Download A View From The Bridge Proposal

‘A View From The Bridge’
By Arthur Miller
Director- Josh Finan
Stage Manager- Essie Barrow
Producer- Amy Wells
The Team!
Josh- Hello! Since my first week in Sheffield, SuTCo has been the most important and
enjoyable aspect of my university life. have played King Lear, Starkey in Peter Pan and
appeared in several radio plays, including Intimate Exchanges, Cinderella: Reloaded, and The
Wizard of Oz. I also played Willmore in The Rover, a collaborative project between Sheffield
Theatres and The School of English. I worked closely with a professional director during the
rehearsal process and learnt a great deal about bringing a play to life. My future plans
include attending NSDF and NYT this summer, and beginning work as the SuTCo Archivist.
combined with my previous achievements and future ventures, I am confident I will have
the skills to be a good director.
I absolutely adore this play. Enjoying it during my A Level Theatre Studies gave me a great
insight into characterisation and staging requirements. I have a clear vision concerning these
matters and I know exactly what effect I want them to have on the audience. I would relish
sharing my passion for this play with actors and designers, and feel that everyone involved
would benefit from being part of team with great ideas for this wonderful play.
Essie- I’ve been involved in SuTCo from my very first week at University, being cast as the
part of Oswald in King Lear. My other acting role this year was in the School of English
production of The Rover where I played Hellena. I also became involved in the Platform
Festival committee as a member of the artistic team, where I gained a valuable insight into
the organisation involved in putting together a large event, a skill that I believe is essential in
managing a SuTCo play.
As a 1st year English and Theatre student, I have been given all the basic training vital for the
role of Stage Manager, however, as I have no real experience I know that I have much to
learn! Therefore, I have arranged a training session with Eddie from the Drama Studio, along
with a chat about all design aspects that would be involved in our production of ‘A View
From the Bridge’. I am also acting as DSM for the 2rd year dissertation performances next
week and will therefore receive a more thorough training from Rob for that. As you can see,
I may not have as much Stage Management experience as some, but I am willing and SO
excited to learn!
Amy- Hello, my name is Amy and I am a first year English and Theatre student. Having
recently acted in The Rover I may be a familiar face to some you. I am extremely excited
about finally becoming involved with SuTCo and hope to make A View from the Bridge a
roaring success. I spent a few years prior to University gaining theatre experience and
training. This included Stage Managing for a touring theatre company, a year of acting
training and three month placement teaching theatre in Nepal. I am committed to all
projects I undertake, whilst choosing to take a methodical and creative approach to my
work.
We’re all very good friends, and have worked closely in a theatrical environment before.
During The Rover it was quickly realised that we share the same enthusiasm for theatre and
we are adamant that we can work cohesively as a team to produce an amazing show.
Synopsis
Miller’s modern tragedy centres on the Carbone family, Italian Americans from a tightly-knit
immigrant community in Brooklyn. The play’s protagonist, Eddie Carbone is an honest, hardworking man with sound moral principles. He lives modestly with his wife Beatrice and her
niece Catherine. However, upon the arrival of Beatrice’s cousins, Marco and Rodolpho: two
illegal immigrants from Italy, Eddie begins to loose grip on his sense of morality. Rodolpho
falls in love with Catherine, and she in turn begins to mature, thus distancing herself from
Eddie. He slides in to a jealous rage which unearths his quasi-incestuous feelings for
Catherine and culminates in his breaking of the law of omerta, the cultural code by which
his community live by. He informs the authorities of the presence of the Italians, and by
doing so becomes totally ostracized by his neighbours. Eddie, desperate to regain “his
name” confronts Marco (the chief rebutter of Eddie’s disloyalty), the consequences of which
are catastrophic.
Characters
The play has 7 male parts, 3 female parts and 4 parts that are not gender specific.
Alfieri- Alfieri is Miller’s answer to the Chorus of Greek tragedies. He acts as a medium
between the audience and the cast, so it is crucial that he affects a good relationship with
the former. Alfieri has a lot of lines but his characterisation is left largely down to the actor,
thus making playing him an exciting challenge indeed.
Eddie- In my opinion, one of the greatest tragic heroes in literature. A man who, despite his
status as a good man, falls victim to an inherent tragic flaw. It is important that he is initially
presented as a wholeheartedly good and likeable character in order to make the audience
care for him even in the throngs of his jealous rampage. Eddie’s downward emotional spiral
will be a challenge to an actor: the transition needs to be steady and believable. As director I
would want to work very closely with the actor playing Eddie to identify points in the text
where Eddie’s character starts deteriorating. We would then explore the effects that this
has on Eddie himself, the surrounding characters and the audience. Eddie is middle aged,
and it will be a challenge for an actor to play a character older than himself. There is also
ample opportunity to portray a range of emotions, as his character is so deep.
Beatrice- Beatrice is a middle-aged, Italian woman, living in a society where her life is
ultimately determined by the will of her husband. It will provide the actress portraying her
an incredibly interesting and rewarding experience to experiment with a character so far
removed from her own. She is a dedicated wife to Eddie and an ample maternal figure for
her late sister’s daughter Catherine. Her relationship with her husband is troubled: she and
Eddie have not slept together in months. The deterioration of their sexual relationship is a
result of Eddie’s growing attraction to Catherine. This has a dramatic effect on the
relationship between her and Eddie, and her and Catherine. There are so many ways that
her position can be explored by an actress and there is potential for a lot of creativity on her
part in constructing the character.
Catherine- Beatrice’s niece. Catherine utterly adores Eddie. At the beginning of the play she
has nothing but respect for him. However, she is both naïve and unconscious of his ulterior
feelings for her: a combination that causes problems later in the script. The biggest
challenge for an actress playing Catherine is nailing the transition from a naïve girl to a
mature young woman.
Marco- Beatrice’s Italian cousin. Marco’s personality has been tainted by the circumstances
of his immensely difficult upbringing. He was raised in extreme poverty, and, as such, takes
everything in life as a gift. He is honoured and incredibly grateful to Eddie for harbouring
him in a time of great need. Physically powerful, Marco has incredible stage presence.
Family and honour are of paramount importance to Marco; he sends his wife regular sums
of money and is confident of her fidelity. When Eddie essentially condemns his family to
poverty and death by calling immigration., Marco takes it as the ultimate dishonour and
betrayal
Rodolpho- Marco’s younger brother. Probably the most fun to play out of the male
characters, but in no way two-dimensional. His reason for travelling to America is not to
provide for his family, but to search for the American Dream. He is captivated by the
flashing lights, hubbub, and prosperity of New York. He is a stark contrast to his brother,
both physically and characteristically. He is blonde, energetic, and in some ways flamboyant.
He sings, sows, and dances, much to the disgust of Eddie who is convinced he “ain’t right”.
Louis and Mike- Eddie’s work pals. Eddie’s friends from work. Despite their small roles they
are incredibly fun, with lots of comic potential.
Tony- A dockworker who delivers the immigrants to the Carbone household. Tony, amongst
others, will comprise the chorus (representatives of the neighbourhood).
Mr and Mrs Lipari- The butcher and his wife. A proud Italian American family, also housing
immigrants. Again, these two actors will make up the chorus in appropriate scenes.
First and Second Officer- The immigration officers who arrest Marco and Rodolpho. The
characters will be male, but can be played by either male or female actors. They will also
double up as members of the neighbourhood throughout the play.
Artistic and Technical Ideas
The play takes place in three locations: Eddie’s apartment, Alfieri’s office and the street. The diagram
below shows how we hope to include all three areas in the same set, to ensure the play runs
smoothly, without any messy scene changes and blackouts. Using rostra, we will create levels for
the different locations in a hierarchical fashion with the law office above Eddie’s apartment and the
street down below.
We have some big ideas for this set, but we would need to work with a set designer to develop them
further and make them a reality. This set has the potential to be visually stunning. We will work to
achieve this is by making the set as realistic as possible. Although realism can often be expensive to
fund, the 1950s isn’t too difficult a period to dress, and with Eddie’s apartment described in the text
as ‘sparse’, we do not believe that this would be too much of a challenge. We would aim to borrow
almost all of the furniture and props.
Lighting- The lighting in the piece would primarily be used to help focus the audience’s attention on
the area of the stage where the action is taking place, showing the definition between the three
locations. In addition, we would use a light throughout that highlights the phone box in order to
emphasise it’s threatening presence and ominously hint at what is to come. We would work with a
lighting designer to develop our ideas and create an atmosphere that supports the action.
Sound- We will look to compose a short piece of music to play over Alfieri’s final speech but
the other sound effects will be in the form of foghorns, and other such noises to convey the
dockyard setting. The music for the song ‘Paper Doll’ that Rodolpho and Catherine dance to
will also be implemented in the soundscape.
Admin
Week Preference- Our preferred week slots are either week four or week eight. If we had
week four, we would cast the play before summer thereby giving actors an entire summer
to learn lines. This would leave us with four weeks at the beginning of term to thoroughly
explore the extensive nature of the characters and their relationships to each other. It
would also give us time to gather the many props and materials which would comprise the
set. Week eight would give us eight weeks to achieve the aforementioned necessities but
would also give freshers the opportunity to audition. As three freshers ourselves, we
understand the wonderful impact SuTCo can have on first years and are keen to impart that!
Rights- We have e-mailed Methuen Drama for a quote on the rights but as of yet we have
had no response. Hopefully we’ll be able to let you know later this week!
Publicity and Sponsorship- Arthur Miller is a world-renowned playwright, and A View From
the Bridge is definitely one of his most popular, attracting audiences of all ages even to this
day. It is studied on both A Level and GCSE curriculums which would attract schools, and
students who remember it from their English or Drama lessons way back when! Josh has
already contacted his old school and a posse from the Wirral have assured us of their
attendance should the play go through! Since A View From the Bridge is very much an
actor’s piece, we will strive to get this across in our publicity campaign. The dramatic
intensity of the play can be used as a selling point by staging extracts of the play in the union
or city centre- advertising the show for those who, perhaps, are unaware of it. We hope to
achieve sponsorship from Italian restaurants to keep the themes of the play well and truly
alive. A few cheeky Italian themed socials may well be in order too!
Why this would be good for SuTCo
A View From the Bridge is a beautiful play, and would be a fantastic SuTCo play because of
how much it offers every person involved. The characters are so skilfully constructed, each
one developing in different ways throughout the piece. But the real joy is in their
relationship with each other. But the real joy is in their relationship with each other. The
way they interact differently with each other provides a truly magnificent spectacle. This will
provide brilliant fun for SuTCo’s extremely talented actors!
One of the play’s beauties is its believability. The audience grows to care for these
character’s stories due to the sheer realism of the piece. The tech-side of the production is a
vital component in helping to achieve this. There will plenty of opportunities for people
skilled in the tech-side of production to get involved. We will need set designers, lighting
designers and sound designers.
Finally, this play offers so much to an audience. Miller is a big name and this play attracts
wide audiences who are never disappointed. This show would be a powerful addition to
what will surely be a thrilling SuTCo season.
Woo!