Richard O'Brien's Rocky Horror Show opened at The McCoy Theatre on October 31st, 2007

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Staging Science Fiction Double Feature


The narrator stands center stage with a notebook. In front of him there is a beautiful woman in semi-profile. She's dressed in a sexy 40's or 50's outfit. Her hair blocks her face like Veronica lake.

We could add a line of dialogue, but it's not necessary. The point to communicate:

Narrator: So tell me everything you know.

Woman sings first verse with out looking up. The narrator takes notes as she names names of the players in her weird dark story about poison-spitting mushrooms, and who gave who the rhunes.

At chorus the woman turns or moves away from the narrator showing the audience she's part robot.

We grow the idea from there.

Visual goals: To find pictorial moments that echo classic noir and pulp art, but with a Phillip K. Dick twist.

There's also this image from Godard's Alphaville:

Alphaville is a good film for us to look at and think about. It's an intergalactic noir set in the distant future, But it's all shot using contemporary clothing and technology. Narration allows the detective's car to become his spaceship, etc.

And there's this guy:
Wasn't he in this?

No comments: