The Play Mourning Becomes Electra
The audience sits in front of the action in a very defined place. They are not encouraged to interact with the scenes such as a bar room scene. The play is also set in the late part of the 1800s when the Civil War was coming to an end; 1865-1866. The time period is in the past and not in the immediate memory of the audience. This allows Eugene O’ Neill to fabric the past to his own use. The details do not have to be exact, but detailed enough to present an era of time.
Also, by using a proscenium arch stage, three sides of the stage can be utilized for the set. O’ Neill describes the set having two windows on the wall on stage left and pictures of George Washington and Alexander Hamilton on the wall on stage right. The way in which the sets will be changed between the scenes that take place outside of the house and inside the house will be aided in the uses of a theater with a revolving stage. The back wall is the center of the two scenes I have chosen to design. I have chosen to design the sets for Ezra Mannon’s study in Act Two of The Homecoming and Act Two of The Haunted.
The first task in designing the set of Mourning Becomes Electra is to create the fa�§ade that will define all of the scenes in the play. One of the themes in Mourning Becomes Electra centers around family curses and death within the Mannon house. The Mannon house acts like a tomb. Even in the study scenes the feeling of entrapment will be displayed. The use of the proscenium stage will aid in the creating of an oppressing casket-like fa�§ade for the whole play. Curtains will be draped from the center of the arch in the middle of the set to form an ? over the stage.
This will enclose the set and give the audience a confining impression of the house. The act in The Homecoming is set in Ezra Mannon’s study as well as the second act of The Haunted. When the set is seen in The Haunted, however, a lot has changed with the characters and room itself. The first task in designing these two scenes is to first set up the original study.
A stage element that O’ Neill did not indicate in the stage directions, which I will be using, is a scrim. A scrim is gauze-like material that is a screen that hangs in front or in back of a set. I will put the scrim down stage in front of the stage and it will be used as a barrier between the audience and the set.
During the beginning of the scenes the scrim will be lit from the front so a visible wall will be seen between the audience and the characters. As the actions progresses the lighting will dim and lights directly over the stage will be used as the light. As each scene of the play opens and closes, the scrim will be lit to create that barrier. This will remind the audience constantly that this play is not of their time, a window into the past. In Act Two of Homecoming both the mood and tone of the scene are shown by the colors used. The audiences first impression will be formed by the colors they see at first before the introduction of characters. O’ Neill suggests that “The walls are plain plastered surfaces tinted a dull gray with a flat white trim” (284). The gray has a dulling, depressing affect on the audience.
The room is unfriendly and uninviting. It is a man’s room, not pleasant or warm. O’ Neill sets the tone with colors. He demonstrates to the audience that the scenes in the room are not going to be light comedic family scenes like those in Ah! Wilderness. The family scenes that take place in the study help to destroy the family that inhabits the house. The other colors that O’ Neill discusses in the study scenes are the green that Christine wears as a dress. The reason why the white trim is vital to the scene is because it serves as a contrast to the green in Christine’s dress. The green in her costume symbolizes both jealousy and envy that Lavinia’s mother has for her. The green also symbolizes growth, which is represented on the mother. Later when Lavinia assumes the role of her mother in The Haunted, she too wears a green dress like Christine.
The one color that O’ Neill did not mention in his stage directions and which I would put into the play, is the color blue. Blue is a great metaphor for depression and would serve nicely in the study scenes. Just having the colors gray and white would also be boring and mundane to the audience. I would use blue for the curtains for the windows on the stage left windows. The blue would be very dark royal blue to indicate the stature of the family. Instead of having a soft light blue, the royal color would highlight the masculine nature of the room.
The bookcase plays an important part in the play. The bookcase is set behind the table and chairs on the back wall of the Ezra’s study. I think that setting the bookcase directly behind the table and chairs is a mistake. I would move the bookcase on the opposite side of the stage so that the bookcase is not blocked. On the top of the bookcase, four large books will be standing. Two gold eagle book stoppers will hold up the books. This is symbolic of the patriotic nature of Ezra, which can be seen, with the portraits of George Washington and Alexander Hamilton. In The Homecoming the stoppers will be strategically positioned symmetrically on the top to create a neat organized impression. In The Haunted scene, however, the stoppers will appear to have not been maintained and the books will have fallen down. This will give the impression that the house has deteriorated which is symbolic of the Mannon family.
The bookcase on the back wall indicates that the Mannons are a learned family. O’ Neill describes “At left of fireplace, a bookcase filled with law books” as part of the fabric of the study (284). O’ Neill did not indicate just books, but law books. When designing the set the audience is not in a position to actually read the title of the books. It would serve a more practical purpose just to put in large, worn books on the shelves, or if they are not available cardboard facades of the books. The table and chairs in the study will be very uncomfortable and large. The table should appear very solid and sturdy. The chairs should be hardwood without cushions.
The chair on the opposite side of the stage should symbolize Ezra’s favorite sitting chair without cushions or lap blankets. The chair should have high arms on it. I want the chair to seem unsuitable and uncomfortable to the audience. This will indicate the hard personality of Ezra. It will also help the audience to understand Lavinia in The Homecoming scene when she is trying to be her father’s daughter when she confronts her mother. O’ Neill describes the furniture as “old colonial” indicating the rich history of the family. The furniture shows that the family has been long established and is of old money.
The furniture also shows that the family is very traditional. Even though the play is set during the middle 1800s, the classic furniture represents a value system. The pictures on the wall on stage right again confirm the impression of traditional values, “On the right wall is a painting of George Washington in a gilt frame, flanked by smaller portraits of Alexander Hamilton and John Marshall” as the traditionalism is emphasized (284). This of course is just a faÃ?§ade just like the Mannons are mask-like characters rather than real people.
The portraits of the Mannon ancestors are also important scenic elements. In The Homecoming all of the portraits including Ezra’s portrait, should be straight and neat on the wall. In The Haunted, however, the portraits excluding Ezra’s, should all be off center and crooked. The portraits should be head-shot portraits. In order to create balance I would put two portraits on each side of the fireplace. A man and a woman will be on each side. The men should wear gray suits and the women should be wearing gray dresses. When the portraits are painted they should all be serious and cartoon like. They will all have the Mannon mask.
Another scenic element that I would include in the study, which O’ Neill did not add in his stage directions, is an American flag. The flag should be in the colonial style and should be placed in the middle of the stage by Ezra’s big chair by the wall. The reason why I would add the flag is because Ezra and Orin are both fighting in the Civil War. Ezra is very patriotic and that would fit his character nicely. The flag would hang from the top of the pole in The Homecoming. In The Haunted, however, the flag will be lowered half way down the pole and touching the ground. The reason why I added this is it would add in showing the deterioration of the family from the first scene to the second scene.
Ezra Mannon’s portrait is the most important element in his study. The portrait of Ezra Mannon is not just a decoration for the study but it defines the character of Ezra as well as influences the actions of the characters and it affects the characters in a way that it reveals their character to the audience. The portrait of Ezra Mannon over the fireplace on the back wall in his study is a symbol throughout the scenes that take place in the study. The portrait will be larger than the other Mannon portraits that also hang on the wall. It will be at least three times bigger than the other portraits. The portrait must be large enough for the audience members sitting in the last row to see and make connections to the other characters. For this reason, the portrait will be a type of expressionist set piece. The picture will tower over all of the other objects in the room. The portrait not only is a symbol but it helps to reveal the other personalities of the characters.
The portrait of Ezra Mannon in the study defines Lavinia. Like the portrait, Lavinia is a stiff and clearly takes after her father in Act Two of The Homecoming. Lavinia believes that she is her father’s daughter and fights any traits she may have inherited from her mother. Like the judge of her father and the general of her father, Lavinia is adamant about being composed ” She is fighting to control herself, but her face is torn by the look of stricken anguish. She turns slowly to their father’s portrait and for a moment stares fixedly” (284). This proves that Lavinia looks to her father and relies on him even when he is not there. The portrait is a surrogate father for her during her times of need.
Lavinia also shows a lot of affection to her father. This affection can be seen through the stage directions. At a point in the beginning of scene two of the Homecoming, Lavinia “âÂ?¦ puts her hand over one of his hands with a loving, protecting gesture” (284). This protection is a trait, which Lavinia demonstrates later in the play. When she confronts her mother of the affair she is having with Adam Brant, Lavinia is relentless in her pursuit of justice for her father. This justice is inherited from Ezra. She is trying to be the judge’s daughter.
The hatred that Christine has for her husband is demonstrated with her contact with the portrait of Ezra. Christine is uneasy in her husband’s study and around the judging eyes of her husband. She is guilty of an affair and doesn’t want to spend time in her husband’s domain ” The door from the hall is opened and Christine enters. She is uneasy underneath, but affects a scornful indignation” (284). A “scornful indignation” implies her disdain for her husband. This at once tells the audience that she is not a loving wife or a loyal person. When Brant enters the scene later ” She glances at the portrait then turns back to Brant with a shiver- nervously” (292).
Christine is nervous because of the guilt she feels for having an affair with Adam Brant.
The study is presented in a very masculine fashion. Without Ezra even physically being in the scenes proceeding his arrival, the audience gains a significant understanding of his character; he is stern, authoritative, proud, and formal. Ezra’s portrait is described by O’ Neill’s as showing a man who has been hardened by life “His face is handsome in a stern, aloof fashion. It is cold and emotionless and has the same strange semblance of a life-like mask that we have already seen in the faces of his wife and daughter and Brant” (284). That life-like mask is a typical Mannon trait. The portrait is of him in his judges’ robes, which tells about his pride in the rules and laws that he enforces. This is carried over to how he felt about his family.
The portrait also tells the audience about the character Adam Brant. Adam is a relative of the Mannons, which the audience has already been told. Before any words are spoken to confirm the rumors of Brant being a Mannon, the portrait validates the suspicions. The portrait serves as a comparison to Brant to show his Mannon qualities. Brant physically resembles Ezra “One is at once struck by the startling likeness between him and Adam Brant” (284). The reaction to the portrait also reveals Brant’s character. When Brant sees the portrait for the first time his fighting instincts kick in, he ” âÂ?¦sees the portrait for the fist time. Instantly his body shifts to a fighting tenseness. It is as if he were going to spring at the figure in the painting” (291). This also shows that he is a vindictive spiteful person obsessed with hate. He had never met Ezra, yet he exhibits in that brief stage direction that he is consumed with revenge.
The portrait is involved with the action of the play as well. Christine’s actions are propelled by her reaction to the portrait. Christine tells the portrait ” You can thank Vinnie, Ezra!” after “Her eyes are caught by the eyes of her husband in the portrait over the fireplace” after her daughter has confronted her about her affair with Adam Brant (291). After her interactions with the portrait Christine is motivated to carry out her plan to kill her husband. This scene lays the groundwork for the actions she will later take in the play and succeed in murdering her husband.
In The Haunted the lighting will be changed to show a much more somber and deteriorated, fallen room. In The Homecoming light shown through the windows, however, in The Haunted “The shutters of the windows are closed” (396). The way to imply shutters on the windows are to black them out from the back of the set. Long black drapes will be strung over them so the audience gets the feeling of the further entombment and decay of the family.
In addition to the black drapes the lighting will be changed. The lights will dim down to highlight the candlelight O’ Neill had put in the directions “Orin is sitting in his father’s chair at left of table, writing by the light of a lamp” (396). The scrim will also be lit during the part of this scene to highlight the candlelight so that every member of the audience will be able to understand what is shown. The candleholder will be an old antique-looking brass prop. A real candle will be used in the scene. Yellow gels on the lights over the stage will be placed over Orin. The changes made to the study will clearly indicate to the audience the decline of the family.
The changes from The Homecoming to The Haunted should be indicated through the set clearly. The audience does not have to rely solely on the actors and actresses to have an understanding of the themes, symbols, moods and tone. The audience can figure out the play for themselves, which is why set design is so important to every play.
