This project was a staged reading of an August Strindberg play which was translated and adapted by Ulrika Brand. The performance took place in the main reception area of a private office building. The project was limited by the constraints of the space, which was long and narrow, the lighting, which was the existing architectural lighting and some additional photography lamps, and by budget. Some simple furniture groupings were used to designate different locations for the action in the play while projections were used to augment the stage environment. The play’s story involved actors, a photographer and a screenwriter trying to “make-it” in Hollywood. During the course of the play there were philosophical discussions about the nature of crime as well as some actual criminal accusations. Often in the conversations between characters, other characters were mentioned and inferences made. The projections became the “ghosts” of those characters not present in the scene. The images of the characters were presented as mug shots/head shots, making a relationship to the criminal mug shot or the head shots of aspiring actors. The projections also allowed for changing the sizes of the portraits or the zooming in on a facial detail. This recalls the ability to zoom in and out on faces that can be done with film, thus bringing the Hollywood film setting of the play into the action in a visual manner.
staged reading directed by Ulrika Brand