen wearing a blue tie or a blue shirt. Montague’s outfit was the first one I created and that is why it is also the worst one I have created so far. It is a long jacket/coat which has a simple suit-like collar. The top of the sleeves are slightly frilly but apart from that there is nothing extraordinary. The colour is navy blue, not black, as the picture shows it to be. Lady Capulet’s costume is predominantly English in terms of the design: The long v-shaped neckline that gives the wearer a large cleavage and the ‘cage’ shaped design. But it also has minor noticeable Chinese features such as the attempt to make wide sleeves and the different shades in the fabric which make it truly stand out. Romeo’s shirt uses a light blue shade with a navy blue collar and sleeve endings. His costume is a shade a of blue but not the same shade as his parents because even though he belongs to their family, he is different because he loves Juliet, a Capulet, and both his parents despise that family. Mercutio’s costume is yellow because it stands out from the rest and he is actually one of the key characters in the play despite his brief appearance. He is the one who always gives safe and friendly advice to Romeo – advice that is ignored and the ignorance is what leads to the deaths of the two lovers. The blue stripes and sleeve endings represent his connection with the Montagues and the collar and the wide sleeves also show that he is Chinese.
Prince
The prince’s military outfit uses the same collar of the outfit the general was wearing in the research picture. The design is predominantly seen along the, collar, the sleeves and the edges – just like the piper’s jacket. The colour scheme or green and gold shows his high rank in the military.
Romeo & Juliet
To show that these characters belong together even though they are part of rival families, both characters will wear a white item to show this. It will not be noticed by the audience when they are alone like in act one scene one or act three scene two but will definitely be noticed when they are together like in the final scene and act two scene two. Romeo will wear white trousers to go with his sky blue shit and Juliet will have a large white hairclip and wear white jewellery on her wrists, ankles and neck.
Make-Up
Chinese
Traditional Chinese make-up will be applied to the Capulets and Tybalt as well as Mercutio because even though he is Romeo’s friend, in this adaption he is Chinese. Most Chinese make-up is heavy in terms of the application. There is also a large amount of decoration put on the face. All these things are cultural and have happened for a long time, especially in Chinese theatre.
(From right to left) This is an actual image of the make-up of actors for Chinese operas. The colour of the make-up shows the character’s personality and traits. A red face means courage and virtue, black means uprightness, white indicates deceit, blue shows cruelty or anger and yellow illustrates bravery and strength. The white to red fade that the first two pictures show is actually the most common type of make-up and does not indicate the qualities of a certain character. All the designs are very ornate and heavy – something which is evident with the other two images as well. The middle image shows two family members or closely related characters because the style of make-up is very similar. The final picture shows the huge amount of white base that is used. The difference between it and the colour of the neck is vast.
Capulet will have white make-up because he is a deceitful character as the audience will find out during act three. He will also have blue shading as he is pitiless and livid at Juliet when he finds out she does not want to marry Paris and bursts out at the nurse for not controlling her. Another way of showing the audience the qualities of a character is by applying symbols to their foreheads. Capulet will have an arrow pointing upwards to show he is angry and frustrated. Lady Capulet will have a fainter shade of the make-up Capulet has because even though she shows the same behaviour towards Juliet it is not as vicious as how her father treats her. Juliet and Tybalt will have the red and white combination because I want the audience to make their own mind up on these characters (because they create mixed opinions whereas Capulet and his wife are easy to evaluate). Mercutio will have yellow make-up because when he dies, most of the audience then perceive him as a martyr and only look at his positive qualities.
Sound
I have decided not to use any sound in this play because I think the build-up of tension that occurs steadily throughout the whole play is lost if any artificial sounds are played. The play has a genre of tragedy and I feel that the deaths of the lovers will not be seen in such a grievous/dreadful manner by the audience if any sound is playing in the background because, from personal experience, it somehow loses the emphasis.
Lighting
