The Importance of Earnest

LIGHTING

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SET DESIGN

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

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

SIGNIFICANCE OF ERA

The Victorian Era

called for a

traditional styling

that involved

extravagant

furniture

complimented by

pictures and plants.

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.

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.

COSTUME DESIGN

STYLE

Victorian style

dominated the era,

where the upper class

men wore suits and

women wore ball gowns

and flared skirts

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.

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.

JACK WORTHINGJack 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.

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.

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.

DIRECTOR OBJECTIVES

CHOOSING A SCRIPTAs the director, I was able to

choose the script and I chose

“The Importance of Being

Earnest” by Oscar Wilde

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

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…

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.

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.

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.