As a director, how would you stage the printed extract from your chosen set play in order to bring out your interpretation of it for an audience?
Your answers should include justified suggestions for the director of your cast and for the design of the piece as appropriate to the style of the play and to your creative overview of it.
A View from the Bridge is a naturalist play written by Arthur Miller in 1955. It follows the Carbone family as they welcome two illegal immigrants into their home while they work to make money for their families back in Italy. However, the head of the household, Eddie doesn’t take a liking to one of the immigrants, Rodolpho. As Rodolpho and Eddie’s niece, Catherine get closer and closer it angers Eddie. This anger ultimately leads to his dead. The play deals with themes such as love, family and honour.
In this extract, Catherine and Rodolpho have returned from seeing a film to Eddie waiting for them in the street. Eddie discussed Catherine’s relationship with Rodolpho with her and towards the end of the exact brings up the fact that Rodolpho may only want to be in a relationship with her for his American citizenship. While directing this scene, my intensions would be for the audience to feel sympathy for Eddie and a sadness for Catherine. As well as this, I would also want them to feel a new unease towards Rodolpho as this will be the first time the audience will see that Rodolpho may have ulterior motives for his relationship with Catherine.
I would stage this play on a proscenium stage as I would want the audience to feel like they are a fly on the wall in the Carbone household. This would really help with the naturalism of the play. Downstage right is where I would have the phone box located which is used at the end of the play. I would have the phone box glow brighter and brighter throughout the play until the scene in which it is used where it will be fully lit. As Eddie steps into the phone box, I would have the light go from a white spot to a red one to forewarn the audience of what the phone call will lead to. As this extract is near the beginning of the play, the phone box will be dimly lit and barely visible to the audience. Downstage left I would have Alferi’s office which will be lit by a desk lamp. I would have this light remain on for the course of the play in order to show the audience that the narrator is always present. This light will also remind the audience that what they are seeing has already happened and they are being shown the story by Alferi. The Carbone’s apartment would be very bare and have a musky feel to it. The furniture would be worn out and the walls cracked. This will be to show the poverty of the Carbone’s and to show the audience how people in Brooklyn would have lived in the 50’s. As this scene takes place in the street, I would have spot lights going along the front of the stage to give the illusion of street lights. This would not only show that the characters are in the street but how late Catherine and Rodolpho are getting back as it is night time. The audience will be able to understand Eddie’s worry for Catherine as she is out at night time with a boy she has just met.
The extract starts with Rodolpho’s line of “I would like to go to Broadway once, Eddie”. While he says this, I would have Eddie standing on the steps leading up the apartment while Rodolpho and Catherine are standing on the street so they both have to look up to Eddie when speaking to him. This will show the power difference between all of the characters. The position on the stairs will also represent Rodolpho’s struggle to get acceptance from Eddie. That fact he is at the bottom of the stairs, looking up shows that he has barely any respect from Eddie. Rodolpho also walks down the street in Miller’s stage direction “He walks off down the street” instead of going up the stairs into the apartment after Eddie asks him to “Go inside, will you?” which will reinforce that he is not equal to Eddie because he cannot stand on the same step as him. However, the fact that he walks down the street instead of going inside like Eddie says will also show the audience that Rodolpho is not obedient and can’t follow a simple instruction. This could help the audience in feeling sympathy for Eddie and understanding his feelings towards Rodolpho.
Once Rodolpho has exited the stage and Catherine asks “Why don’t you talk to him, Eddie?” I would have Eddie walk down the stairs and stand with Catherine in the street. I would do this to show that Eddie wants to be on the same level as Catherine in the scene and have a serious conversation with her instead of just talking or shouting at her like he usually does. I believe that this scene shows an emotional side to the character of Eddie and the audience gets to see a vulnerable side of him. This part of the scene will show this perfectly especially with Miller’s stage direction “enveloping her with his eyes”. Through this small gesture, the audience will be able to see the pain in Eddie’s eyes and how Catherine is really breaking his heart. I would have Catherine smile and let out a small laugh when she says the line “I don’t talk to you?” Miller includes a direction “She hits his arm” after this. I would have Catherine laugh as the fact she hits him is very playful. I would want to show the audience how naïve Catherine is to the situation and that she has no idea how she is making Eddie feel. Through this extract, I believe her realisation that she has been upsetting Eddie will make the audience feel a sadness for her because she didn’t realise what she was doing. The audience gets to also see her childish nativity through lines such as “You mad at me?” and “What’re you got against him? I don’t understand. He only blesses you”. After this realisation, I would have Catherine look away from Eddie, not being able to make eye contact with him. I would have her look down at her dress, playing with the ends while they talk like children do when they are in trouble.
Towards the end of the scene, Eddie lets his thoughts be known to Catherine when he says “Katie, he’s only bowin’ to his passport.” As soon as he says the word “passport, I would have the phone box glow noticeable brighter to show the audience that what he has just said has effected his future. I would have Eddie getting very frustrated before he says this line when Catherine is saying things like “No, Eddie, he’s got all kinds of respect for me.” I would have Eddie look away quickly, stroke the bottom half of his face with anger and then deliver the line while looking back at Catherine making eye contact with her. Once he has said it, I would have Catherine respond very quickly with “His passport!” with a questioning tone as if to imply that what Eddie has just said is completely ridiculous. I believe this will again show the audience Catherine’s nativity but also her love for Rodolpho as this thought has never even crossed her mine. I would have Eddie deliver his next line of “That’s right. He married you he’s got the right to be an American citizen” slowly, taking his time sounding very monotone as though he is reading from a script. This will show the audience that he has been thinking this for a long time and the thought has been in his mind for a while and he is finally letting Catherine know. When Catherine says “Oh, no, Eddie, I don’t think so” she would look very distressed and pained with a tear running down her face to show how hurt she is. As soon as Eddie sees this, I would have him take Catherine in his arms while he says “You don’t think so! Katie, you’re gonna make me cry here”. I would have him hold Catherine tight as she cries into his chest. This will show the audience that although Catherine’s relationship with Rodolpho is testing her relationship with Eddie, he will still always be there for her when she needs him.