Production Thesis Concerning Direction Of Isn't It Romantic

Abstract

The stage lights fade to black while Liza Minnelli sings a final chorus of "New York, New York." The actors file offstage in the dark after their final curtain call with the audience still applauding. The time is 9:30 p.m. The date is February 21, 1988, the final performance of Wendy Wasserstein's Isn't It Romantic in the Carroll College Little Theatre. Finally, the director can rest. The road to this moment had been a rocky one, providing the director with many sleepless nights; directing a show, there are many tasks to be done. First, there is the play selection itself. This is a complicated step, for not only does the director want a script that she enjoys, but one that will please an audience as well. Also, the place the play will be held can persuade a director. At the Carroll College Little Theatre, one has to keep in mind the restrictions of set design and backstage space in a theatre so small. The play and the demands of the set have to conform to the unique structure of the theatre. Two plays were already selected for the 1987-88 season in the Little Theatre. The season opened with The Cherry Orchard, a classic by Anton Chekhov. The next was The Traveling Lady, a 1950's melodrama by Horton Foote. The season would then close with a musical tentatively, a play about the American game of baseball. A good modern comedy seemed a fitting complement as the fourth play of the season.