Boston Marriage Director on the Pre-Rehearsal Process

As a director, the pre-rehearsal process of working with the design team is always thrilling for me since I like to make things myself. Love to dream big, collaborate, finagle, manufacture, and find the perfect tool or solution for the job. And then, to go from an empty space onstage to a completely imagined world, location, room, well, that's essentially theatre. 

The place we're going to is Boston, shortly before WWI. It was called the Gilded Age in America, riffing on western Europe's Golden Age and following Le Belle Époque. It was a transitional time in the arts, politics, and equal rights. Think: Paris salons, Art Nouveau, the Titanic, Gibson girls on bikes, Irving Berlin, and Taft as president.


The designers and I agree that the two main characters in Mamet's play are trend setters, and as he says "women of fashion." We want to see and feel a sense of change in the era, and remember that these women are also wildly ahead of their time. At the very least, they are what some would call "free spirits." Janie, on scenery, and Rafael, on clothing, provided so many choices to start our process that we could have gone fully in several directions. We did however arrive at a look and feel of the time that is chic and modern, innovative and whimsical--all important elements for our comedy of manners. 

Whaddya think of these fabric choices for our newly decorated drawing room, which incidentally was the room for women? (Men apparently "parlayed" and smoked in the parlor.) We especially love the "girl fabric" for the hers and hers fainting sofas stage right!


-David Zoffoli

Boston Marriage: The Gilded Era

On Saturday July 17^th 2010 David Zoffoli wrote in an email to me “I'm directing a show at New Rep and hope you're interested and available to do it with me”. “Of course” I thought –David has been on my list of “must work with” directors and when I learned that the show was Boston Marriage –I had to make my schedule work. This is one of my favorite David Mamet’s plays!

Why is it one of my favorites? Before 1999, this Pulitzer winning playwright was identified as a “writer for men”, but with this play the myth was broken. It centers exclusively on women. It has witty dialogue, double entendres and period expressions that evoke the Victorian & Edwardian eras. Yet the play also has contemporary relevance in the way it explores the relationship of its protagonists. They experience the conflict, negotiation and reconciliation that could arise in any emotional and/or sexual association –especially when those involved want to hold onto a loved one.

Costume Sketch for Claire, Act I, Sc 1

To preview the costume designs go to the link below:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37166747@N00/sets/72157624458112087/show/

[Note: click on the lower right side arrow square for full screen]

How does this apply to costumes? The action takes place at a time when America was experiencing the  "Gilded Age" and "the Rational Dress Society” movement offered women options for less restrictive apparel. The main characters, Claire and Anna are extremely sophisticated and their dialogue reflects this. The vernacular in some of the lines is poetic; Claire refers to Anna’s offerings as a “bonne bouche to console” [bouchée: a small pastry with a sweet or savory filling], Anna dismisses Claire by asking her to “take her conge”. [conge: an unceremonious dismissal of someone]. In consultation with David I decided to combine the nuances in the words and the period research into design metaphors, exploring contrasting colors, sensuous textures and highly stylized shapes. My ultimate design goal is to endow the costumes with meaning and suggestions that reflect who these women are. They are eccentric trendsetters; they are also resourceful, sexy, and sophisticated innovators. They won’t shy away from sexual role-playing due to social convention; they’ll take on the world with finesse, smarts and beauty!

Designer Rafael Jaen discusses costume options with actress Jennie Israel.
"Jaen says: I find it best to start the collaboration early on in the process, to establish rapport --way before the fittings."

Posted by Rafael Jaen