[MHoward]

HELP!!! I am a first time director trying to do Godspell. I have done the show several times as an actor. I have been working on a "vision" and keep coming up with these very "unconventional" ideas of the show.

1. First, I want the show to feel "improvised". I am thinking about having the cast work on team building and improv excersices for a big chunk of the rehearsal schedule. Am I naive to think that the lines and blocking will come naturally once the cast works as a single unit?

2. I want to get away from the young twenty something stereotype of the show. I am thinking about casting mostly 30-40 somethings. Will they just look rediculous doing the parable?

3. How much can I change a show before it is not the same show? I am Catholic and want to bring in a lot of heavy imagery and visual iconoclastic images, i.e. lots of still lifes and vignettes etc.

4. Any kool ideas on the crucifiction? I do not want to do the arms tied to a fence with ribbon thing... I think it looks stupid.

5. How about the ressurection? Any new ideas? I was thinking about a blackout and then a spot with a live white dove let loose in the theater? This could be a disaster???

Any thoughts would be GREATLY appreciated![color=red][/color]

[Fogeyman]

[recantha]

1. I would say that the most important thing to do is to make sure your actors spend a LOT of time together. It's more about getting them to be telepathic with one another, rather than getting them to hone their improv skills.

2. We had ages from 17-40, it doesn't matter - they just all need to have energy. Energy energy energy. The show lives or dies on it.

3. Fogeyman's right - the show isn't about religion. However, if you have strong beliefs (I do and I've just finished directing it) then you should let that colour your vision of the show. It's got to have some creative direction (because the script certainly doesn't help!), although I would personally stay away from anything that's too 'produced' or 'polished'. It's supposed to have a 'we made it up during rehearsal' feeling, rather than a big broadway spectacular feel. Having said that, we had rock-concert lighting in ours, but that was carefully designed into the show. The show _is_ about community, but in a sense it's about the formation of the Church - that's certainly what Jesus is alluding to after the make-up comes off during the Last Supper. Plus - the central character is Jesus. If you're having him come across as a fictional character, then that's missing the point.

4. Crucifixion - we had a multi-level steeldeck set with a ladder going from 3ft level to 8ft level. We crucified him on that. Take a look at
http://www.recantha.co.uk/godspellphotos/gallery24.html to see it. I also had two people facing upstage with the arms out to simulate the other two people who were crucified. Of course, I had a cast of 48, so plenty of people to spare.

6. The dove is a disaster waiting to happen... that's even if the theatre will allow it. I had a resurrection, because I firmly believed that if you were telling the story of Jesus then what was the point (and where was the Hope) if you didn't finish the gospel of Matthew off and have him rise from the dead. I felt it totally in keeping as a) the show is based on Matthew anyway and b) it's based on the central story of the Christian faith, so why short-change the audience (or the cast for that matter!) We laid him down (after carrying him off the cross) and then had him rise and touch Herb on the shoulder just before he sang 'Prepare Ye the way...'. Oh... we also had a light at foot-level so that it lit Jesus from above as he stood up and moved forward... Kind of eerie!

--
Mike Horne[/quote]

[drakesmainer]

I think that new ideas are great for this show..and its format is perfect for an improv. vibe...as far as age ranges go we had 10-16 so I think older or younger works...as for a resurection-there is none in the show - at least not a ,anmdatory one but If you want it I say by all means go for it

[Hortonhearsawho]

hey guys I haventy posted in a while but i like helping poeple out so....
1) having an improvised "feel" and being totally unscripted are different things, let your cast create and build their puns and play offs before the show happens and keep the good ones loose the bad ones (as a director let them know what works and what sucks) Discourage them from constantly changing their lines other wise your whole cast will be lost.

2) The reason many people choose the "20 something cast" is because of energy levels and not being afraid to look silly , if you have an older energetic crowd , do it , but dont let the show become overly serious, or mature, I suggest doing a mixed crowd, making some cast older (maybe herb, lamar sonja or joanne) and some younger (robin , jeffery gilmer ) others im not sure it would make a differance (peggy john/judas jesus) or however you see the character but with a mixed age cast you offer more levels for the audience to relate with

3) the true point of christianity is love , forgiveness and community. focussing on imagery and icons may take alot of the message away while people focus more on these then the messages being delivered.

4)we had jesus cruicified on staging which had been on the stage the whole time , people had played , danced and sang on it and it was like taking something so innocent and good and turning it into something disasterous

5)after the cruicifiction people took down the body and placed it in a culvrent pipe which ran off stage, this represented the tomb , our jesus would then crawl outthe back and while our cast was singing long live god he burst through the back door and ran up to meet them , being our resurrection , very moving , still simplistic like the show and their wasnt a dry eye. don't do the bird thing , it will never be predictable, it (or someone else) may get hurt, and the effect , which may seem powerful, may be so distracting it will ruin the rest of your show . it may seem like a good idea but it seems that bad out ways good.

what are you thinking about your costume concept??

[MHoward]

[/b]Thank you all so much for all of the feedback! I have found each and every one of them useful. sooo-

1. There will be NO DOVE... might have been a good idea but as many of you pointed out... who wants to go to the theatre and be shat apon?

2. I have another idea for part of the resurrection scene... Have the diciples take Christ from the cross and do a "pieta" still life. Then have a young girl come from the audience (wherever) dressed in white slowly and innocently singing Long Live God... then one by one the other members of the show will start to understand the whole point of the show. After she begins, other cast members get it and join in to the crescendo to Prepare Ye... have cast lift Jesus and exit on their shoulders and then blackout... silence... and then have Jesus appear on stage with a backlight, arms out stretched... then blackout... up for Day By Day curtain call. Any ideas?

3. An idea of the crucificion... Have Jesus beaten and have him carry the cross (or the cross beam) Re-enact the stations of the Cross (maybe 3-4 of the 14). The Scourging, Laying of the Crown of Thorns, Christ Falls the First time, Veronica gives Christ water and finish with the actual crucifiction of Christ as written in the script. Use the fermatas that are already written in the score for actual nails being driven into a peice of wood, giving the iillusion of the crucifiction actually happening. These ideas would be possible only if I put repeats in the original music of the crucufiction, allowing time for the stations of the cross. I would do this in a stylized way... obvious it would only give the impression. Maybe using lighting and special effects to give the overall feel I am looking for. I want the audience to understand the agony of the event. Kinda like evoking the catharsis one feels after watching Mel Gibson's Passion of Christ.

4. I am having a blank when it comes to costumes... I just know that I don't want the whole clown and tie dye thing. Perhaps Jesus is stripped during the crucifiction. He would wear some sort of loin cloth only. Or shredded pants or something in that line. Actually, I would rather spend my budget on lighting, effects and set than costumes.

5. Another idea in terms of casting- How about an African American Jesus? I even bring this up because the theatre is in a small town in Virginia. This might ruffle a few feathers, but what the hell. I want the cast to be as diverse as possible. I know I will have at least one asian woman in the show. Also, some of the cast members will be quite older than the original. I have none man who is 62. He would be perfect in some of the parables. I understand that this would limit the level of dancing .. but I would rather show the audience the building of the community, not catchy dance moves. ]

I really appreciate all the replys so far. I have real enthusiasm for this show and look frward to any and all comments. I do not necessarily agree with all of them, but that is what is so nice with this forum!

The other thing, please do not take me for some crazed religious fanatic. I want to appeal to the audience without being too preachy. The show will go up Palm Sunday weekend and run through Easter. I want to capture the Church groups as the timing works out super for Godspell.

Again, thanks for all your help!

[recantha]

[g'spell-newbie]

Have to weigh in on this stuff.

First -- the "improve" feel is good, but only if your cast is capable. That's the feel we have with ours, yet, it's very scripted. Does that make sense? What I mean is we have set lines -- but there are lines that may be thrown in as the show progresses, if a mistake is made, something. We can do that because we've been doing the show for more than 2 years now. We did the whole team building thing for the first 2-3 months of rehearsals. We also rehearsed for almost 6 months before we even put the show up. Don't know if you have time.

As far as staging for the "improve" feel. We know when we're supposed to be up-stage, down-stage etc. But we're rarely in the same place. It was more of a "be here, take a level, clump -- no straight line". Now we just move well together as a group.

Ages -- we claim to be the oldest group doing Godspell The youngest from our original cast was our Jesus (just turned 36?) and the oldest is over 50. Energy is key (as someone else stated) and that's how we pull it off. Also, very kid-like in our "playfulness". That also helps.

As far as some of the images you want to use -- it really sounds more complicated than what this show requires. You might want to pin-point what it is you want to get across. Godspell IS about community (I'm saying this as a cast member who takes the show to CHURCHES all around our community). If you muddle the message with so much imagry, you'll lose your audience. The thought of some of the stations of the cross, while it sounds beautiful, would take the show in a different direction. It takes it away from Jesus and his relationship to these random people who come to realize who he is, and have bonded with eachother to carry the message on, to what Jesus goes through. Too much and not Godspell. Plus, this is a part of the show that's emotionally heavy as it is, I don't know how much more you want your audience to go through.

I know how powerful The Passion was for many people, but one of the comments we got from a pastor at one of the churches where we performed -- and it was the comment that's meant the most to me -- was that our production of Godspell made him feel the way he WISHED he would have felt after The Passion -- full of hope, love for his neighbor, the ability to build that community. The Passion made some people question their faith, question God, left them feeling pained and angry, or drained. I'm not saying those are bad things, just somewhat counter to Godspell's ending message.

As for ressurection -- go for it, that's more a personal thing. For our cast, presenting Godspell in churches, it's imperative. Ours is a very simple cruxifiction and ressurection. Three male cast members serve as the cross, backs to audience. After he dies, a lone female in our cast begins "long live God" as we all file behind her past Jesus on the cross. The guys who are the cross join us and basically we all "block" him on as he comes off the cross, changes his blue Superman shirt into something a little more "celestial". Jesus begins the "Prepare Ye", not us and that's how we know he's ready for us to reveal he has risen. It's very effective and there's rarely a dry eye in the house.

Sorry this is so long winded. I just think you have juxtaposing ideas of simplicity and complexity and they may not work well to pull this show off.

If you have any other questions, PM me and I'll be happy to answer.

[what_the_heck013]

If you want to go for "images" and such, I saw a production in which the set was comprised of several screens. On those screens different images were projected. Chairs and crates and stuff filled the rest of the stage. The only problem in doing this is that it made it seem very music video-esque.

ANd by the way, cast a black Jesus. WHo cares? Jesus was a "fine upstanding black man".

EDIT: One note. In that production I mentioned above, the entire show was very colorful. As Jesus was dying, the colors slowly started to fade away and the lighting became bleak and minimal. The screens featured fuziness or black. Then they took Jesus off from the cross and put him wherever. Then the lights blacked out all together. Finally to represent Jesus' ressurrection in a sneaky and subtle way, all the lights came back up to their bright and beautiful fullness for the bows.

Also: don't make the cast too big. Just use the 10 or however many.

[IntoTheSpotlight]

Our director had everything general blocked out before the start of the rehearsals. As we became more and more used to her ideas, we added little ad libs, lines, actions etc. of our own, and we were able to develop our characters around her blocking ideas by asking ourselves how our character would react to a situation given to us. By the show, the characters seemed so natural because they all had personal touches, yet their reactions, for me, were portrayed a lot more genuinely than they would have been had we predetermined the situations ourselves.

And for costumes, our costume designer came to rehearsals to see how the characters would develop, and based the costumes around that. For example, one cast member in our cast wore a yellow tee shirt with coloured spots sewn on, and I wore a red tee shirt that sort of resembled a football shirt, with a white lightning bolt on the front and the number 23 on the back.

Hope that helps.

IntoTheSpotlight

[superdave]

I dont know, I really want to direct this show, I want to be in this show, but I dont know, if I will get to or not.

I dont think you should do the improvised thing, it will look sloppy inlest people are really good at it.

Age shouldnt matter in casting. Although, my production is going to have young people do it.

Crucifixtion?- Well I think the fence is awesome. I LOVE IT. It defines Godspell... I have no suggestions there-- I think in my production (depends on how much of a budget I have to work with) I am going to have projectors behind the fence that will be flashing colors, and images, and that sort of thing, during the show. And after the Crucifixtion, I envisoned, there just be static. And soft white light, I also want to the fence to be on a high platform, so when the cast unties them they lay him of the platform, he goes down, does a quick costume change to just a white T-shirt- and come out at the tempo change...I think that would consitute as a good ressurection. I have problems with my spirit, if Jesus is not raised from the dead...sorry.

[Baker]

[what_the_heck013]

[superdave]

Damn internet!!!!!!
It makes me English so bad.

Thank you for the correction, I wil try harder!!!!

[DramaRobin2002]

We didn't have a set resurrection in ours- It was the moment Jesus ran back on for curtain calls that we considered his resurrection. He then led the rest of the cast into the audience to finish the final Day By Day. I agree that the key to this show is to be simple. If you try to imitate the feel of the Passion of the Christ, you're not going to get the right reaction from the audience. The way I see it, Godspell is about community, love, forgiveness, the principles that Jesus was sent here to show us. It's about what he did while he was here. Not the way that he died, but the way that people carried on his message and it is still going strong today. And the fact that even though Jesus died for our sins, he is still with each of us when we need him. I have to say, I went to Catholic school from the Pre-K all the way until the 12th grade and I never got any of that from my lessons. I got the facts. I got the rules. But Jesus' love and compassion was never a discussion we had. That's what makes Godspell so different in it's telling. It's not supposed to be a literal telling of the Bible. It's a telling of the spirit in the Gospel of Matthew.

[superdave]

I dont think it should be a huge spectacular thing, but something small to show that Jesus lives on, I think is very important to me. And I think most others in the area of America I live in. I mean, to me, of course, Godspell is about lessons, parables, and the life of love that Jesus left. But, all those lessons, and everything he taught, is null and void, without a ressurection. For the believer, the ressurection is the completion of God's work, the end. And for a musical based on the gospel of St. Matthew, not having a ressurection, it's missing something crucial....(no pun attended) I agree that Jesus coming out during curtain calls and leading Day by Day, would suffice for me. But I think he should be in a different costume, to show that after the crucifixtion that he was changed into something more.

I dont know as a believer, it is hard for me to have a show, where my Lord, is potrayed as a defeated foe. Because to me, Jesus is alive and well... Some others may not believe that, and its okay. But as a director, I would try to potray what I feel is right.

[what_the_heck013]

I am a Catholic, but do not believe Godspell should end in a resurrection. Jesus does live in, but in Godspell he should live on through the word of others. The movie does this. They carry him through the streets of New York proclaiming the word of God, singing "Prepare ye the way of the Lord" and "Long live God!". Jesus is then resurrected through his followers.