SHSU Dramaturgy Fudge 2009

The main problems with the production would have to be the audience understanding, the music, and the dancing. In order to fully understand the stand points of each of the characters, the audience would need a certain understand of the Shaker society and the time period. For example, why the elders are so firmly against Fanny seeing the angels because they believe that she is unworthy of the visions because she is not sworn into the Society. For many people, this may be confusing if they are not familiar with the culture. Also a part of Shaker culture is the religious dancing. Shakers are called “shakers” because of they’re twittering and shaking when they feel that the “spirit has overcome them”. Although this sounds simple it really is not. The shakers has distinct rhythms and motions that need to be present in order for the moments are accurate. Also the music that are associated with the play are particular. The text has specific lyrics. Unfortunately, the playwright did not provide a musical composition to accurately intone the meaning. Therefore, finding a specific musical composition of these hymns could become very difficult. Another issue with the finding of the music is that there may be different versions of one song.
SHSU would have a few issues involving this play. One would be the issue of age. The age group is as young as 14 or 15 years old to as old as 50 or 60. Izzy, the youngest, would need to look young in order for the audience to understand why when she ask to “sign the convent” she is denied because of her age. In the other extreme, Sister Hannah is the “eldress” of the family. This implies that she is quite old and should be seen as old. Costuming is also another issue for Sam Houston. Although the Sam Houston costuming is extensive, the time period has not been explored nor has the specific design of the Shaker women. The play is set in 1838 Pleasant Hill Kentucky. 1838 was a time in fashion where elaboration is the norm. Therefore, designing for this production would require extensive research. Space would be the final issue for Sam Houston. The question of whether the production would require the main stage, which has more space for the actors and a larger audience or the showcase that is smaller. With the main stage, set designing would be more elaborate and still have enough space for the actors’ movement. The alternative is the showcase theatre which gives the audience a more intimate feeling with the characters.
Fortunately, few of these problems have easy solutions. With the problem of audience understanding, a simple explanation of the time period in American history and basic facts about the Shaker society such as its origins, culture, and beliefs would give the audience enough understanding of the context for them to reason the character’s reactions and actions. One way to give the explanation would be to give a page of the play bill to the facts. Or, for a lower costing solution could be to present the explanation in the lobby. As the audience waits for the house to open or during intermission, they can glance at the presentation. With the SHSU problem of space, other presentation used a small space and used little set design. Shakers lived by simplicity so it would be understandable to simply have a chair or stool for the actor to move and use. Also, for the dance movements, the set would be cleared which can symbolize the importance of their religion and would also give the actors room to dance. For the problem of the dance sequences, for a primary source, one Shaker village remains in America in Sabbathday Lake, Maine. For a secondary source, there are multiple databases and journals that should give an idea of what the dance would look like.
From what has been research, there seems to not be any professional theatres that have produced this play. For the most part, it has been colleges and university producing it. Also when they do produce it, they present in as a repertory show and not as a main stage production. It is also gathered that not many people are reviewing this production. It was mostly advertized in newspapers and reviewed by the college website but the writers only summarized the production. Therefore, there were not critiquing the show but encouraging the local area to see it. But inferred by the advertisements, the directors conducted in heavy research in order for the production to be a success. Many of the writers commented on what the directors interpreted from the playwright, the culture, and the time period with many facts that could be followed up by individual research.