D I R E C T O RA N A M E G H A N I

Big Love by Charles L. Mee is a Greek tragedy

depicting the art of feminism and the right to love.

The theme of the play can set the mood, which correlates with the

different design elements.

SET DESIGNBecause of the feminist aspect of

the play, the girls are not afraid to

flaunt what they have. The main

set can be the bathtub where

Lydia is bathing and people begin

walking in LIGHT DESIGNBecause of the play’s

depiction of the right to

love, soft (lower

intensity), warm-toned

lighting can be used

during the romantic

scenes between Lydia and

Nikos

COSTUME DESIGNBecause of the feminist aspect

of the play, most of the girls

can be wearing wedding

dresses, but on the more

conservative side.

The director is essentially the editor of the entire play. He

overlooks all the aspects of putting the play together like:

>Choosing the script

>Selecting the cast

>Shaping the spine

>Finding the style

>Developing the directional concept

Usually the director chooses the script to which he or she feels a

deep connection to. We chose the play Big Love because of it’s

modern take on a old-time problem (arranged

marriages/forbidden love), as well as the twist in domestic

violence. A woman hurting a man is less spoken of than a man

hurting a woman.

ANGELINA JOLIE - Thyona: Bride, angry feminist

ANNE HATHAWAY - Olympia: Bride, polar opposite of Thyona

AMANDA SEYFRIED - Lydia: Bride, middle ground between her two sisters

VIN DIESEL - Constantine: Groom, the ultimate misogynist

JUSTIN BARTHA - Oed: Groom, not very bright

JOSH DALLAS - Nikos: Groom, longs for a real connection with his bride

SEAN MAGUIRE - Piero: Owner of the Italian manor providing sanctuary to brides

MERYL STREEP - Bella: Mother of Piero

GABRIEL MANN - Giuliano: Son of Piero

Big Love is a play about fifty girls who flee from their city to

avoid marrying their cousins due to a contract created before any

of them were born. The grooms are for following tradition and

culture. The brides are against arranged marriages.

The spine of the play of is “tradition vs. modernity.”

The style of Big Love is “selective realism.” Selective Realism is

essentially when the play is meant to resemble real life, but not

all the time.

The issue of arranged marriages, right to love, and domestic

violence are still issues today, but having 50 sisters is highly

unlikely.

The directional concept is essentially what the director

would want the audience to take away from the play.

The directional concept of Big Love is “the struggle

between traditional and modern life.”

Set Design

Big Love•For the set of Big Love I decided

to make it look like one big

bathroom.

•I wanted to have a lot of space

for the people that are constantly

in the same room for the majority

of the play.

•I think this will allow things to

flow easier and will match the

story.

•There will be 2 different sets, one

will be the bathtub one and the

second one will be where the

wedding is held.

The Background •There will be a wall on the

back of the set.

• That wall will contain a door

that looks out to Italy and

part of the ocean.

•The door will lead to the

outside of the terrace.

•The wall will have a view

painted on it of half of the

ocean and half grass.

•The view will be in daylight

which will help set the time of

the day and of the year.

The Background

•The rest of the wall will be

painted the same color of

the walls of the house in the

picture.

•All of these things help set

the audience in an outdoor

setting.

•There will be a bathtub about 6

feet from the door.

•The Bathtub will be modern.

•The modern bathtub will help set the

period in which the play takes part.

•There will also be 2 tables on

the right side of the stage.

•They will be used for setting

the weeding gifts and other

things.

•Towels will also be stored on

the table.

•Next to the Bathtub there will

be a small table with a glass of

wine, books and other things.

Set 2:The wedding The wedding will be

and a salon.

There is going to be a

lot of tables.

There will be like an

altar in the middle

where the couples will

take turns getting

married.

The wedding Decorations There will be a chandelier

hanging from the top on

each table.

Each table will have

silverware and flowers.

Set Change To make the set changes easy the big pieces such as

the bath tub will have small wheels.

The other things should be light enough to just pick

them up.

Costume Design

Benson Benny

Big Love

• The costume of each character help decide the time period the play is set on, the status of the character, the occupation, age, geography, and the time of day.

• Costume also include accessories like wigs, masks, and makeup.

• The costume in Big Love depends on each character and the scene.

The Characters: The Brides

• In this play, there are going to be two scenes, one is when the sisters come for refuge and the other one during the wedding.

• In the beginning they shabby wedding clothes with big bags.

• Each one of the sister’s wedding dress is styled according to their personality.

The Grooms

• The groom is rich because they got money when they went to America.

• They wear nice expensive suits and accessories that match their status and education.

• Coming out of the helicopter scene gives them a James Bond look.

• They will have a modern look compared to others.

The Old Woman

• Bella, the old woman in

the play wear a black

dress and babushka.

• She will carry a basket of

tomatoes and a folding

chair.

Piero

• He is rich Italian person

and the owner of the

house the girls found

refuge in.

• He wears elegant clothes

to show that he has

money and walk around

with a glass of wine.

Giuliano

• Guiliano’s personality can be considered gay.

• The clothes he is going to wear help the audience understand his role in the play and also his character.

• He act accordingly as well

Moving Freely

• The costumes that characters wear in this play helps

them move pretty easy.

• The costume is not that big and baggy so they can move

and dance freely.

The final scene

• When the play started the

brides had dirty wedding

gowns and at the end

they will have bloody

gowns.

Light DesignAshley Abraham

• The lights are used to enhance the scene, it is not just to illuminate the actors and the set.

• Lighting should pull everything on stage together to create a balance and the main focus should be on the message that needs to be conveyed.

• Visibility is the number one job as a light designer. Everything should be visible to the audience.

• However it is selective visibility, meaning the audience should only see what the director wants them to see.

• In big love the main set is the bathtub thus the main emphasis will be on the bathtub.

Visibility

• The purpose of revelation of form is to shape an object with light.

• The theme is the right to love, therefore most of the play has a low intensity lighting and a soft glow lighting. Especially, during the wedding when they dance and also when Lydia and Nikos are together.

• During the helicopter scene there will be a dramatic shadow and a bright spotlight on the women to enhance their shape.

• The actors can also appear three dimensional by using lighting from the back and side. This can be effective in the scene where the women & men throw themselves to the ground.

Shape & Forms

• The composition directs the eye in a certain direction. The light reveals the flow of the story and creates a perception.

•The focus in Big Love is on the three woman most of the time. They will have a spot light on them. At that time the background will have dimmer lights.

Visual Composition

• Lighting is applied to create specific moods and emotion.

• Big love is intense and romantic. So when it is intense like the murder scene it will have flashing red lights while the wedding will have soft lavender lights.

• Style in Big Love is naturalistic and modern.

Mood & Style

• The audience will be able to tell the time by the lighting.

• The play Big Love takes place in the evening. Which will be illuminated by blue and black light.

Time & Place

• Changes in light can say a lot about the play. The changes can be determined by intensity, color, and distribution of light.

• Slow and smooth fading lights indicates visual movement in Big Love.

Visual Movement

• Lighting has to coordinate with the rest of the design elements to convey the message the director is trying to communicate.

• Warm colors are used in Big Love for the a central visual image.

Central Visual Image