Mr. Burns Play Analysis

1. Mr. Burns presents a unique take on the field of acting. During the first act, there was a closed off and often quiet tone to the play. The characters are all spaced out and separated even as their common conversation is being given. The only time they come closer together figuratively and literally is when they’re feeling threatened. When the characters first meet Gibson they all stick together in the face of danger and quite literally watch each other’s back. There is one character who keeps her space from the rest of the group and is really reserved. It is revealed later when the group asks Gibson the names on their lists that she has lost her daughter. It from that point becomes clear that she is suffering a deep emotional pain. This

The costumes in Mr. Burns are very unique in their nature, and all bring something new to the play as a whole. The color schemes are very reflective of the tone the play is trying to get across to the audience and also adds to the overall meaning. The second act is seven years after the apocalypse and the costumes reflect a dirty, unindustrialized world. The clothes the group wears are in tatters and unclean. They do however provide a sense of unity because regardless of the current situation everyone focuses on the ultimate goal. Everyone is dirty, unclean, and in tatters however the group is focused on making the best final product. The colors in the second act in comparison to the first are lively and bright. They give a new sense of life to the group in direct contrasts to the first where everything is dark matching the mood. The final act gives a new and royal ambiance to the play. This is clear and drastic time shift in the future. The characters in the beginning of the play are no longer the characters we see and the costumes make that apparent. The dynamics of third act make it very clear we are now meeting the Simpsons and the drama around their family’s relationship with Mr. Burns. The costumes are very elegant and it shows that the setting for this play is above those of the previous two

Mr. Burns has multiple instances of the lighting affecting the overall mood of the play. As previously mentioned, the first act has a generally somber mood, and the lighting of the first act is very tactically dim. The lights would shift to focus on the speakers but would strategically be low so that our main focus was on the actors and not everything around them. The second act requires a lot from the set so there are a lot more lighting, and it’s a lot brighter all across the board. The third act has more serious tone so the lighting is brighter than the first act but very minimal. The sounds of the play work in a very similar fashion. Even before the play, there was a plethora of songs from the Simpsons being played while the audience waited for the production to begin. The play does have musical elements so there are many times that the dialogue calls for random spots of song. This important for the understanding the play as a whole. The songs set the mood for each scene. The spots that call for song are interesting because they lighten each one and provide a bit of comic relief. In the third act likewise the musical aspect helps take away from the serious nature of what’s going on and understand the world the play takes place in. In the third act, Mr. Burns is preparing to kill Bart, which in nature is a serious thing; however, there is singing that takes place. This distracts from the serious nature of the scene. The play’s sounds all have an essential role in