Thursday, April 12, 2012

Stage Conventions v. Subject Matter

Siobhan A. Leandro
Literature
12th/04/12

The dramatic appeal of the play depends primarily on the playwright’s use of the stage conventions. The subject matter hardly matters. Using ‘An Echo in the Bone’ and ‘The Winter’s Tale’ discuss the extent to which you agree with the statement.

Stage conventions are “the grammar of the theatre. They are the rules that govern a play's composition. There are conventions of language and movement; conventional character types, conventions of theme; conventions of form; conventions of staging, design, and costumes even conventions regarding the relationship of the audience to the stage.” W. Corrigan (1992). The CAPE Literature syllabus highlights “costume, lighting, sound effects, movement, (stage motion, entrance, exit), stage position (centre-stage, up stage, down stage) backdrops and props” as examples of stage conventions.
Through the application of this definition in the dramas “An Echo in the Bone” and “The Winter’s Tale”, the readers can assume, prima facie, that stage conventions do indeed play a fundamental role in the dramatic appeal in the play. However, where such conventions are depended upon primarily to the extent in which the content or subject matter ‘hardly matters’ could not ever be the case. Examining this statement through the texts will be essential in drawing illustrations as to the importance of content over convention.
In Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale”, as a matter of fact, in most any drama, sound effect is paramount in the delivery of the performance; “cheap sounds pull an audience out of the realism of the experience”. The believability factor must be present in order to evoke any sort of response from the viewer or reader.
Accordingly, throughout “The Winter’s Tale”, as described in several reviews of both the play and the motion picture and as witnessed by reading the book, song and orchestral themes as sound effects has been instrumental in the appeal of the drama. In the book itself, the reader becomes indulged by Autylocus’ songs such as “When Daffodils begin to peer” and “Lawn as White as Driven Snow” (IV.iii.79 and 103). The songs establish a connection with the audience/ readers which would ultimately have the effect of lightening the mood and setting a responsive atmosphere.
Moreover, Time, the chorus in “The Winter’s Tale” assumes the position of a stage convention as he awkwardly bridges the gap between the past and present in which sixteen years have elapsed. Although it has disregarded the theatrical convention of the dramatic unities of time, place and action, he states that it is not a ‘crime’ but rather, a tribute to the process of regeneration. This demands the attention of the audience/readers through the thirty-two rhymed couplets.
 Similarly, in “An Echo in the Bone”, Dennis Scott utilizes props and lighting as his vantage point. In the very beginning of the play, the reader notices the words [blackness], [turns the lamp down], [the moonlight silhouettes her], the dimness and brightness of the scene portrays one of two things to the audience:
1.      It is day or night, dark or bright or
2.      That the lighting design is of bad quality
Obviously, the former is what the directors and playwrights aim for when the production of the play is put forward and viewed. The audience also wants to understand the setting, that is, whether the setting in time is in the day or night or whether the setting in place is in a place without electricity. This has its dramatic appeal in that it would set the mood for the entire play since sight is the first sense used in this situation.
            Furthermore, the props such as hurricane lantern, cheese, bottle of white rum and a drum serve the greater purpose of contributing to the realism of the play. Without this factor, many persons would lose interest because ‘it is too staged’.
            However, plot has been more substantial than mere stage conventions. In “The Winter’s Tale” characters portray a heart-wrenching story of a jealous man accusing his wife of cuckoldry resulting in the death of several characters, only to find out that she was innocent. Then providing a happy ending, in which, Leontes’ wife is revived, his daughter is found, his friends return and everyone is off to be wed. Whilst, in “An Echo In the Bone” the plot takes us through history to the murder and death of Mr. Charles and the eventual suicide of Crew during a wake ceremony. The plot engages the reader on an emotional journey in which they meet new characters and face new trials and tribulations, a journey in which stage conventions could not possibly lead.
            Therefore, although convention does have some degree of importance, it is by far outweighed by the plot. Think of it this way, in the Shakespearean Era, a time when theatre was huge, there was hardly any stage conventions other than the miniscule costumes and props. The playwright relied on the plot rather than the performance to convey an emotional impact of the character and appraisal from the audience. This ideal has continued to modern day, as even now audiences and readers look for climax, conflict, foreshadowing, diction and other elements to spark their interest.