FAS110 Module 3 Discussion (January 2018)

FAS 110 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!