Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Chronology of Plays Discussed
- List of Illustrations
- Act One The Back Story
- Act Two The Agon
- V Into the Mouth of the Wolf
- VI “Go Saddle Yon Braying Ass!”
- VII Entrances…
- VIII …And Exits
- IX She Loves Me… She Loves Me…
- X …Not!
- Act Three The Comic Relief
- Act Four And Leave 'em Laughin'
- Notes
- Works Cited and Consulted
- Index
VIII - …And Exits
from Act Two - The Agon
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 July 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Chronology of Plays Discussed
- List of Illustrations
- Act One The Back Story
- Act Two The Agon
- V Into the Mouth of the Wolf
- VI “Go Saddle Yon Braying Ass!”
- VII Entrances…
- VIII …And Exits
- IX She Loves Me… She Loves Me…
- X …Not!
- Act Three The Comic Relief
- Act Four And Leave 'em Laughin'
- Notes
- Works Cited and Consulted
- Index
Summary
Dom Juan; ou, Le Festin de Pierre
as conceived by Molière
as directed by Stephen Wadsworth
as directed by Jacques La Salle
as acted by Andrzej Seweryn
as directed by Robert W. Goldsby
as acted by Thomas Lynch
Don Juan, unlike Tartuffe, has no problem with entrances, but he does have to figure out his getaways. This section begins with some observations about the physical choices for the play Dom Juan, and works backwards into the core of the two characters that dominate the play. In essence, this follows a director's path. A major reason for focusing on externals is the necessity for any production to solve the problem of the hero's – in this case, the bad guy's – last exit, which must be absolutely satisfying, breathtaking, spectacular, and, above all, climactic, final and blood-chilling, all brought about by the imaginative and synchronized use of “spectacle”: space, lights, sound, music and what they call in movies SFX (special effects). So our focus this time is directed not to the entrances, as in Le Tartuffe, but to various interpretations of the final exits in Dom Juan, first scenically and then emotionally. And Molière, like most directors, first turned his attention to the ground plan and the scenery before he started rehearsing the play.
Molière must have known that Le Tartuffe would not be approved in time for production during the new season that was almost upon them. Facing a deadline for his next season, he decided that a box-office hit was essential for the life of his actors. Molière was facing financial catastrophe. He desperately needed another new play to put on so that he could sustain his family of actors and pay their salaries.
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- Information
- Molière on StageWhat's So Funny?, pp. 69 - 86Publisher: Anthem PressPrint publication year: 2012