2. Big Love by Charles L. Mee is a Greek tragedy
depicting the art of feminism and the right to love.
3. The theme of the play can set the mood, which correlates with the
different design elements.
SET DESIGN
Because of the feminist aspect of
the play, the girls are not afraid to
flaunt what they have. The main
set can be the bathtub where
Lydia is bathing and people begin
walking in LIGHT DESIGN
Because of the play’s
depiction of the right to
love, soft (lower
intensity), warm-toned
lighting can be used
during the romantic
scenes between Lydia and
Nikos
COSTUME DESIGN
Because of the feminist aspect
of the play, most of the girls
can be wearing wedding
dresses, but on the more
conservative side.
4. The director is essentially the editor of the entire play. He
overlooks all the aspects of putting the play together like:
>Choosing the script
>Selecting the cast
>Shaping the spine
>Finding the style
>Developing the directional concept
5. Usually the director chooses the script to which he or she feels a
deep connection to. We chose the play Big Love because of it’s
modern take on a old-time problem (arranged
marriages/forbidden love), as well as the twist in domestic
violence. A woman hurting a man is less spoken of than a man
hurting a woman.
6. ANGELINA JOLIE - Thyona: Bride, angry feminist
ANNE HATHAWAY - Olympia: Bride, polar opposite of Thyona
AMANDA SEYFRIED - Lydia: Bride, middle ground between her two sisters
VIN DIESEL - Constantine: Groom, the ultimate misogynist
JUSTIN BARTHA - Oed: Groom, not very bright
JOSH DALLAS - Nikos: Groom, longs for a real connection with his bride
SEAN MAGUIRE - Piero: Owner of the Italian manor providing sanctuary to brides
MERYL STREEP - Bella: Mother of Piero
GABRIEL MANN - Giuliano: Son of Piero
7. Big Love is a play about fifty girls who flee from their city to
avoid marrying their cousins due to a contract created before any
of them were born. The grooms are for following tradition and
culture. The brides are against arranged marriages.
The spine of the play of is “tradition vs. modernity.”
8. The style of Big Love is “selective realism.” Selective Realism is
essentially when the play is meant to resemble real life, but not
all the time.
The issue of arranged marriages, right to love, and domestic
violence are still issues today, but having 50 sisters is highly
unlikely.
9. The directional concept is essentially what the director
would want the audience to take away from the play.
The directional concept of Big Love is “the struggle
between traditional and modern life.”
11. Big Love
•For the set of Big Love I decided
to make it look like one big
bathroom.
•I wanted to have a lot of space
for the people that are constantly
in the same room for the majority
of the play.
•I think this will allow things to
flow easier and will match the
story.
•There will be 2 different sets, one
will be the bathtub one and the
second one will be where the
wedding is held.
12. The Background
•There will be a wall on the
back of the set.
• That wall will contain a door
that looks out to Italy and
part of the ocean.
•The door will lead to the
outside of the terrace.
•The wall will have a view
painted on it of half of the
ocean and half grass.
•The view will be in daylight
which will help set the time of
the day and of the year.
13. The Background
•The rest of the wall will be
painted the same color of
the walls of the house in the
picture.
•All of these things help set
the audience in an outdoor
setting.
14. •There will be a bathtub about 6
feet from the door.
•The Bathtub will be modern.
•The modern bathtub will help set the
period in which the play takes part.
15. •There will also be 2 tables on
the right side of the stage.
•They will be used for setting
the weeding gifts and other
things.
•Towels will also be stored on
the table.
•Next to the Bathtub there will
be a small table with a glass of
wine, books and other things.
16. Set 2:The wedding
The wedding will be
and a salon.
There is going to be a
lot of tables.
There will be like an
altar in the middle
where the couples will
take turns getting
married.
17. The wedding Decorations
There will be a chandelier
hanging from the top on
each table.
Each table will have
silverware and flowers.
18. Set Change
To make the set changes easy the big pieces such as
the bath tub will have small wheels.
The other things should be light enough to just pick
them up.
20. Big Love
• The costume of each character
help decide the time period the
play is set on, the status of the
character, the occupation, age,
geography, and the time of day.
• Costume also include accessories
like wigs, masks, and makeup.
• The costume in Big Love
depends on each character and
the scene.
21. The Characters: The Brides
• In this play, there are going to
be two scenes, one is when the
sisters come for refuge and the
other one during the wedding.
• In the beginning they shabby
wedding clothes with big bags.
• Each one of the sister’s
wedding dress is styled
according to their personality.
22. The Grooms
• The groom is rich because
they got money when they
went to America.
• They wear nice expensive suits
and accessories that match
their status and education.
• Coming out of the helicopter
scene gives them a James Bond
look.
• They will have a modern look
compared to others.
23. The Old Woman
• Bella, the old woman in
the play wear a black
dress and babushka.
• She will carry a basket of
tomatoes and a folding
chair.
24. Piero
• He is rich Italian person
and the owner of the
house the girls found
refuge in.
• He wears elegant clothes
to show that he has
money and walk around
with a glass of wine.
25. Giuliano
• Guiliano’s personality can
be considered gay.
• The clothes he is going to
wear help the audience
understand his role in the
play and also his
character.
• He act accordingly as well
26. Moving Freely
• The costumes that characters wear in this play helps
them move pretty easy.
• The costume is not that big and baggy so they can move
and dance freely.
27. The final scene
• When the play started the
brides had dirty wedding
gowns and at the end
they will have bloody
gowns.
29. • The lights are used to
enhance the scene, it is not
just to illuminate the actors
and the set.
• Lighting should pull
everything on stage together
to create a balance and the
main focus should be on the
message that needs to be
conveyed.
30. Visibility
• Visibility is the number one job as a light designer.
Everything should be visible to the audience.
• However it is selective visibility, meaning the audience
should only see what the director wants them to see.
• In big love the main set is the bathtub thus the main
emphasis will be on the bathtub.
31. Shape & Forms
• The purpose of revelation of form is to
shape an object with light.
• The theme is the right to love,
therefore most of the play has a low
intensity lighting and a soft glow lighting.
Especially, during the wedding when they
dance and also when Lydia and Nikos are
together.
• During the helicopter scene there will
be a dramatic shadow and a bright
spotlight on the women to enhance their
shape.
• The actors can also appear three
dimensional by using lighting from the
back and side. This can be effective in the
scene where the women & men throw
themselves to the ground.
32. Visual Composition
• The composition directs
the eye in a certain
direction. The light reveals
the flow of the story and
creates a perception.
•The focus in Big Love is on
the three woman most of
the time. They will have a
spot light on them. At that
time the background will
have dimmer lights.
33. Mood & Style
• Lighting is applied to create
specific moods and emotion.
• Big love is intense and
romantic. So when it is intense
like the murder scene it will
have flashing red lights while the
wedding will have soft lavender
lights.
• Style in Big Love is naturalistic
and modern.
34. Time & Place
• The audience will be able
to tell the time by the
lighting.
• The play Big Love takes
place in the evening. Which
will be illuminated by blue
and black light.
35. Visual Movement
• Changes in light can say a
lot about the play. The
changes can be determined
by intensity, color, and
distribution of light.
• Slow and smooth fading
lights indicates visual
movement in Big Love.
36. Central Visual Image
• Lighting has to coordinate with the rest of the design elements to convey
the message the director is trying to communicate.
•Warm colors are used in Big Love for the a central visual image.
