My vision of Ruined

The play occurs in a dive (a bar) in the Congo. There is a general air of hopelessness, helplessness. Props must be the minimum necessary to permit the play to proceed and must convey a sense of shabbiness. Sound effects must be harsh and abrasive to convey a world outside that is dangerous and unforgiving. Costuming must convey the roles of the actors while generally contributing to a sense of neglect, as if dressed in leftover rags. Lighting must cast harsh shadows and accentuate the shabbiness of the set. Characterization in Mama Nadi’s girls must be flat and artificial. They cannot possibly love the men they are serving; the same paper emotions will be displayed to the next man who pays for their services. The customers are caricatures of the people they represent.

The play is performed on a traditional stage in Manhattan. The target audience is a cosmopolitan mix of urbanites that have never known, and may have no concept of the life in the Congo. Its goal is to provoke sympathy for the women whose plight is shown, and to explore what people will do to survive when the thin veneer of civilization is stripped away.

The stage is a traditional ‘window’ on the action of the play, but there are stairs that permit actors to enter from the rear of the theater and mount the stage. The audience will experience the world outside as the soldiers, miners, revolutionaries and tradesmen march through them to get to the bar.

The set is the bar. The bar is minimalist; only what is needed to provide the expected services. It has obviously been neglected; the owner feels no pride in it. If something has been broken, only the minimum necessary repairs have taken place. The furniture is cheap and flimsy. If you sit too hard in a chair it will break. The space is low; the bar is not grand or tall, but more like a cave. The walls and ceiling are suggested by panels that create the impression of worn boards, almost like the space was assembled from the broken remains of another building. The front door to the bar is the ramp from the audience onto the stage and so is not shown as a frame other structure. It is suggested by the motion of the characters into the bar. There is one table with a few chairs where the patrons will sit, and where Mama Nadi’s girls will first encounter their customers. The bar is toward the rear of the set where Mama Nadi serves up drinks. There is a round raised platform standing about 10 inches high where Sophie sings.

Costumes are role-specific, creating caricatures of the roles they support. Mama Nadi wears robes and turbans. The clothes are neat but clearly not new or expensive. They portray her as someone who wants to create the impression of success without actually spending the money. The girls are dressed in traditional dresses that have been slit up the sides so their legs show as they walk around. Their heads are uncovered and their hair is short, almost shaved. Sleeves are short, to expose their arms, and the necklines are low. They are ‘available’ without being alluring.

The soldiers wear fatigues that appear to have gone long periods between washing. They carry automatic firearms that they occasionally fire into the air to proclaim their manhood. Their heads are covered in red berets. Their boots are scuffed and dirty. These uniforms lack insignia; they are merely suggestions of uniforms. This contributes to the general sense of shabbiness in the artistic vision.

Rebels are dressed similar to the soldiers; there are just enough differences to make it obvious they are not soldiers. They carry different and lower quality firearms. Their headgear is bandanas rather than berets. The point of their attire is that, for Mama Nadi and the girls, there is really very little difference between the soldiers and the rebels. They are equally abusive opposites in a conflict that has no meaning to those who run the bar.

Salesmen are dressed in suits that that are clearly worn and a little too big for them, almost like a high-school boy who borrowed a suit from his father. The shirt is white. The necktie is bright and colorful.  Shoes are shiny on top, but there are holes in the soles. The overall effect is one of an attempt at the appearance of success without the actual effort.

Lighting contributes to the cave-like atmosphere in the bar. Lights have a yellowish tint that casts shadows into which it is hard to see and makes props and sets appear dingy and dirty. Periodically, a mask is applied to the lights that project bars on the faces of the actors, as if they are in jail. The light gets brighter for action during the day, and dims to suggest candle light when the action occurs in the evening or night.

Sound effects convey the environment that remains unseen. There is occasional chatter of gunfire in the background. Sometimes there is screaming. Sometimes there are voices shouting or the sound of someone being beaten. These sounds are never loud enough to conflict with the dialog, but they are ever-present reminders of the environment in which the action lives.

When the soldiers enter, they fire their guns in the air to announce their appearance. This gunfire is loud and startling.

When Sophie sings, the musical accompaniment sounds like an old and often-played LP record. It is scratchy and the scratching sometimes hides the melody.

The overall effect, as described in the artistic vision, is one of a dangerous, dirty environment within which each member of the cast attempts to survive.