The document provides details about the lighting, set design, and costume design for a production of Oscar Wilde's play "The Importance of Being Earnest". The lighting is meant to focus attention on characters, set the mood, and indicate changes in time and place. The set design captures the Victorian era of the late 19th century through decorations and furnishings appropriate for locations in London and the countryside. Costume design adheres to Victorian fashion norms, with elaborate outfits distinguishing the upper class characters from others. The director's objectives are to faithfully present the traditional play as written through appropriate casting, a focus on the theme of marriage, and an expressionist style.

1. LIGHTING

2. VISIBILITY
 Light is used to see the
characters’ faces, the set design,
and the props
 In the play, the lighting helps
focus on Jack as he goes through
his monologue

3. SHAPES AND FORMS
 Lighting is placed strategically
around so all angle of the stages and
the whatever’s on the stage could be
seen and look more fascinating
 When everyone comes together
towards the end of the play, it’s
important that the audience get to see
everyone’s reaction when Jack found
out who he really is

4. FOCUS AND VISUAL
COMPOSITION
 This allows the audience to
zone in on one thing that’s
happening during the play
 In this play, the lack of
lighting can give a chance to
them to change set design

5. MOOD AND STYLE
 The mood is set by the characters
and to help assist, the lighting can
change from bright to dull to
coincide with the mood
 For an example, the lighting can
get darker and dimmer to get the
audience to understand what’s being
unfold during the play

6. TIME AND PLACE
 Lighting can help the audience
tell what time of day it is
 Since this is set during the
Spring, the lighting would be more
chirpy and merrier, so more yellow
and bright orange

7. RHYTHM OF VISUAL
MOVEMENT
 In order to keep the audience’s
interest, there’s a constant change
in lighting
 It’s usually used during action
scenes, such as war or fighting

8. CENTRAL VISUAL IMAGE
 The works of lighting plays an important part of a play production
 If used wrong, it can set off the audience’s interest and possibly
cause confusion and not having understanding of the play
 Lighting makes a play more interesting and leers in the audience
just be appearance
 It can be used to manipulate a situation, from mood to time to set
change

9. SET DESIGN

10. BACKGROUND
 The era is set in the late 19th
century; 1890s to be specific
 This is the period known as
the Victorian Era
 Industrial Revolution is in
its prime

11. LOCATION
 The First Act is set in
London, England
 The rest of the play is set in
Jack’s estate which is located in
Hertfordshire; an extremely rural
area of the country

12. SIGNIFICANCE OF ERA
 The Victorian Era
called for a traditional
styling that involved
extravagant furniture
complimented by pictures
and plants.

13. SETTING (ACT 1)
 The inside of the house in the first act should be filled with extravagant wooden
furniture along with luscious plants and a complimentary wallpaper that emits a
“fancy” look. This was the style of the Victorian Era and a house in London during
that time should be styled no differently.

14. SETTING (ACT 2,3)
 The rest of the play is set in
Hertfordshire, a rural part of
England where Jack and his estate
reside. The setting should be filled
with plants and the background
should be set to symbolize the
outside. The furniture should still
be wood but should be similar to
that of a more traditional estate
during the late 1900s.

15. COSTUME DESIGN

16. STYLE
 Victorian style dominated the
era, where the upper class men
wore suits and women wore ball
gowns and flared skirts

17. HISTORICAL
PERIOD
The Importance of Being
Earnest first played in
theatres February
14, 1895, in London, UK.
This play focuses on the
upper-class, proper behavior
in the Victorian era.

18. GWENDOLEN FAIRFAX
AND LADY BRACKNELL
 Both Gwendolen and her mother Lady
Bracknell belong to the upper class. They
epitomize the Victorian high society,
shown by the emphasis of family name
and wealth Lady Bracknell has when
talking to Jack Worthing. Lady Bracknell’s
goal is to marry her daughter off to a
suitable husband.
 Raised and living in London, both
characters follow the latest fashion and
lifestyle set by those around them.

19. JACK WORTHING
 Jack Worthing has a middle, upper class
wealth, owning an estate in the country with
wards and tenants. He makes 7000 – 8000 a
year in investments, which is satisfactory to
the upper-class Lady Bracknell.
 Worthing possesses two identities, Jack
and Earnest. He uses Jack as his country
persona as a respectable individual that tends
to his work and duties. In contrast, he goes by
Earnest when he’s in London to do the exact
opposite such as drink and have fun.

20. ALGERNON MONCRIEFF
 Jack Worthing’s close friend in the
city, Algernon also belongs to the upper-
middle class but doesn’t have as strong
of an emphasis on the Victorian high
society as his aunt, Lady Bracknell. He
even goes as far as to create an imaginary
friend, “Bunbury”, to escape London
and its high class culture.

21. CECILY CARDEW
 Contrasting the other characters, Cecily
Cardew is a ward of Jack Worthing and has
been shown to have a wealth of familial
money, but was raised in the country. She
doesn’t have the same Victorian principles
and fashion as the others who were raised in
London. This makes her more relatable and
down to earth when compared to the prim
and proper Lady Bracknell.

22. DIRECTOR OBJECTIVES

23. CHOOSING A SCRIPT
As the director, I was able to choose the
script and I chose “The Importance of
Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde

24. CASTING
Leonardo DiCaprio as John Worthing
Orlando Bloom as Algernon Moncriett
Olivia Wilde as Gwendolen Fairfax
Kiera Knightley as Cecily Cardew
Meryl Streep as Lady Bracknell
Cloris Leachman as Miss Prism
Hector Elizondo as Rev. Canon Chasuble
Jospeh Marcell as Lane
Kevin Chamberlin as Merriman

25. CASTING
 For each character in the play, each actor was casted due to their
past roles and how well they portrayed those characters in movies, tv
shoes, etc…

26. THE SPINE
 As the director, I believe the spine of the play would be the idea
of marriage since a lot of the story revolves around different
engagements, for example, Jack/Earnest and Gwendolen s well as
Algernon and Cecily, which all lead into the main theme of love of
their real selves.

27. STYLE
 A style that helps emphasize the spine of the play- the idea of
marriage, in which I believe would be expressionism because it could
reflect the different emotions and the change in thoughts and feelings
throughout the play, in order for the audience to have a clearer
understanding of the play and the main theme.

28. DIRECTORIAL CONCEPT
 My directorial concept for the play would be to take the traditional
approach because the play deserves to be shown as it is written, which
is set in 1895, in order to give spectators a feel for that certain time
period.