Godspell
Printed From: Community Theater Green Room
Category: Producing Theater
Forum Name: Directing
Forum Discription: For questions about handling shows, actors, crew, board members, children ...or do we repeat ourselves?
URL: http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2281
Printed Date: 11/27/24 at 9:49am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 8.05 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Godspell
Posted By: slicksister
Subject: Godspell
Date Posted: 3/04/07 at 8:09pm
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I am going to be directing Godspell in the fall and would like some input from ya'll about the different ways you have seen it staged. In other words there are alot of different ways to interpret the script and lots of different places the story can"take place". What are some innovative things yo've seen or done? I'm not looking to copy anybody I'm just looking for some inspiration. I'd like to stay away from the "inner city outdoor basketball court" which seems to be pretty over done. Just a note - we will be producing this show in a church. Not in a multi pursope room but actually in the sanctuary. It is fairly large and has full on lighting set up ect. Oh, and there are 2 huge screens at the front with the capabilities of doing some stuff with projectors/powerpoint/video etc. We will probably build somewhat of a floor covering to cover up the carpet and make it easier to dance/move etc. ------------- The Main Thing is to Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing |
Replies:
Posted By: Gaafa
Date Posted: 3/05/07 at 7:42pm
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I have seen a number of ‘Godspell’s’ & most have generic attempts of a poor copy of the ‘Flick’! I keep feeling it would be better set in a car park, similar to the ‘Rhythm of life’ from ‘Sweet Charity’. Or with shows in various venues, utilising the space, as it is & what it was originally intended for. Like with your church space, warehouse or even a shopping centre? ------------- Joe Western Gondawandaland turn right @ Perth. Hear the light & see the sound. Toi Toi Toi Chookas {{"chook [chicken] it is"} May you always play to a full house} |
Posted By: NagarWSF
Date Posted: 3/06/07 at 12:27pm
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I directed Godspell a few years ago. It was the spring right after 9/11. We set ours on a construction site. We built out the stage in the auditorium to be a thrust. We had scaffolding, orange pylons, HVAC tubing, plastic tarps, a large gang (tool) box to be able to stand on, saw horses. For the different parables, the cast built what they needed out of the items on the construction site. The scaffold was UCS and was utilized at various times. Of course, it was particularly handy and effective for the crucifixion scene. But we didn't stay only on the stage. I had performers all over the house at times.
Within this setting, we utilized loads of different performance styles. Clowning, acrobatics, children's theatre, puppetry. We did a couple of things like that Pilobus dance troupe that was featured on the Oscars and those Hyundai Santa Fe commercials. It was a blast. The key to the show is tapping into something beyond just teaching the gospel. For us, in the wake of 9/11, it was of "building." A construction site because that is where "buildings" get built, a la WTC reconstruction, but also to convey the notion of building community. The performers built a community with each other. The performers and audience built a community with each other. The audience, by experiencing the show , built a community with each other. You get the picture.
As for how I have seen it, well, I've seen it set on a wharf, under a highway, in a junkyard, at the circus, and yes, in a park. I would stay away from the circus and park. They've been done to death. I agree with the poster who suggested you be site specific in terms of where you are performing. You are in a church. Pretty appropriate, I'd say. Lots of paegants are done in churches. Perhaps what can be interesting is to set out to explore this church. Let your audience know that this is not the usuall church paegant. It is also not the usual church service. Don't limit yourself to the "stage" area of the church. Use the whole sanctuary. Run around, up and down the aisles. Maximize the environment and make your audience participate by having to look at the action all around them.
Good luck with it, and let us know how it goes!
-Sandy Nagar
Webster Shakespeare Festival ------------- Working Class Theatre Company www.workingclasstheatre.org |
Posted By: MartyW
Date Posted: 3/06/07 at 3:03pm
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I still like it the construction site or junk yard way... ------------- Marty W "Till next we trod the boards.." |
Posted By: POB14
Date Posted: 3/07/07 at 12:20pm
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I saw Godspell done in a church. No set at all; just some chairs, etc. If I recall correctly, Jesus just stood on a chair with something tied around his wrists for the crucifixion. And yes, the aisles were used extensively.
That production blew me away.
I think I would love to play with the screens; juxtapose some medieval iconography with pictures of kids in a field of daisies - all kinds of stuff. I would have Jesus singing "Alas For You" to a projected picture of Johnny Cochrane. I would show a picture of an empty tomb at the end. ------------- POB Old Bugger, Curmudgeon, and Antisocial B**tard |
Posted By: tristanrobin
Date Posted: 3/07/07 at 5:49pm
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I directed a production that was set in a children's playground - and all the various playthings (slide, seesaw, swings, sandbox, etc.) could all be dismantled and re-arranged for the various parables. It was pretty neat looking.
The best production I've ever seen was done by the graduate program at S.U.N.Y. Fredonia - and they used NOTHING. No set pieces at all and the only props they used were carried on them. And it was AWESOME. As long as the show is sincere and truthful, and the cast is committed to telling the story, you can't go wrong. |
Posted By: slicksister
Date Posted: 3/09/07 at 10:58pm
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Thanks so much for your responses. Originally I thought about doing it using the church as the setting but our church isn't very "churchy" if you will. No stained glass, no choir loft, no cross at the front, no pulpit, no organ or piano, no pews (we use chairs). It's a very contemporary building and they made it that way so the stage would be more versatile. I figured trying to make it "churchy" would be as much work as any other setting. What I have roaming around in my head right now is this - I was away at a conference at a large camp and conference center and in one of their large chapels they had about 25 or so old tv's and computer screens all painted white and stacked on top of each other on either side of the stage. I'm not sure why they were there. Perhaps they were left overs from some theme they did at one time. That got my brain working and I remembered this huge old TV satelite we have on our back property that doesn't work any more. Then I started thinking of dryer tubing and galvanized metal and.... well you know! So I'm thinking a cyber world. Inside a computer or something...? I dunno...still ruminating. I do intend to use the aisles and the screens too. Hmmm.... ------------- The Main Thing is to Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing |
Posted By: claning
Date Posted: 3/10/07 at 5:40pm
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I have directed this twice for a church theatre group. The first was set in a construction site supposedly the future site of our new church building (which was in the works). The second time I went with the park theme with sliding board, basketball net, etc. Not really original.
One idea I did have but could not convince my production staff to jump in with me on was setting in a cube farm, you know, office workers in cubes (ala Dilbert). I was going to make computer keyboards, mice, internet, all visual themes in the show. A little too far out for my staff (and budget) however. So we abandoned and went with the park. But some day!!!!
------------- Chris Laning, Co-Host "Your Neighborhood Stage" Podcast http://www.NeighborhoodStage.com chris@neighborhoodstage.com |
Posted By: Mr. Lowell
Date Posted: 3/23/07 at 11:39am
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Hi, back in 1977 I ran followspot for a production of Godspell that was staged in a small church. Their set was simple yet very creative and colorful. The setting was an oversized "toy store" and all the characters were toys that came to life!
All the actors dressed as various antique toys. I think the girl that sang "Day by Day" was a Raggedy Anne doll. The Jesus character was a traditional wind-up toy soldier. (At one point I remember he runs out of power so they attached a big wind-up key to his back to restore him).
I can't recall what all the others were...but they were all classic toy characters. Maybe there was a clown or a teddy bear or a cowboy...kind of like the movie "Toy Story".
The set was made up of large blocks to climb on...each with giant letters painted on the sides, like a kid's toy blocks. I think there was a gigantic wooden rocking horse upstage and a toy train for them to jump around on.
Well...call me sentimental...but I saved the programs from EVERY show I have ever worked on! Here is a link to a scan of that old program cover:
http://www.lowell.to/Studio/GodspellProgram.jpg - http://www.lowell.to/Studio/GodspellProgram.jpg
(The original program artwork was credited to Curtis Sexton)
Anyhow, I remember the production as being bright and colorful with a simple and consistant theme for the set & costumes.
-Dana ------------- Mr. Lowell, Lighting/Set Designer & Tech Director, for the Linda Sloan Theatre, in the Davison Center for the Arts, at Greensboro Day School |
Posted By: jaytee060
Date Posted: 5/13/07 at 12:49pm
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I have directed Godspell twice. Once I used the construction site concept to great success. We even had a rock band on stage behind a chain link fence with high voltage signs. The cross rose up out of the street and it was all very effective.
The second time I directed it, I decided to try something a little diffrent and placed the setting inside the big top of a circus. It was cute and flashy and made for some great props and costumes, but it also seemed to lose some of the earthy drama that is embedded within J. Michael's beautiful script.
Im not suggesting that you must use the inner-city type setting but be careful not to make it to frothy or cutesy. While it is funny and zany and you can be a crazy as you want to be, it still has several powerful messages that you don't want to overshadow with "schmaltz".
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Posted By: slicksister
Date Posted: 5/13/07 at 11:58pm
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I really want the show to be relevant to thie lives of the people who are going to pay to watch it. I love the down to earthiness of it and so instead of doing something "schmalzy" or gimmicky I'm going to do something simple. I live inthe wine country of northern California so I am going to use the patio setting area of a little Bistro in wine country as the setting. The characters will be local peoplelike a waitress, soccer mom, business man. punker kid on a skateboard, a homeless person etc. Their will be a little table with an umbrella, a park like bench, a trash receptacle, window boxes with flowers, etc. The band will be onstage kitty corner to the bistro in the "town square" . Next door to the bistro (which by the way is called GODSPELL's) is a costume shop or a thrift store. I'm reallyhappy with my desisio. I'll keep you posted as to the progress. ------------- The Main Thing is to Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing |
Posted By: POB14
Date Posted: 5/14/07 at 9:16am
Okay, this has sparked my infamous creativity. Hm, what would I name a bistro where Godspell would be set?
The Life Cafe (yeah, stolen from Rent)
Heavenly Hash (kind of a low-end bistro, I guess
 )Take This And Eat (my personal favorite
 )Living Waters
Baguette Thee Behind Me Satan
 The Holy Grail
Chez Jean Baptiste (probably what I would actually use!)
Whatever "Last Supper" is in French . . . Babelfish says "dernier dîner", but that's horrible, and I bet there's an idiom for it.
We actually have a Holy Land Diner here in town, and I'd be tempted to use that if I weren't tied to the "bistro" thing.
Anybody else have ideas?
------------- POB Old Bugger, Curmudgeon, and Antisocial B**tard |
Posted By: Mr. Lowell
Date Posted: 6/11/07 at 11:52pm
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Godspell has been done with MANY different themes.
Does anyone know how the original professional Godspell was staged and costumed when it was on/off Broadway?
Thanks, Dana ------------- Mr. Lowell, Lighting/Set Designer & Tech Director, for the Linda Sloan Theatre, in the Davison Center for the Arts, at Greensboro Day School |
Posted By: Kathy S
Date Posted: 6/13/07 at 1:57am
| How about "Loaves and Fishes" or "Loaves and Quiches" or "Love and Kisses" |
Posted By: SpaceCoast
Date Posted: 7/10/07 at 6:37pm
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Surfside Players in Cocoa Beach did Godspell this past year. Theme was a business suit to a slow hippie transformation, kinda kewl and my wife ROCKED IT TOO!!!
Peace ------------- Devon http://www.spacecoasttheatre.com - SpaceCoastTheatre.com http://www.surfsideplayers.com - SurfsidePlayers.com |
Posted By: jaytee060
Date Posted: 7/14/07 at 5:34pm
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The initial production of Godspell was a workshop thesis production at Carnegie -Mellon University in Pittsburgh. I believe it was actually directed by author J. Michael Teblak. There was no setting so to speak but the actors were all dressed in wildly bright colorful costumes almost resembling that of circus clown suits. It was intended to be something to appeal to the youth and still deliver the religious messages so cleverly imbedded in the libretto.
I think the creativity of community theatres across the country have been much more intramental in "theme-setting" " the show.
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Posted By: SpaceCoast
Date Posted: 7/14/07 at 6:01pm
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Here is a graphic I did called The Ghost Of Godspell, A myspace Ad mixed with the cast. http://www.spacecoasttheatre.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=54 - http://www.spacecoasttheatre.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=54
------------- Devon http://www.spacecoasttheatre.com - SpaceCoastTheatre.com http://www.surfsideplayers.com - SurfsidePlayers.com |
Posted By: Playwright
Date Posted: 7/15/07 at 11:41am
| I have always wanted to do this show. If I ever had the chance I would set it in the 50's and place it in one of those 50's style diners/burger joints with jukebox etc. Just a concept that I've always had at the back of my mind. |
Posted By: SherrieAnne
Date Posted: 8/30/07 at 10:38pm
The setting was a playground, surrounded by a chain-link fence. Costumes were designed as children playing at clowns. Jesus wore a Superman shirt & rainbow suspenders;John/Judas wore a ringmaster's coat with multicolored stripes (the same one he wore in the film). As Susan Tsu, the original designer, states in her concept notes, “The costumes are collages employing the use of different fabrics – stripes, polka dots, bold colors, a potpourri of objects seeming as if the kids picked them up at an antique store and just added them – tassles, cloth flowers, lace, buttons, safety pins, and patches…”
The Cherry Lane is a perfect setting for GODSPELL - it was very intimate, with a very low platform stage which made it easy for the cast to move into and out of the audience.
There are some original cast photos online - I'm just not sure where I put the links!!!  ------------- There's a little bit of diva in all of us. Some just have a larger helping than others. |
Posted By: SherrieAnne
Date Posted: 9/03/07 at 2:16pm
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I have a question for those of you who have directed GODSPELL - how many of you have used the shofar? Was it difficult for the actor to learn to play? Thanks! ------------- There's a little bit of diva in all of us. Some just have a larger helping than others. |
Posted By: psmstar
Date Posted: 9/14/07 at 1:12pm
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We built a thrust, and had the cast members paint and decorate slabs of wood to make a wall that spelled out 'Godspell' It was very simple staging with (ready?) scaffolding that most of the ensemble stood on. It was very well done, and if you can use the scaffolding idea, I completely suggest that you do it :) It's very artsy. |
Posted By: John Luzaich
Date Posted: 2/29/08 at 11:02am
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In response to Mr. Lowell's original post,
I did the show twice, once in Chicago and once in New York.
It ran roughly five years Off-Broadway and then another couple of years on Broadway at the Ambassador Theatre (one of the smaller venues). That's why it didn't run longer, because of the Broadway transfer. It probably would have had a huge life Off-Broadway. Same thing happened to Joseph..., it would have run forever had it stayed Off-Broadway, but after 12 weeks Off-B, it transfered to the Royal Theatre and after running for two years, it closed and basically broke even for the investors.
The original Broadway set of Godspell had the chain link fence as mentioned before, but the main thing is that the band performed on stage, there was no orchestra pit used. There was a platform built all the way upstage center that the band (musicians) performed on and the actors could use the space underneath.
------------- John cfct@cfu.net http://www.osterregent.org http://www.facebook.com/osterregent |
Posted By: dramafreak21
Date Posted: 3/03/08 at 12:20pm
| I don't have much to add, but we did it a couple summers ago. It was in a junkyard with multilevel scaffolding, old broken furniture, splattered stage floor, old school lockers with "graffiti," etc. and we all spray painted our names on the walls. We wanted the director to use the backend of an old junky car, but it wouldn't have fit on the stage (very, very small space). |
Posted By: SherrieAnne
Date Posted: 12/06/08 at 12:55am
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FINALLY!!!!!! Tonight was opening night for our production of GODSPELL - it was a long, strange trip to get there, but it was AWESOME!!!!! I am STILL smiling!!!!!!! (I'd turn cartwheels if I could!) ------------- There's a little bit of diva in all of us. Some just have a larger helping than others. |