extra credit guidelines for a tale of two cities

8/8/2019 Extra Credit Guidelines for a Tale of Two Cities

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Extra Credit Guidelines for A Tale of Two Cities

There are two ways to receive extra credit for attending A Tale of Two Cities. The first is toshow up. Those who attend and stay for the entire performance (which Im sure you all will do)

will receive 10 extra credit points.

To receive up to an additional 40 extra credit points, you need to write a two-three page response

to the production. (That means a minimum of two full pages.) As you watch the performance,

think about what its strongest points; what makes the most impression on you, moves you,intrigues you, etc. You may also be struck by weaknesses in the production. Your response paper

discusses those strengths and weaknesses, if any, and how they contribute (or detract) from the

overall experience of the play. The elements you discuss may include stage design, music, a

particular song, an actor or a character, lighting, etc.

The specifics are as follows:

Papers are due the last day of class, but I encourage you write them as soon as possibleafter you see the play.

2-3 pages, meaning a minimum of 2 pages

Typed, 12 point Times New Roman font, 1 margins all around, double-spaced.

No use of first or second person point of view. That means no I, me, we, you, yours, etc.

You can still write an opinionated response paper without these words. Heres anexample:

Instead of: I felt the most moving part of A Tale of Two Cities was the final scene.

Try this: The final scene of A Tale of Two Cities was by far the most moving.

THE ARTSTony-winning designer crafts novel set for 'Tale of Two Cities'By JAY HANDELMAN

[email protected] the Asolo Repertory Theatre is filled with Broadway veterans,the biggest star involved with the world premiere of "A Tale of TwoCities" will not be seen by audiences.

He is scenic designer Tony Walton, who has taken audiences to allsorts of places in a career that includes numerous movies, dozens ofBroadway shows and 16 Tony Award nominations, of which he wonthree.

Since his first hit, "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum"in 1962, Walton has worked on some of the most prominent Broadway


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shows of the past 40 years, including "Pippin," the original "Chicago,""Sophisticated Ladies" and "I'm Not Rappaport," and widely praisedrevivals of "Anything Goes," "The Front Page," "The House of BlueLeaves," "Guys and Dolls" and "Our Town."

He also has been an art or production designer and costume designerfor numerous films, including "Mary Poppins," "Murder on the OrientExpress," "The Wiz"" and "All That Jazz," for which he won an AcademyAward.

Walton, who marked his 73rd birthday on Wednesday, said he is "semi-retired" from scenic and costume design for Broadway while hefocuses on directing in regional theaters. But he was intrigued by thechallenge of creating a set for Jill Santoriello's musical version of theCharles Dickens novel, which places a lot of demands on a set

designer.

With a series of six movable, two-level steel towers, candelabras andcurtains that drop from the rafters, and other pieces that come in fromthe wings, Walton has designed a set that takes audiences through 46scenes. They shift from banks and streets to the Defarge wine shop,elegant homes and regal courtrooms.

"He's something of a genius," said Michael Donald Edwards, the Asolo'sproducing artistic director and director of the musical that may move

to Broadway after its Asolo run ends Nov. 18.

Choreographer Warren Carlyle said Walton's set is like a character inthe show in the way it moves around the stage.

Walton has been through the Broadway tryout routine enough times tohave been wary before entering the fray again. "Too often, the realproblem is that the money isn't there until the last possible minute,and you don't get a real go-ahead until you should have finished yourwork."

But with "A Tale of Two Cities," he had a financial commitment fromproducers Barbara Russell and Ron Sharpe; he had the connection tothe Asolo Scenic Studio, which built the set; and he had history, theinspiration of a famous novel and his favorite part: research.


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"One of the things that's most fun in this line of work is the research,"Walton said during an interview in the theater while stage crews werebusy installing parts of his set. "Probably the best time you have is re-reading the book."

Part Bard, part prison

Walton's scaffolding-like design was inspired by the skeletons ofWilliam Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and the Bastille, the famous Parisprison that factors into the story.

"They're almost the same shape. It's very peculiar," Walton said. "Istarted thinking about it and wasn't quite sure where it was headed.But with 46 scenes, three times as many as some major musicals, Irealized it needs to move almost like a movie or like a Shakespearean

play.

"That's one of the reasons we started with the Globe. I wanted to tapinto the little engine that drove Shakespearean productions. And thenthe fact that we could make it do double duty as the Bastille."

He came up with a color scheme that represents Paris in red andLondon in blue to help audiences keep track of where each scene istaking place.

"The story required so many scenes and different spaces, and weneeded to do something to tell the story as simply as possible," hesaid.

The set was built at the Asolo Scenic Studios in a warehouse area offU.S. 301. The shop hired extra carpenters, craftsmen and painters tobuild the designs.

"We're probably double to triple our normal staff to accomplish thework," said David Ferguson, the theater's technical director.

Sharpe and Walton both said they were impressed with the work doneby the Asolo shop. Modifications may be needed depending on whichtheater will house the show on Broadway.

Putting it together


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About two weeks before previews began, large pieces of crisscrossingmetal lay resting on tables and saw horses. Once fully assembled, theywould provide the support for ship masts that were being painted byartists using brushes connected to long bamboo poles.

Nearby, prop master Rick Alley was looking over the large, horselesscarriage he created. It is used in two key scenes, including oneinvolving a Marquis. With a quick change of decorative color, it laterbecomes someone else's carriage.

To make sure the other members of the creative team were clear onwhat his designs would look like, Walton created painted renderingsand a scale model of the set with a miniature carriage, tables andother props.

While many set designs move via high-tech computerized wizardry,Walton's tiered set pieces will be moved by hand by actors andcostumed crew members. "It's a better fit for the style and period ofthe show," he said.

Despite the old-school approach, Walton said his work habits havechanged over the years.

"After a few years of starting to draw the minute I read the script withrushes of visual imagery and what the director was imagining, I try to

absorb the script now as if it were a radio play," he said.

Curiously, while he has worked as a scenic and costume designer, thefirst thing he sees in those images is lighting. "I'm trying to work on ablack space and picture light and what it is showing. The lighting iscrucial."

The lighting designer for "Tale" is an old friend, Richard Pilbrow,founder and chairman emeritus of Theatre Projects Consultants. Headvised the Asolo when it bought and moved the Dunfermline Opera

House from Scotland to the FSU Center for the Performing Arts inSarasota. Pilbrow and Walton have worked together on severalBroadway projects.

Walton said he has lured Pilbrow back to lighting from his consultingwork on several occasions, and this time, he knows that he made hiswork a little more difficult.


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"This sort of skeletal cage is kind of a nightmare to light. You don'twant to light it all at the same time, and you have to give it differentlives in different positions," he said. "It is alive, in its way."

THE ARTS'A Tale of Two Cities' impresses, but could be more compellingBy JAY HANDELMAN

[email protected] Santoriello's musical version of Charles Dickens' "A Tale of TwoCities" brings a touch of Broadway to Sarasota.

The musical, which had its world premiere this weekend at the AsoloRepertory Theatre, features a large cast of singing actors who

embellish their strong characterizations with often-glorious voices.

They are costumed by David Zinn and lit by Richard Pilbrow insumptuous hues that amplify their character's lots in life. And theyperform on a multi-part, two-tiered set by Tony Walton that shifts fromthe Bastille and blood-soaked streets in Paris to stately homes andcourtrooms in London with a graceful elegance.

It has all been briskly and efficiently directed by Michael DonaldEdwards (the Asolo's producing artistic director), with impressive

musical staging by Warren Carlyle, that keeps the cast constantly onthe move and in character.

All their work gives an extra layer of gloss to a show that will impressbut still needs work to make it more dramatically and emotionallycompelling, mostly in the first act.

Santoriello, who will make her Broadway debut if the show opens inNew York later this season as planned, has written the book, music andlyrics. She has rearranged Dickens story in some ways, combined

characters and eliminated a relationship here and there.

But her version tells the story of the dawning of the French Revolutionin the late 18th century, the rise of the peasants against richaristocrats who are dispatched to the guillotine, and a love story thatgets drawn into the bloody conflict.


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Santoriello's biggest change is focusing on the character of SydneyCarton, the melancholy drunk who discovers a reason for his life withthe biggest sacrifice a man can make.

She also has built up the love triangle involving Sydney, the beautiful

Lucie Manette and the French aristocrat Charles Darnay, whorenounced his title when he left Paris, but gets dragged back oncharges.

Santoriello has crafted some pretty melodies and a couple of comicpatter songs, which are moving or fun and sometimes superfluous (likea tune about grave robbers, which doesn't aid the story).

The songs take on a grander scale when they're sung by people withvoices like James Barbour, who plays Sydney. His rich baritone infuses

every bit of whimsy, despair, hope and desire in the bitter "Reflection"and the tender "I Can't Recall." He captures your heart with his voiceand his acting skills.

But he's not alone. Natalie Toro, as the vengeful Madame Defarge,another expanded role from the novel, brings brute force and power to"Out of Sight, Out of Mind," and "The Tale," which explains thebitterness she has been waiting years to unleash. Jessica Rush is thepicture of a young ingenue with a sweet voice to match as Lucie, andDerek Keeling is dashing as Charles.

Nick Wyman as the dastardly John Barsad brings a touch of comicrelief, as does Katherine McGrath as the heart-warming and sarcasticMiss Pross, Lucie's caretaker.

There is much to praise about the show, and it certainly will impressAsolo audiences. But it needs more punch before it is ready forBroadway.

extra credit guidelines for a tale of two cities

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