As the director of this play, my first step was to decide my overall idea or “vision” for the production. After having read the fantastic play Ruined by Lynn Nottage I got a better idea of what I wanted to stand out the most to the audience. Personally, I wanted to convey the culture of this society in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the life choices they were forced to make. In order to this I realized I would want to research more about life in this specific location and time period to see what clothing was common as well as basic accessories and housing. Reflecting back on the new information that I learned I realized that set design as well as costume designs would be especially crucial. Essentially I wanted to do Lynn Nottage’s outstanding play justice to what I think she would have wanted the audience to experience.
Given the tropical location noted in the play as being in the Democratic Republic of Congo, I wanted to choose a location with at least a moderately similar atmosphere. Therefore I chose the Regency Freeport Theatre in the Bahamas to stage my production of Ruined. Even though this theatre is not an outdoor one, I believe that the atmosphere of the location would enhance the performance. Another reason I chose this particular theater was because according to the information I read, this theater is known for it’s productions of culturally themed events, especially featuring Bahamian, West Indian, and North American playwrights. Therefore I believed this theater would be very open to the unique culture in Ruined.
Since most of the action in the play revolves around Mama NadI’s place, this is what I would want the set to emphasize. I would want the set to indicate the lifestyle of the people living in this certain time period in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Therefore, very simple furnishings, modern, but everything worn and used. The set would also be used to indicate the mood of the production; somewhat melancholy but with a hidden spirit of hope underneath the surface. Certain essential props would include the pool tab mentioned several times throughout the play as well as a bar and stools. Although the main set up would revolve around the bar area in Mama Nadi’s place, it would also need to be versatile enough for the scene between a few of the characters that takes place in the girls’ bedroom. Overall I would want the set design to appear authentic and captivating enough the keep the audience intrigued with out distracting them from the actual play.
Keeping with the theme of the set design, I would want the costumes to be authentic and modern as well. From what I gathered from the book the characters appear to live in a somewhat poor and slightly desolate area but in a modern time. The girls living in Mama NadI’s place, essentially a brothel, would be dressed in skimpy clothing but nothing too elaborate. (I thought the picture below looked like what I imagined Josephine would wear) The men’s costumes would vary depending on what their character was portraying. For example Jerome Kisembe, the rebel leader, would probably be wearing a uniform resembling a modern soldier. Whereas the diamond merchant Mr. Harari, would have a more professional dress, but still worn and used.. I would want the costumes to be very indicative of the character’s status and occupation. 
The light design would be another huge focus of this production. Since some of the scenes take place outside and some take place inside, the lighting would clue the audience in to the subtle changes. I would want the lighting to be mostly natural, if at all possible. Most of the light could come of out the overhead lights in Mama NadI’s place as well as from side lamps. To indicate an outdoor scene the overhead lights would be on very bright to align with the bright sun in the Dominican Republic of Congo. These would be the major uses of the light design in Ruined.
For as much as possible, I would want the sound for Ruined to be natural. My main reason for this is because Lynn Nottage wrote all of the songs in the play accompanied by music from Dominic Kanza, so I would want to use these orginial songs for my production. I feel that these songs improve the dialogue better than any underscore could. However, for particular scenes like the outdoor scenes, for example, I would want certain sound effects to be used. I might use background music to represent the sound of soldiers approaching in the distance or subtle background music playing inside Mama Nadi’s bar. Overall, I would want the sound to be a simple addition to the play that would allow the focus to remain on the dialogue. (Below is a video I found that portrayed some authentic Dominican Republic music that I thought I could use for some parts of the play.)
Overall I think that this approach to creating a production of Ruined would yield a spectacular and exciting play. Because I loved how Lynn Nottage portrayed the story of Ruined in her play, I think that other people watching the production would appreciate it if I kept my own production of Ruined as accurate as possible. Even though I do not think my “production” of Ruined will ever become a
reality, I think that this experience in thinking and creating ideas was a very interesting process. I believe that with the concepts I have learned, I would know at least be able to appreciate the processes that real directors go through as they sit down to create a production. Works Cited:
Nottage, Lynn. Ruined. New York City: Theatre Communications Group, INC, 2009. Print.
"Regency Theatre Online." Freeport Players Guild Regency Theatre Online. 2008. Freeport Players' Guild, Web. 13 Dec 2009. http://www.regencytheatregbi.com/.
Images Cited:
Image#1: Unknown Artist. Retrieved from The Tutor Guild. Web.
http://www.tudorguild.org/ruined-lynn-nottage-pr-1769.html
Image#2: Unknown Artist. Retrieved from Facebook.Com. Web. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=310603&id=8570719019
Image#3: Unknown Artist. Retrieved from the Chicago Tribune. Web.
http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/the_theater_loop/images/2008/11/19/ruinedb.jpg
Image#4: Unknown Artist. Retrieved from Premiere.Com. Web.
http://www.premiere.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/list/20-hottest-sex-scenes-of-all-time/15.-monster-s-ball-2001/447684-4-eng-US/15.-Monster-s-Ball-2001_imagelarge.jpg
Image#5: Dan Brady. Retrieved from flickr. Web. http://www.flickr.com/photos/djbrady/2068433063/
Image#6: Joan Marcus. Retrieved from Playbill.Com. Web. http://www.playbill.com/news/article/126106-Ruined-Nottages-Play-About-African-Atrocities-and-Human-Hope-Opens-Feb.-10
Video: Cre8ivmind. "Dominican Republic Music and Images". 09 June 2009. Online Video Clip. Youtube. Accessed on 14 December 2009. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wzTfYV7jgg
