As I was arriving to the Singletary Center to watch the play Henry V, I didn’t know what to expect from the actor’s performance, set design, lighting, or costumes. I am not too familiar with Shakespearean plays or subjects around mid-century politics, other than art history and architecture. I went to the play with an open mind and would use my design background to understand the art, language, and emotion of the performance.
As I was arriving to the theater, I was pointed in the direction of a vertical standing structure. It appeared to be holding light and color from escaping into the empty seating down stage. The vertical standing structure turned out to be a coliseum style seating. I found this style of seating to more interesting and interactive as it would become apart of performance.
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The lighting was very simple which expressed mystery and pro-longing emotion. The set was built above and below our seats. Which provided more space for the actors to freely use their surroundings for more intimate scenes between the audience. The actors expressed drama, humor, and despair with only little props and stage design. This made it more challenging for the audience to understand what was being said. The actors did an amazing job with there performance and the way they expressed their multiple characters. I found it to be very unique that I was more in-tuned with the French than the Shakespearean language. The use of the actor’s body language, hand-motions, and costumes made it easier to understand and connect