Production Concept Statement Paper of A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen

A dolls House when being played on stage by a group of actors, various themes that affect the society are revealed. The question why this play now, can be answered in the 1960 to 1970s context, where, strong women in the society were trying to fight for their rights and justice. Henrik uses some characters like Nora who portrays a true character of a feminist in various instances of the play. Nora, in one of the instances of the play, slums the door in front of her husband telling her off after she expected him to support her but instead he did not. She refuses to stay with him anymore and to call him her husband. A feminist in a society can be any woman or female who advocates for her rights as well as those for other people. Nora plays a character of such kind of a woman in the society. The script, play and song writers have a massive impact on bringing out the acceptable moral lessons in a given community. Brockett & Oscar (pg. 78) describe that a message is clearly conveyed through music or plays as compared to other means of disseminating the message. In the 1960s to 1970s, the plight of women in America was set to take a new turn following the American feminist movement that was fueled by how women were perceived in the society

A Doll's House is, therefore, was relevant play in the 1960s and 1970s since it helped to bring out Cleary the role and plight of women in the American society to the target audience. It is evident that this play has been played in many theatres since it was scripted and produced. Through the acting, the audience is able to understand the different roles of each character and determine the goals of the director and the play writer in coming up with such a play. The play was therefore necessary for production during that period of time as it also supported the women in their advocacy for justice and equity. Through the characters like Nora, the audience could clearly understand why men have been unfair to their women in the society. The play also justifies the reasons for such revolution movements where feminist who know their rights fight without tiring on their behalf and others. Henrik Ibsen also brings out a theme of freedom and liberation through the same character, Nora. This is as well relevant with this period as most communities were fighting for their rights and equity as well in America. Even though not widely pronounced, a theme of freedom portrays itself when Nora decides to walk out of her husband to go and be independent. Such themes in the play make the production more relevant during the period of the 1960s to 1970s in the American societies.

Looking deeper into the play as the characters perform their roles, many more themes alongside the theme of feminism and the plight of women in the society are determined. Other themes like freedom, a sacrificial responsibility of women, parental obligations and religion are determined as the play goes on. Nora being able to sacrifice severally for instance by leaving her children alone with the house help and a husband is a form of sacrifice. This makes the play more relevant to the community and engineers its need for production.

Any play should have a theme referred to as a tag line that is captivating and relevant to the plot and gives the audience an urge to view the play. Looking at the major themes revealed during this play, the most appropriate tag line should be the one that tends to cover all the turn of events. Nora slums the door as she walks out of her husband and family, is appropriate for a tag line in this play as it catches the attention of the perceived audience.

After writing a play and characterized on stage by different characters, a clear picture is formed on the audiences mind and is able to imagine how the characters intercut as the plays go on. Any play presented according to Brockett & Oscar, (pg. 97), chooses its costumes based on the particular theme or message and plot that the play revolves around. The theme in this study revolves around professionals thus a modern custom should be applied for example men putting on descent suits while female characters put on descent dresses to bring out the professionalism. Torvald who has been given a job in the bank recently is expected to be in an official clad like a shirt and trouser since it is expected from the professionals in any professional environment. This thus gives a clear picture of the costumes to be used during the play. According to this play, any audience can say that the world with which the plot of the play revolves around is a modern professional world since professional terms like doctor and banker are mentioned in the play. This as well helps in creating a professional picture of the costumes of the characters. Doctors are expected to put on aprons while bankers are always in ties and suits. A clear picture of the world and costumes is therefore drawn to the audience or readers by the play. Alongside the professional terms used, it can also be derived from the words spoken like applying for a loan and going for a trip that the plot revolves around a modern world (Brockett & Oscar, pg. 90).

When producing this play, the lights should be changing to show differences in the various locations, for instance, it is always bright in a living room thus when Nora and her husband are speaking, a bright light should be used to symbolize this. Sounds should be changing when acting to bring out different expressions and emotions in a play, for example, a high tone when Nora and her husband are quarreling. Using varying lighting, sounds and background effects help convey a certain message and put emphasis as well when the characters are speaking. Tonal variation brings out a clear difference of turn of events in the paly. Facial expressions and visual aids help in making the message clearer to the audience. Characters who engage the audience also keep them lively and monotony is broken during the play.

The main aspects of directing this play will be based on the kind of stage that will be used. In order to bring out the theme of this play, the most appropriate theatre should a traditional proscenium stage where the audience is seated on one side of a hall while the other space is left for the stage set up and the players preparation. This kind of theatre is appropriate since the stage can be set up to bring out any form of picture relevant to the play. For this particular play, for instance, the stage can be set up with chairs and all the characters that characterize a living room where Nora and Torvald communicate. A traditional proscenium stage is normally enclosed thus bringing up the best idea of the places where the plot of the play revolved around. The play was majorly in a sitting room or a hospital thus this kind of theatre will be the most appropriate. This kind of space is as well the best since it provides a perfect room for interaction between the audience and the characters on stage. Communication will be easy and the characters will be audible as well.

Different characters during the play represent different people in the script of the play. Some of the major roles in the play during the acting include Noras, Torvald, Krogstad and the doctor. These characters require the most captivating, interesting and creative actors. Lupita Nyongo, an Oscar award-winning actor is one of the best-known actors today in playing a role of strong women in the society. When selecting actors, I can prefer Lupita to play the role of Nora since she can be very aggressive and resistive while playing this character. Her ability is well revealed in the movies she has acted playing such roles, for instance, the film; Thirty Years a Slave. Chris rock, on the other hand, can play a role of Torvald since he is always ignorant and least considers the feelings of others. Since he is comical well, he can be entertaining to the audience to break the monotony even though the play is not comical. I would prefer other actors as well regardless of their colors in order to bring out the theme of unity and togetherness in the American societies as well.

Observing this play one is able to determine that the characters used are intended to promote some important information to the audience being targeted. Today, the world is still facing same challenges it used to face in the previous decades even though not as pronounced as there were in the previous years. Factors like racism, gender imbalance, and a quest for independence still are heard in the American societies and across the world as well. This play thus is still relevant even today and therefore should be funded for it to be produced and be played in various theatres in the country to bring out the plight of women in the society.

It is just to produce a play that will have a positive impact on the society. Looking at the various themes in the play, the main factors brought about like freedom: where Nora slums the door and leaves her family due to lack of support from her husband are some of the reasons as to why this play should be produced. Various parts of this play truly advocate for the women sacrifices and their roles in families that are not appreciated. Nora takes a loan in order to cater for the medical bills which the husband does not appreciate at all. Such instances make the play more relevant in terms of lessons that the community should be taught about. It thus gives a necessity of production for this play. There are some areas still, where women are now appreciated and treated badly by their husbands for instance which should be advocated against. Through this play and many more plays relevant to this, the actors can be able to fight such issues that face societies. It is thus important that this play is funded and produced to advocate more for the female rights and justice in the society.

Images

Source: https://www.pinterest.com, 2017

Above is an image showing strong women in the earlier decades in the USA who were the pioneers of the feminism movements fighting for the rights of women. This picture is relevant in terms of theme and periodization of the play.

Source: http://pixabay.comThis is a picture of a lady who is strong, loving, caring and sacrificial as represented by the things she is carrying. This reveals how women, especially mothers in any society are, thus plight of women in the society.

From the above concept paper, it is observable that play is a very important form of art that helps in passing a certain message to the society. The main aim a play is produced in order to promote morality and proper social norms in the society. Various aspects of a play like a stage, the costumes, sound, and lighting are important to any form of play to enhance the message being conveyed.

References

Brockett, Oscar G., et al. The essential theatre. Cengage Learning, 2016.

Ibsen, Henrik, and Non Worrall. A Doll's House play preview. A&C Black, 2008.