Editing the Script

I've been reviewing the script for "Nunc Licet". As it turns out, I am clarifying some of the text, adding blocking and business to areas not so well defined, and eliminating some text and or actions that I think interfere with the flow.

It's funny how this round of refinement is going so well. I guess that is due, in part, to my changing life's perspective, probably some of the responses I got from previous workshops, and from looking at this with a bit more of a cinematic eye, but still primarily theatrical.

I found that other people have conveyed their opinions about changes, but it's clear to me that those opinions are not founded in a solid understanding of the material. Most people skip over the staging instructions and draw their conclusions from the text. There are very subtle emotional and motivational elements that build up to create the drama from the minor text, in terms of both dialogue and staging notes. Inferences in the dialogue and business are critical, while the blocking (including the asides) crafts the dimension of the piece.

There is a limited amount of space on the stage, therefore, especially in a piece with many complexities and a wide swath of characters, it is important to create definitions of time and space that give the piece greater dimension. That is the purpose of, not only asides, but also segmenting the character relationships with an assortment of intimate moments both in the present sense and with an inferred historical sub-text.

More on this later. AG

Script Review

I have been reviewing the script for "Nunc Licet" again. This time from more of a director/writer rather than a writer/technician/director perspective.

I'm amazed at some of the subtle changes I'm making. I'm not altering it from a need to cull it, rather I am clarifying some of the dialogue and action. I'm reevaluating the blocking and sub-plot. Mostly I want to gain a clearer vision of the sub-plot that is manifest by the women. Most of the dialogue was given to the men. I did try to shift some over to the women, but the challenging nature of some of the text does not sit well with the feminine mindset, so I have mostly wanted the feminine elements to paint a backdrop for the maculine meanerings in the abstract ideology. I'd rather paint a picture of the feminine being a stable foundation upon which the masculine intellectual fantasies rest. I see that as being present more in the sub-plot, with only and occasional foray into the immediate action and dialogue of the piece.

The main objective is to make a proposition and then to offer challenge and support of that proposition, thus building a foundation for the larger propositions that rest on those resolutions. You see, the larger propositions must rest on a foundation before they are put forth, otherwise they become absurd.

That is the whole point of "Nunc Licet", to establish a premise upon which certain "unheard of" concepts/ premises can rest.

This allows us to proceed into a whole array of other dramatic circumstances that are conveyed in the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. Without establishing that foundation, it is, irresponsible, to attempt addressing those circumstances dramatically.

That is the point.

AG

Most recent thoughts about NL

I've sent out some inquiries about Nunc Licet and producing it for the 2020 Assembly in June, when people from around the world will be in Bryn Athyn.

Well, one of the things I have said is that my interest is to focus only on the directing aspect of producing the show.

I have to confess that producing work is also taking place, but I have been reviewing the script from a director's point of view.

I have found that there are blocking and performance items which were not considered before. In all probability I will transfer those notes over to the next revision of the script.

I want to convey that I have included a plethoria of technical notes in the script, under the presumption that future persons will attempt to produce the show (after I'm gone) and will want to know what my intention, as the writer, was for the production of the show.

Being a theatre technician for many years, I came across some very scant scripts, which basically gave no idea what the writer intended, other than what could be presumed. I wanted to eliminate the presumption for future generations. I think George Bernard Shaw made a comment in that regard that struck home with me.

Anyway, I'm encouraged to shift my attention away from producing on this show and over to the real job of directing. I have no delusions about my abilities as a director, but clearly, I have the most familiarity with this piece and can, without a doubt, offer the most pragmatic approach to bringing the vision of this show to the stage.

So in this regard; the last effort was a reading " script-in-hand". It was a heavily edited version of the script. In that regard, I was not very satisfied with what we presented, but I know we were limited in terms of time and we were not able to present the show as intended. We "were not able" for a variety of reasons, but I do not want to attempt a reading under the conditions we were faced with the last time we presented the play.

I am convinced that the show " as written" works. And after further review, I am even more certain if that. The only variable factor there is the audience's span of attention.

I do believe that; that variable was taken into account when structuring both the text and the blocking, but more than that; the sub-text.

During the last reading, we were not able to address sub-text, let alone craft it's a backdrop to the action or the text delivery. So I am anxious to have the  dictates to freedom to craft those elements that are written into the script. In fact, I have to say, I am unwilling to advance into a production effort without the freedom to craft the performances, without the constraints of time limitations or the imposition of external dictates to edit the script.

As I have said, I think that, on average, a two hour sho is tolerable, but I don't know just how long it takes to deliver the due text with the appropriate pauses, music and blocking. I need to find that out, by directing a fully cast and blocked reading, at the very least.

I'll continue these thoughts later.

AG