Instead of just focusing on making “The Contrast” a modern
adaption, we decided to reimagine it in a modern setting (similar to how “10
Things I Hate About You” and “She’s The Man” are modern re-imaginations of the
Shakespeare plays “Taming of the Shrew” and “Twelfth Night”). Since American
and European cultures are pretty similar compared to when the original text was
written, we opted to focus on two groups that still have the same feel, but in
the modern day: Urban North and Rural South. Through our project, we hope to
convey the same feelings and ideas, but in a way that, as students in the
South, makes a little more sense.
The play will be set in a modern day generic southern town
and the characters will be fascinated with/discussing New York City (see, we
worked New York in there ;) ). We’ve selected a modern cast of actors and have
them in mind as we are putting together the piece of our project. What pieces
do we have planned? Well, I’m glad you asked…
Modern Text:
Instead of
modernizing the entire text, because of the limited amount of time we have, we
have decided to only modernize one particular scene in The Contrast. Trying to
figure out which scene would work best with our revisioned working of the play
was rather complicated, as we wanted to be sure the scene was an important one
that showcased more than just one or two of the main characters. We didn’t want
a scene in which only Manly or Dimple was talking, as we wished to show a
modern interaction with multiple characters and how the characters’ attitudes
had shifted into something more modern and relatable but also stayed true to
their basic nature. Dimple will still be a jerk, just a modern jerk wearing
Converse.
We settled on
modernizing Act IV, most of Scene I. The scene is important because we have
four of our characters altogether: Dimple, Manly, Charlotte, and Marie (all
those who we plan to make costumes for.) In this scene, Charlotte prods Dimple
into telling the company what exactly he thinks about the local entertainments,
in particular the theater. Dimple, in predictable Dimple fashion, hates
everything and calls the theater “torture.” Manly responds in his usual
pro-’Murica way, saying that as children of America they must protect
themselves from seeing her in a bad light and work their hardest to correct any
faults they find while still being proud of their country. Our version of this
scene will be different but the same. We will rewrite it to reflect the modern
setting of the South (Dimple hates any attempt to produce theater by any
southern people, as Broadway is obviously so much better) while still keeping
true to the original idea (Manly says stick up for your homeland and don’t be
ashamed!)
Trailer:
The purpose of the
trailer is to add a visual backdrop to the modernized text. It sets the stage
for the modernized world as a whole. It will be created in the style of a
traditional movie trailer, focusing on a broad generalization of the modernized
story as a whole, rather than an individual scene. This will provide the
opportunity to summarize the play in a highly accessible medium, instead of a
close analysis of the text (which will be achieved through the written
modernization of a single scene). If the modern text focuses on an atom, the
trailer focuses on a continent, so to speak.
The
updated cast list will serve as a guideline for gathering useable clips.
Various scenes from movies and television shows will be spliced together using
a trial version of Sony Vegas Pro (PC's popular video editing tool). The audio
will be manipulated as well, and edited down into a 30-second to 1-minute-long
trailer. Depending on the availability of clips and ease of combining separate
movies and shows into a believable alternate narrative, a 30-second trailer
could take anywhere between 5 to 8 hours of solid work (not including gathering
the necessary clips).
Costumes/Clothing Choices:
Since we’re working with a modern cast in a modified setting, it only made sense to have an updated wardrobe. Instead of doing a redesign for all of the characters, we’ve decided to focus on the characters featured in the scene we are updating: Dimple, Maria, Manly, and Charlotte. Our hope is to show how the styles and fashions of these characters translate to not only a modern world but also to our version of it. The fashions/styles of the characters were an important point in the original text, and we want that to be reflected in our re-imagination as well.
Andrea Brys
Olivia Jolley
Whitney Stevens
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