Blocking

I have decided to split the stage in half, each one representing a different room at a different location with different people. I plan to do a blocking in which one side has a scene then the next scene is over on the other side of the stage. Each scene affects the next and this is how the story flows. 

 In the last scene I will be bringing in extra's to fill in as wedding guests. As well as that it is one big stage rather than two separate ones like it was in the previous 2 scenes.

Rehersal Plan

I plan to do a 4 week rehearsal plan

Week 1

• Monday: Get final contact detail from all members, give out scripts and do a read through 
• Tuesday: Do a read through, show actors the the ground plan and scenic design 
• Wednesday: No rehearsal
• Thursday: Read through, talk about actors ideas, try memorize lines for act 1 
• Friday: 2 read through act 1 with one person on book 
• Saturday: 2 read through act 1 with one person on book, share ideas for blocking 
• Sunday: No rehearsal

Week 2

• Monday: Read through act1, start blocking, no one on book
• Tuesday: Read through act 2, try memorize act 2
• Wednesday: No rehearsal
• Thursday:  Read through act 2, one person on book, blocking of act 1
• Friday: Read through act 2, one person on book, blocking of act 1
• Saturday: Start blocking of act 2 along with act 1
• Sunday: No rehearsal

Week 3

• Monday: Blocking of act 1 & 2
• Tuesday: Run though of act 1 & 2, one person on book
• Wednesday: Costume Fitting
• Thursday: 2 read trough of act 3
• Friday: Read through act 3, one person on book
• Saturday: Blocking of act 1&2&3
• Sunday: No rehearsal

Week 4

• Monday: Run through blocking of whole performance
• Tuesday: Address issues and work on those
• Wednesday: Run through blocking of whole performance
• Thursday: Run through with all costumes, sounds and lights
• Friday: Final rehearsal, Full run trough with everything
• Saturday: Performance

Casting

For Sir Raj I will need a man who is  in his 50's and about 5'10". He would also have to be Indian to fit the role. Perferable if he had a strong Indian accent.
For the role of Dave, I will need a man in his mid 20's to early 30's and need to be at least 5'10". He too needs to be Indian but can have either a British or Indian accent.
For Meagan I will need a woman who is in her 50's and about 5'6" -5'9". She needs to be British in order to fit the role
For Rebecca I will need a woman who is about 5'9" - 5'10". She too needs to be British to fit the role

I will also need 15 people to pose as wedding guests in the last scene, they can be anyone who can sit and pretend to listen and care about what is happening.

Lights and Sounds

For the lights, just simple white lights would be good. Except when its the wedding, there need to be lots of reds, oranges, yellows and pinks to show some festivities within the scene.

For sound cues, some simple transition music from scene to scene would be good because it would help it flow better. Also some sound would be used when an important thing happens within the scene.

Costumes and Props

For the characters i will need

• Glasses
• Mobile phones
• Wallets
• Jewelry
• Coffee Mugs
• Plates with food (restaurant scene)
• Wedding rings

For Sir Raj i chose:

For the wedding

For normal wear

For Dave I chose:

For normal wear

and also a suit like Sir Raj

For Meagan i chose

For the wedding

For normal wear

 

And for Rebecca I chose:

For normal wear

For the wedding

Ground Plan and Scenic Design

For Sir Raj and Dave's house I chose a simple Indian decor.

 For Meagan and Rebecca's home I chose a very typical Scottish house interior

For the first cafe scene with Dave and Rebecca i thought a starbucks would be a good place to have a first 'date'

For when Sir Raj and Meagan first meet a restaurant like this i found suited the characters.

This image is perfect for the wedding, you can see that its going to be busy, fun and filled with energy.

My ground plan does not work on this so it is saved to the desktop.

Type of Theatre

For this performance, there will be a lot of set and scenic elements so I will be needing a Proscenium style theater, it would also be better for the lighting and so forth because there is more space on stage to play around with the lights. It will also be needed because of the dancing and commotion there will be in the play. There for i would need a large stage.

Predominant Element

The predominant element in Blood Wedding would be the spectacle. I want the audience to be able to sit back and relax and not have to worry about trying to understand the main ideas of the play. The lights and sounds will have a big role in the play because they will signify when something important or funny is about to happen so the audience would have to anticipate what happens next.

Script Analysis

Where?
Blood Wedding is based in one of the most well know cities in the United Kingdom. Glasgow. One of the cities in the United Kingdom with the largest Indian populous. It has such a modern city vibe to it and also has alot of great places to set scenes in, the Buchanan Bus Station, CineMall, and other great location.

When?
This play is set in the modern day when arranged marriages are still about, maybe not as much as before but the tradition is alive none the less. If i placed it in modern time, the audience wont have to try and imagine what it was like in the past or even what the future would be like.The audience would just have to sit back and enjoy the show.

What?
Sir Raj is a successful Indian business who moved to Glasgow with his 14 year old son Dave after his wife left him for his business partner.  11 years later, Sir Raj wants his son to marry. After checking the local newspaper, he stumbles upon 28 year old Rebecca. He soon sets up a meeting with Rebecca's mother Meagan. After the two children Rebecca and Dave go out of their first arrange date, they talk about how their parents are both single. With that moment the children then set out to make the parents fall in love and get married seeing how Rebecca and Dave have no intent on marring one another. When they succeed in their goal the play ends with one big Indian with lots of music, lights and dancing

Who?
I have 4 main characters within my play.
First off, Sir Raj: He is a very successful Indian stock broker who's wife divorced him back in Mumbai.Since then he has become a very stern and stuck up person, who is using that as a defense so that he wont have to show how lonely he is.

Next I have Dave: Dave is Sir Raj's one and only son, he has just graduated from The University of Glasgow, and is about to start his medical career. He hates how his father has controlled his life and he hates that he is trying to make him marry against his will.

I then have Meagan:: Meagan is the widow of a multi-millionaire who died in a house fire 13 years ago. She is the mother of young Rebecca. Meagan also believes in the concept of arranged marriages and want Rebecca to marry.

And finally I have Rebecca: Rebecca is the rebellious one of the group. She does everything her mother tells her not to do and enjoys doing just that. Like Dave, she too hates how her mother wants her to marry someone she does not love, but mainly its because of her secret boyfriend who her mother knows nothing about.

Why?
This is mainly happening because the parents think they know that is best for the children, and want to make sure that they follow the life they want them to have.

The Pitch

Blood Wedding is a light hearted upbeat Bollywood style comedy. The play is about how two parents who try to force their children into an arranged marriage, end up falling in love. The traditional Sir Raj is trying to force his 25 year old son Dave to marry 28 year old Rebecca, the youngest daughter of Meagan.However through a twist, the children end up making the parents fall in love with each other.

This play will touch upon how traditional families still keep to the old ways of love, by not letting their children choose who to love, but the parents choosing that person for them. And also how the 'victims' of this manage to live with this. This play will make you think about what you would do in their situation, would you go with it and save yourself the trouble, or fight back and fight for how you really feel?

Blood Wedding is a play that will make your feet tap to the wonderful sounds of India, and make your stomach hurt with laughter. This is one the audience will remember.

Metaphor

The image says so much to me. This is how i saw my play going and this is how i wanted the final product to look like; fun, exciting, vibrant, all over the place yet beautiful. This image also has all the costume designs i could want. I really liked the overall energy you get from this image.

Initial Impression

When I first read this, the first thing that popped into my mind was an arranged marriage, but not an ordinary one. A Bollywood styled arranged marriage. I imagined lots of light, vibrant colors and lots of upbeat music that the audience would tap their feet along to. I wanted this play to be a weird and hilarious and something that would be talked about after you leave the theatre.

I also see lots of Indian and Western influences in the play. So there will also be that comfortable element within all the chaos and excitement of the Indian background.

The characters would have a whole whirlwind of emotions, sadness, joy, excitement, love and hatred.