On the opening scene there will be ‘see through’ curtains, as the play opens with Yerma dreaming. The light will shine through these curtains and will show the silhouettes of Yermas dream. Yerma will be CS and the figures in her dream will be LDS.
The lighting will be one spotlight in bright white shining down on Yerma to show her purity and then a light shining on the figures in her dream. When she is about to wake up the lights will change to fit a bright sunny day and as she awakes the see through curtain will rise allowing the audience to see Yerma sitting in a chair. The room she is in has white washed walls and washed wood floors, and is very plain. To show how lonely Yerma is. I only want there to be two pieces of furniture in the room, a dark dyed wood rocking chair which looks uncomfortable this will show her predicament. However at Yermas feet will be a brightly coloured embroidery, this will stand out from the plain white washed room, and it shows how she wants her life to be, so there will be the man in her dream and a young child and her in a ‘family portrait’. The bed also represents the theme of the loveless marriage, and could be lit up differently if it is needed for dramatic effect such as significant dialogue.
The other piece of furniture in the room will be a bed. I want the bed to be King-Size to show her solitude, I would like the bed to be lit differently to the to other spotlights, so maybe the bed could have a different colour on it e.g. red. That makes it ironic; as red represents passion, but the bed isn’t used, well not for passion. The bed sheets will be a cream colour as they are not quite pure.
The bed will remain on the stage throughout the production always lit in the same way. The bed will have an eerie presence.
Yerma wears a plain white dress; this singles her out from the other women in the play who will wear rich colours, this singles her out, as she is the central focus. Also white is a very wholesome innocent colour, and makes a contrast to what the people in the village are saying, that there is something wrong with her because she has no baby. Also the fact that she thinks her insides is turning into ‘poison’ because she is childless.
I think that the lighting should change according to who is in the room with Yerma, for example, when it is Victor the room should be bright, but with Juan it should still be well lit, but with a low watt bulb.
I think a good character to play Yerma would be Mary Kate Olsen. She has a Spanish look to her. She is also only 19, so it is easy to find a Juan who is older than her. She looks innocent and pure so she portrays Yerma well.
Collin Farell will play Juan. He is older than Mary Kate Olsen, and he isn’t that pleasing to the eye. He isn’t as handsome as Brandon Davis (Victor) , therefore it is realistic that she likes Victor more. He looks ordinary.
Rachel Bilson plays Maria.
