Jitney essays

Jitney essays The off-Broadway show Jitney is based on a dramatic play, written by August Wilson. The production is held at the Union Square Theater. The house has a very pleasant, cozy and warm atmosphere. The structure of the small theater and its thrust stage successfully achieves intimacy. It also creates a bond between the actors and the audience, enabling the audience to relate to the characters feelings and emotions. In other words, the house was perfectly chosen for the production. The production was created very cost efficiently; at least the set was. It accomplished that by using a constant set throughout the entire show. The design of the set was very simple and consisted of inexpensive props that were on stage from the beginning to the end. Characters brought small props on to the stage, like a cup of coffee, a magazine, even a gun. But that wasnt enough of visual stimulation. Watching the same settings for two and a half hour can make the spectator very tired and bored. I cant say that the set didnt serve the productions purpose, but it could have been better. In order to keep the spectators interested and capture their absolute attention, a variety of visual stimuli have to be introduced into the production. The constant set and lack of visual effects made the show dull and less exciting than it could have been. The show tried to introduce some kind of change to the set, by the use of lighting. Donald Holder, the lighting designer succeeded in achieving the perception of change from day to night and sunrise to sunset. But his greater accomplishment was the setting of the light in a certain way to establish the mood of the scene. As in the scene where Youngblood went to sleep on the sofa of the jitney station, the red-hot lights that illuminated the set, portrayed a feeling of resentment and anger. The costume designer, Susan Hilferty also did a remarkable job designing the costu ...