Producing "Nunc Licet" as a Stage Play

"Nunc Licet" was written as one of my endeavors at period drama. Another piece I have is "Grael", a medieval romance originally titled MiLady. That project was specifically a story for film, but I may rewrite it as a novel.

Now "Nunc Licet" was originally the third act of 

"I Am Alpha and Omega", 

my Magnum opus theatrical presentation. I'm not sure what the status will be of that piece, but I do know that the missing third act, which became "Nunc Licet" will be replaced with an opera that is based on the Apocalypse.

So, "Nunc Licet" became a dramatic representation of the philosophy of the Emanuel Swedenborg founded in the Bible.

I can say that creating a social interaction with the characters that is based in some very complicated philosophical concerts was not easy. A big part of easing the burden on the mind in regard to the larger concepts has been creating a lighter and more playful sub-text, which is combined with blocking. I have found that few people who have read the play understand this concept. Some people cannot grasp the philosophy, while other are drawn to the philosophy and cannot brook with the superficiality of some of the subtext, or even dialogue, that was designed to distract the mind. They just don't get it. The only way to prove it viability as a play is to produce it as it is written.

You might say "Of course", however, that is not the case. Artists, being who they are, want to put in their two cents. I tried to allow for this in the worshops (there have been four) and the abrieviated staged reading, but that has been disasterous. From my point of view, I wanted to allow creative input, but then end result has been that the persons giving the input have been unable to see the bigger picture. I am not denigrating other people's input, rather, I am speaking the truth about the overall structure of the play. Moments in the play that seem superficial to one person, are intended to be a relief to another person in the audience.

Theatre is an art that deals with emotions and it should take the viewer on a roller coaster ride through an array of feelings. It doesn't have to be extreme, but it must be variable. Likewise the actions in the play must be justifiable and believable. 

In Nunc Licet, there are sections, maybe moments, maybe motivations that do need further development, but the material for that development is in the sub-text. That development is left to the actors to explore as they craft their character, based on the material set down in writing.

The script to Nunc Licet has inserted in it, motivations, blocking and business. In large part these are intended as a guide to develop the final craft. This must be understood when reading the script. I have found some actors resistant to these notes, somehow being insulted that I told them what to do. Too bad. I put those notes in there so that the written material contains as much of my vision as possible. Why? Because when I'm gone, I will have left the material with as much of my intent for the piece as possible, leaving little room for interpretation. If a future production chooses to ignore my intention, well there's nothing I can do about that. But if a future production wants to mount the show as I designed it, then they have that information.

I have worked on well over 350 shows. I have seen plenty of scripts that give little more than dialogue and a description of the setting, leaving it all up to the director and the artists to finish the play. That's all well and good, but what you end up with is a wide variety of versions of the play (assuming it's good enough to be produced multiple times) I wanted to avoid this. I wanted the script to define the production as much as possible, at least in writing. How the show is actually mounted is up to the production crew. For my part, I gave them as much information to work with as I could. That makes the script quite a bit longer.

I have versions of the script that have removed the blocking, business and motivational notes. That reduces the size of the script, but it does it a disservice. I also have edited out sections of action and dialogue to accommodate other person's desires in regard to the material. Doing this damaged the overall flow and broke up it's continuity. Yes it shortened the play, but I don't think it was worth it. I did this for the last staged reading.

Now I've come to the conclusion that I need to pay people to do the play exactly as written; No editing, no creative commentary about changing the story or the character relationships, just do it as written.

I expect that the next production will be for cameras and possible a test audience. I have been setting up a sound stage (which is stalled because of other work on The Gnomes of New Hope) and I may do that in my present location or I may wait, because I am considering relocating to the Pocono Mountains.

So there's an Update on Nunc Licet.

AG

12/20 Update

I have spoken to a few people about Nunc Licet over the past few years. As you can read in this blog, we attempted a presentation at the World Assembly in 2011. There were a few occurrences that took place which were... discouraging. At that time I needed to take a break. I determined that the next production effort needed to take place within the confines of employing the actors to do what they were told, not what they thought they should do. I have A LOT of production experience over the last forty-five years and I have found that volunteer theatre is not an arena that works for me. I won't go into why, suffice it to say I want to pay people to do what I tell them to do without argument or them believing they have a right to impose their opinion into the process.

So now I have a different approach to the play. It is my intention to produce the play in my studio. I have been setting up Image of the Mind Studios, Southampton location for a few years now. My work in the studio is primarily centered on publishing The Gnomes of New Hope Storybook series. All else is secondary until that is completed. 

Part of the studio facilities that is under development is a sound stage with a peanut gallery and a video control booth. So, in terms of Nunc Licet, I intend on building the show to go on that sound stage, which will allow for constructing a show for "little theatre" (16' stage depth x 20' procenium). The blocking on the show will be adapted for that space. If need be the stage size can be expanded to 30' x 20' by eliminating the wings and upstage crossover, but I don't think that will be necessary.

So my goal is to rehearse the show in the studio. I also am setting up a scene shop and costuming, so we can avail ourselves of those capabilities. I already have film, video and editing capabilities, and although they need to be upgraded, they will suffice for documentary purposes.

I will address this subject more later. AG

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Any use of these materials, in any way beyond reading, must be pursued in cooperation and by permission of the same, one; Arthur Greisiger, who is the Artistic Director and Proprietor of Image of the Mind Studios, located at 1325 Industrial Boulevard, Southampton PA 18966 email; image.of.the.mind.studios@gmail.com and may also be found on Facebook and LimkedIn.

A New Approach

A number of ideas have been posed regarding producing Nunc Licet. So that has gotten me thinking. I started a FaceBook page titled "Nunc Licet" with the intention for that to be a place for people who want to be involved to post ideas and discuss various things. These blogs are more for me to post updates than for any interaction the way FaceBook is. So that's a New direction in trying to mount a production.

As I have said elsewhere, the upcoming Assembly is a prime opportunity to mount a production of some sort.

At the last Assembly we conducted a reading, which was nice and very productive for advancing the show, but the next reading/workshop/production needs to be more extensive and include blocking and business. I am also very firm on the position that we need to perform the script as written without any changes (unless it is a glaring error to the anticipated result). The last reading resulted in chopping the daylights out of the script. I can't say I was happy about that. It was only done because if the limitations on time, space and personnel.

The next presentation needs to be documented with a multiple camera video shoot. I have older equipment and we can use that if necessary, although I'd rather upgrade. Depending on the budget, we may have to rent. We did film the last reading, but there are problems accessing the footage from that. The digital files seem to be impaired.

So for now, I am going through the script and changing the font to one that is easier to read when the script is posted on the web. The earlier font was nice and fancy, but not practical.

I guess I'll publish that version and put it up for sale to raise production funds. Hopefully that will work.

I made an effort to encourage a production thru community theatre, but that's not going to happen unless I raise the budget, which is exactly what I didn't want to have to do. So if anybody wants to jump in on the producing team, do let me know!

AG
image.of.the.mind.studios@gmail.com

A Film Version

Part of my plan is to set-up the green-screen in the studio for various purposes. I expect that stage to be a rehearsal stage as well. I had it in mind that we might install a set for "Nunc Licet" to produce a film version.

The truth is that the stage area is smaller than I'd like, but it could work. The plan that began to foment over 35 years ago, was to shoot the film at Cairncrest in Bryn Athyn. Stanley Rose was hot on that idea, in fact he is the one who suggested it. At that time, Carincrest was closed down and needed to be brought up to code. I've tossed that idea around for years and have thought about how to adapt the play for film.

Someone else made the effort to do a film adaptation of the play, but unfortunately it was without my participation or approval. I was distressed about that, so I never really studied her work. But from what she told me, she altered the premise of the relationship between two characters, which, although interesting, created an underlying deviousness that I found unacceptable.

Anyway, if we do build a producing team on this project, the theatre production needs to include documentary film and ultimately lead to a narrative film production. So the producing team needs to be committed to this degree.

AG

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