Saintleo FAS110 Module 3 Discussion Latest 2018 January

FAS110 Living the Theatre

Module 3 Discussion

The Director

Directors are
responsible for every aspect of the performance, from the theme to the
conceptual design, to the pacing and rhythm of dialogue, language and music, to
the costumes, set designs, blocking, acting, etc. They are responsible for
interpreting what the playwright is trying to convey through the actor(s) and ultimately
to the audience.

The director is an
architect, because he creates a blue print, a foundation from which all other
aspects of the theatrical performance is built upon.

Can you think of a
production, (whether on stage and/or on screen) where the vision and concept of
the director challenges us to think about story, theater and/or performance in
a new and different way? For example, in Schindler’s List, the entire movie is
presented using Eastman’s Black and White film. The only splash of color is the
red coat worn by a young Jewish
girl (no more than 4 or 5 years old) who
walks abandoned and seemingly alone (though surrounded by hundreds) during the
liquidation of the ghetto in Krakow, Poland during WWII.

Here is an image from
that scene:Image result for Schindler’s List color of film black and white

Here is the clip from
the movie. I believe this is the inciting incident, the moment of
transformation/awareness for the movie’s hero Oskar Schindler, a member of the
Nazi Party, who at the end of this journey saved thousands of Jews, (ultimately
millions) with the preceding generations, from concentration camps, particularly
the death camp at Auschwitz.

Later in the movie, Oskar Schindler sees the
red coat being discarded along with other personal items of the deceased. It is
then that he comes to the realization the little girl he saw walking alone in
the ghetto is dead.

The Black and White
film set a tone and created a feeling. The red coat that the little girl wore,
also could be perceived as the inciting incident in the screenplay, where at
that particular critical moment, the hero (Oskar Schindler) began to have a
true conscious awareness about what was going on and began to have a change of
heart and transformation (the hero’s journey).

Steven Spielberg won
an Oscar (his first) for Best Director that year.

Select a director that
has done something entirely unique and groundbreaking in the theater and or
film industry and convey why you have selected him or her for your discussion.
Use examples from a production he or she has directed and elaborate upon their
body of work. Expound upon how their vision and artistic direction has changed,
challenged and or has elevated the world of art.

I selected Steven
Spielberg because of his extraordinary talent, particularly in Schindler’s
List, which in my opinion, is one of the greatest historical dramas about the
Holocaust and WWII ever made. I discovered this interview with Steven
Spielberg, where he discusses the historical reality and truth behind Oskar
Schindler and the Holocaust. During the interview, a substantial amount of
information is provided about the making of the film. For example, how he was
able to maintain a sense of composure, and stability, despite the graphic
images and horrific atrocities that he had to capture and record on film. Also,
during the interview, he discusses the Little Girl in the Red Coat, whom Oskar
Schindler actually witnessed during the liquidation of the Jewish ghetto in
Krakow, Poland. A truth and sad reality that Steven Spielberg captured so
brilliantly in this extraordinary film.

The entire interview
is approximately nine minutes, and twenty four seconds in length, but in my
opinion, well worth the time, if you respect this director and his work. During
the interview he states that in his opinion, Schindler’s List is his greatest
work of all, not only because of the film, but even more so for the educational
foundation and survivor project that he created after the movie was completed.

Steven Spielberg
winning the Oscar, Clint Eastwood is the presenter!