Producing Play Statement

As good as August Wilson’s Fences is textually, the script poses some problems that directors and designers have to collaborate together to solve. One of the problems is the over all layout of the set. There are scenes that take place on porch of the house, in the yard of the house and in the alley next the house. Since the house is the main focus of the play, how will the house be positioned on stage and how much space will the house take up? How will the set affect the blocking and will it be too cluttered? Another problem to consider is the Gabriel’s dance at the end of the play. Will the actor improvise the whole segment or will it be choreographed? If it is choreographed, what kind of dance style will it be and which choreographer will the director hire? Another issue is casting actors for Troy, Gabriel and Rose. Are the actors required to have a singing background or will a voice coach be needed? Finally, will age be an issue when the director cast Raynell. Will the director use a child actress to portray Raynell or an older actress? These are things to consider when performing a production of Fences. If a production of this show was included in the 2010-2011 UTC season, there will a few problems our staff, faculty and students have to address. One of them is whether to have the show in main stage or showcase. Main stage is for a larger audience and includes not only students and faculty on campus but the natives of Huntsville, Texas. Will this play draw the attention of the residence of Huntsville and does that make a difference? Showcase is usually for shows that are smaller audience and may be placed there because of the content of the play. Another question is Fences ‘content friendly’ in this time and for this location? For portraying Raynell, will the director have a student from the Sam Houston play her or will they find a child of that age within the local area? If the director is cast age specific for the child, like Penny did for The Full Monty, will special permission from their guardian be required? Finally, who will direct the show? Since it’s a ‘black’ play, will Kandice and Bill take the position as director or does that even matter? Does Fences call for a music director as result of the songs Troy, Gabriel and Rose sing? Many theatre companies performing this production deal with the problems differently and find different solutions. The Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California addressed the set layout issue by making the whole set consisting of only the front porch of the house. As a result it pushed all the action downstage toward the audience. In another situation, the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre Company's production of Fences address the issue of casting Raynell's character using an actual girl or an older woman portraying a girl. This theatre company decided to use seven year old, Sarah Jordan to play the part of Raynell. Another issue that one production had to face was Wilson's only rule for the production of his plays was only using a black director to direct his plays. However, Geva Theatre had to ask for special permission from August Wilson's widow for their white director, Mark Cuddy to direct the show. Different productions lead to different interpretation of the play which lead to use of different theatrical elements within the production of the play. As a result, some of the choices that theatre companies make with Fences generate good or bad reactions out of critic. One critic was confused about 'dog barking' sound effects Penumbra used every time Troy talked about his past struggles to survive. This ambiguous choice left the critics and possibly the audience confused. Another critic for Geva's production of Fences, didn't have any objections to having a white director and actually found in enlightening. Another critic enjoyed the choice of having the front porch of the house the main set on stage and pushing all the action to the front. The critic for Pasadena Playhouse actually found it intimate for the audience.