The scenery in the play needs to be relevant to the era and surroundings of New Orleans, realistic enough so that the audience know where they are and are interesting but not so much that it takes the focus of the play away from the actors, the scenery should be life like, for example the flat, if it is flat like then the audience can relate with the characters and it can make it feel more real.
The era of the play is also set by the costume that the actors wear to suggest the time and conditions that the characters live in, the costumes should also dictate the class of the people in the play as there are clear divides. For example Blanche would wear long frilly summer dresses to show that she is still living in the past and wears clothes that draw attention to herself and most importantly, make her look attractive. Blanche’s make up would be highlighted to show her vanity but also to give the appearance that she is younger than she is. The scenery would show to the audience exactly what it is that she is disgusted about in the flat and gives them an insight into the lifestyle that Blanche and Stella were used to. The scenery and the props would also serve to set the scene. But, as I said before, it is imperative that the scenery does not detract the audience from the actors and draw them to the set.
Lighting could be used in the play to create a real atmosphere in each scene, for example in the rape scene the lighting could dim until only the small area that Stanley and Blanche occupy is lit to show how trapped Blanche really is and also to represent how dark and evil Stanley’s actions are. Lighting could also be used to depict time of day by different levels of light. The use of props is critical in the play, but the props must be placed in everyday places so that the audience can link the scene and the actions together. For example the bottle that Blanche tries to attack Stanley with should not just be sitting in the middle of the table but in a real to life place like by a decanter or some other prop that would be true to real life, not just placing it in a convenient place. This just helps to make the play seem more real to life.
The play should be performed on a large stage with multiple levels so that the sense of a larger space can be created, it should also have divisions so that rooms can be defined. This is critical to the pace of the play because for example on Scene Three the action is fast paced and moves between the rooms, if the set had to be changed every time the stage had to be changed the pace would be lost, a revolving stage may be an option to help with the flow of the play.
It is sometimes hard to picture what the characters are saying in the play because they are often talking about other characters that have left the stage, on idea may be to have a small area of the stage to have the actors either miming or forming freeze frames whilst the main play continues, so that the audience can relate to what it is that the characters are talking about. For example when Stella is talking to Blanche about Stanley it might look good to have Stanley miming or freezing to the side to add visual effect to the audience.
Colours, textures and materials are all important in the scene as well because they show the difference between the characters circumstances. Stanley and Stella’s flat would be basic, not very colourful and she would have hardly any expensive or valuable objects in the flat. The colours would be very dull and worn, their furniture would be old and tatty, it would symbolise a very basic way of life. On the other hand all of Blanche’s possessions would be colourful and worth a lot of money, her clothing would be bright and extravagant made by well known designers, this would reflect the class that she was used to living amongst when she was young and is still trying to grasp onto now she has lost all of her money and her clothes and odd ornaments are her only possessions.
The two different appearances would clash and Blanche’s clothes would look out of place in Stanley and Stella’s drab and run down flat. The colour of the lighting could also reflect the mood of the play, for example at the start of the play when Blanche arrives and it is a bright sunny day, to then some red highlights for the rape scene as every relates red with danger.
The background music is very in keeping with the era of the play, the blue piano echoes of the 1940’s America scene, this music is contrasted by the polka tune that plays in Blanche’s head, this music does not fit in with the scene and signals to the audience that something is wrong, the music is used every time to build up suspense.
If I had to choose introductory music I would choose something that was in keeping with the era, something that could have been heard on a wireless at the time but something that is soft and could be lowered during the action and left on throughout the scene.
The stage directions are very useful in that they give the director an idea of how Williams wants the play to be performed. Unfortunately they are quite limited and they would have to be expanded on to keep the realism going for they do not provide detailed enough directions, this might be because Williams wanted the actors performing the play to think for themselves and act as they would act if put in those situations. This might be to create another level of realism in that the actors would be performing real to life.
