Play Analysis 4000 Miles - Report Example

Enter April 18 Part I: Play Analysis 4000 Miles The play under observation is 4000 Miles by Amy Herzo written in Oct 20, 2011 (Herzog, 2012). This dramatic comedy is Winner of 2012 Obie Award, Best New Play Winner, 2012, Winner of Time Magazines #1 Play Musical in 2012, New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award and many more (Herzog, 2012). I chose this play for analysis because of its wide range of popularity amongst its audience. I felt moved when I read this play. It is written in a light manner to deliver a grave message. The audience reaction to this play may vary; some might think there is nothing new to it while others would appreciate it. The play was based on generation gap with a young boy and his grandmother and their constant struggle to understand the differences they share along with the similarities. A young boy who just lost his friend in an accident finds comfort by Vera’s companionship. 4000 Miles gives the ability to the reader to connect himself with his time spent with some elderly. While reading it, I recalled some of the precious moments I spent with my grandmother. 1.1 Setting: The action of the play occurs in September of a recent year say 2007 (Herzog, 2013, pp.17). The play takes place in a spacious old decorated rented apartment in Greenwich. Books are the only decorative element found in the apartment (Herzog, 2013, pp.17). The ideology of the play is all about abridging the generation gap between the 91 year old granny and 21 year old grandson namely Vera and Leo. The political climate within the play is undertone. Vera has a more communist approach towards things whereas Leo possesses contemporary school of thought. In one of the dialogues Vera tells Leo that her mom was “disappointing” to her father in political terms therefore she and her daughter do not talk about politics. This shows the generation gap in political school of thought as well. Socio economic tone is evident by representation of aimless youth. This can be understood by Leo asking Vera for some money for wall climbing. The comment of Vera shows that Leo is out of money but instead of finding a job or minimizing his expenditure he wants to find a place for wall climbing and is ready to pay fifty dollars for it. He furthers tells his grandmother that he will return the money; “I’m expecting an influx in a couple of days so I could pay you back” (Herzog, 2013, pp.34). During this conversation it is revealed to the audience that Leo still takes money from his mother and is not serious towards working by himself. Herzog set the play in that time and play because she wanted to keep the focus of the play towards the relationship the grandson and grandmother share. 1.2 Dramatic Structure This play is different from most of the ones written on grandson and grandmother relationship. It has a very realistic approach towards the characters. Vera and Leo are not all the time pleasing one another. The grandmother keeps on making fun of Leo’s girlfriend by calling her chubby. The technological advancement was also shown in the play with Leo asking Vera whether she has a computer or not. Vera’s comment on the computer was that she has it but “they didn’t really show me what to do with it” (Herzog, 2013, pp.31). Leo convinces her grandmother that the use of computers is productive in nature by telling her that “it de-commodifies knowledge”. Demanding fifty dollars from a grandmother and the reaction of hers was also very natural. One fine morning Vera discloses her not so “satisfactory” sex life to Leo. The open discussion over expectations and realities of being into a relationship make them draw closer. This is the climax of the play where two people with a huge generation gap share such issues with one another. Minor characters catalyze the course of unfolding events in this play. Be it Leo’s up-to-date girlfriend Bec, her sister, Chinese girl who resembled her sister or his friend Micah, every minor character helps in the unfolding of events. 1.3 Meaning of the play 4000 miles brings a smile to my face when I think if my time spent with my grandmother. I t makes the viewer connect with his own emotional attachment with his grandparents. The themes which stand out in this play are parenting, life of an aged person compare to a young person’s life, reality of sexual and intimate life, carefree attitude towards future by both Vera and Leo. To me it was all about bonding of grandmother and grandson, neighbors taking care of one another by meeting just to know someone isn’t dead, discussion over handling complicated relationships and expectations and a “dual” character study. 4000 miles is a voyage to the life, expectations and understanding of a 21 year old mind and a 91 year old brain. In my opinion, the title means abridging the gap between generations and how to advance the world with love. 1.4 Thesis Statement Abridging the generation gap by breaking the communication barrier, spending time, sharing life experiences etc, one can help families and friends bond with much ease. 2. PART II For this part I have selected to be “Designer”. I have chosen this because it is the designer who gives life to the visual approach of the direction or playwright. If the designer fails to set the characters in the right colors, dress code, setting and ambiance the essence of the play is lost. Therefore, I chose to focus over “costume design” at large for 4000 miles. 2.1 Storyboarding and Research Taking the assumption that I am the costume designer for 4000 miles I would create a story board of what people wear at the time set in the play. This understanding can be created by reading the whole script and researching over magazines and newspapers for what people wore. The time set for the play is September of a recent year for assumption 2007 is taken under consideration. The set is of an apartment in Greenwich which is rented by Vera. The apartment is not redecorated since 1968. Season, description of character, keeping clothes in accordance with budget of the play and economic status of character, ease of clothing, fitting and choice of cloth used are all of great importance when it comes to costume design. A graphic artist and researcher can come in handy in this part. A graphic artist can help sketch vague character descriptions while a researcher can tell what kind of clothes were used at that time - the ins’ and out’s of fashion. In New York Septembers are marked with warmth, however, the evenings are cool. Therefore, one has to carry an umbrella, keep a body warmer be it sweater or jacket and have pair of closed shoes. It’s often likely to be on warmer side than cooler. Therefore, the costumes of the actors cannot be too airy. They have to be of a material which is not too thin to make them feel cold and not too thick to make them sweat. Comfort in dress design is the key to successful acting. The more comfortable an actor is the more good his acting will be. 2.2 Colors of the Play The play has a nostalgic feel to it. it makes the audience connect themselves with their relationship with their grandmothers. Therefore, the costumes cannot be loud. They should be something worn by the character and not a display of dress design skills. They cannot be royal gowns because the play is about an old woman and a young lad who try to connect with one another at an informal visit of grandson to a grandmother’s place. If we keep ourselves in the same situation, it is understandable that we will also visit our grandmother when we try to find peace or want to disconnect with the fast moving life. Also, we do not wear a lot of fancy clothes there because we try to feel at home at our grandma’s place. Leo is a young 21 year old lad who is carefree and high spirited. Costumes for Leo will have a contemporary touch. Men fashion of 2007; the year of the setting of the play; uses v neck shirts. The use of a cardigan is common in 2007 men fashion. Colors like black, gray, royal blue and brown common in fashion of 2007 should be used for Leo’s costumes. Costume design for Leo should include jeans, t-shirts and casual dress shirts to wear as cardigan over the t shirts. Vera’s character analysis tells us that she is an old lady of 91 years old and has more of a communist inclination. Her costume should be therefore of neutral colors with more of block repeated little flowers or little repeated patterns. She is however an independent lady therefore her costumes at time can have a streak of red but not a bright red, a little maroon tinge. The colors for Vera’s costumes will have gray, white, black, blue or maroon shades. 2.3 Physical Requirements of the play Costume fittings and illusion created by them should be given importance. The entry and exit points and the time consumed by each actor in changing clothes should be given importance by a dress designer. As a costume designer, I will keep loose fitting clothes for the old lady Vera so that she can change her clothes at the best speed without hassle. She can wear the same trousers with different shirts to make it easier for her to focus on acting rather than over changing clothes. Leo’s costumes should have more t shirts and casual dress shirts so that can change a shirt for everyday or once in two days representation of scenes. Provided by his age and youth he should be concerned about how he dresses. Moreover, he can change costumes at a faster pace than Vera and with much more ease. Audience has to see Vera and Leo the most throughout the play therefore if one of them is old then the other should help keep the attention of audience. Same costumes throughout the play would make it boring for the audience to see it with the same attention they began with. Therefore, inclusion of more costumes for Leo can help greatly. The casual shirt of Leo which he wears upon the t-shirt can be a one piece shirt i.e. it can be stitched as attached from inside yet giving the illusion of being two separate shirts. This can ease the actor in changing the costumes. 2.4 Design choices and the play My design choices for costumes are highly influenced by the play’s tempo and themes. The actors for whom I design costumes should get the feel of the characters of the play. They should be able to relate the costumes and the actors. For example the dress of Rebecca cannot be as plain as Vera. If the costume of Rebecca is kept simple, with small floral print and neutral colors then the actor will not be able to relate the character and the costume. For Rebecca, the dress has to be a little girly, with flares and short contemporary skirts with blouses of bright hue. The costumes of Vera should have lighter hues with small repeated designs as are suitable for women of her age. The costumes of Leo should be a like those of young boys, t-shirt, casual shirts and jeans. The costume of Leo’s girlfriend should be chick designs in playful magenta. The costumes of Leo’s friend should be like a young boy and somewhat like Leo but having different color scheme. 2.5 Stills of the play and analysis of costume design The costume designer of the play namely Kenny put a great effort in making sure that every scene and whatever the actors wear in it compliment the script (Herzog, 2013). He took into consideration the economic situation of the grandmother and Leo. Also, age, gender, health, quality of cloth, ease of change etc, were taken care of. The first still is taken from Broadway World.com (NewsDesk, 2011). The costume design of Vera is kept in pastel blue hue because of her age. The designer did not use a darker blue in order to keep the character alive through costume design. The costume of Leo is like a young hippy boy of 21 year age. He is wearing a double shirt with striped casual dress shirt over a black t-shirt which gives him the exact look of how his character is written by the writer. The second still shows the costume of Leo and his girlfriend (NewsDesk, 2011). The lingerie of Leo’s girlfriend is lacy and girly. Leo however wears a casual t shirt with plain 80% gray hue. The costume designer gives him the hippy look by his hairstyle and band around his neck. Other than costume, the set design also shows an apartment which has not been decorated since ages. It seems like an apartment of a person who is not very wealthy. The lighting of this scene is marvelous as well. The third still shoes the costume design of Leo as casual and hippy (NewsDesk, 2011). Inclusion of socks and band give him a young look. Vera wears a shirt which has small block repeat on it which is suitable for her age. Moreover, notice that the costume designer did not use any other tint or shade of red other than maroon for the old lady so that she stays in her character. Vera is independent but is not “hippy” therefore the feel of the character is taken under consideration. This scene has a beautiful lighting which depicts that both grandmother and grandson are having a good time and revealing their secrets to one another. The light is focused to their faces in order to give the actors maximum chance of showing their acting skills. The fourth still taken from News Desk (2011), shows the costume of Vera. It shows that the designer has taken care of the colors, fabric and size of the costume. The costume is not having a tight fitting allowing the old woman to feel the character and change with ease. The telephone is not cordless and is attached to the wall giving the look of a perfect grandmother’s home. Moreover, the checks on the shirt of Vera give her the exact look of the character we read in the play. 3. Conclusion 4000 miles is not a tale of generation gap like told by many other playwrights. Herzog made it a dramatic comedy so that people connect to it and yet enjoy the play. There are scenes in the play which are moving and which make one think about the connection of him as one of the actors. The true essence of a good play is that it is written in such a manner that audience does not get tired of watching it. Even simple subjects should be portrayed in such a manner that they keep the attention of the audience. It is very difficult to portray the grandmother and grandson relationship on stage. It is generally perceived as being too much boring by repeated dialogues and same scene like grandmother taking care of grandson and grandson eventually loving her grandmother for all she did for him. However, 4000 miles is an exception in this aspect. It portrays a very different and realistic kind of relationship with the grandmother. This play shows the generation gap and the different ways with which Leo and Vera connect with one another. It shows the generation duo. There is the personality of a 21 year old truly depicted and the personality of a 91 year old. The differences, similarities, problems and approaches to situations and problems are depicted in beautiful manner. I enjoyed reading this play and doing research over it. Abridging the generation gap is the soul of this play. Communication barrier can be broken by spending time and sharing life experiences. This makes families and friends bond stronger. When it comes to costume design I think Kenny did a great job in that respect. From color combination, fabric, comfort to the slightest detail of belt, vest etc were taken care of. The costume design, set design and masterly acting skills of the actors made this play a huge success. Works Cited: Herzog, Amy. 4000 Miles | Samuel French. 2012. Web. 18 April. 2014 Available at< http://www.samuelfrench.com/p/499/4000-miles > Herzog, Amy. 4000 Miles. NY: Oberon Books. 2013. Print. NewsDesk, BWW. Photo Flash: First Look at LCT3s 4000 MILES. Broadway World.com. 2011. Web. 19 April. 2014 Available at < http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo-Flash-First-Look-at-LCT3s-4000-MILES-20110610#.U1JY2KLHBSA > Read More