FOA Draft

Introduction to novel and what I like about it-

Krik Krak is novel that combines both magical realism, intense relationships and Haitian culture into one. Edwidge Danticat weaved several powerful themes by writing in short vignette style- she writes very smooth and focuses of being true to the way she imagines characters. Danticat takes a lot of liberties in format and emphasizes her themes the most.

I liked the book because the vignette style kept each moment interesting- new characters, quick but natural character development. It also had great flow from story to story, the order made sense. The magical realism only comes in a few stories, such as 1937- however the majority of stories are realistic fiction. This is effective because it is a natural way to tell a story or history- it combines forms of storytelling. That is why this story is great for stage (storytelling). The book also focuses on relationships, whether it is family, marriage, people and government- it explores the complexity and simplicity of all relationships, never leaving out layers of detail. It was meant to be on stage because that kind of relationship can be seen and felt beyond paper.

Introduction of stage adaption ideas-

I thought a lot about which vignette to choose, however A Wall of Fire Rising kept coming back to me- the complex relationship, broken characters, absolute anger that also hid fear, longing, lust etc. There was so much emotion to play with that it seemed perfect for a stage scene. The short story had no magic realism, so we kept it that way, aimed to naturally explain the destruction of their marriage through a ‘prologue’ style. We used our own creativity to write what happens before what the book tells readers. Kept the set simple, script truthful and focused on using the whole book’s themes to capture their relationship.

Characterization-

The whole scene will be a collection of short vignettes that illustrate the deterioration of Guy and Lili's relationship. Their son is not a part of the scene, therefore the main focus remains spotlighted on gender roles, sexual disfunction/tension, and a loss of love. The scenes take place over a span of 10(ish) years by beginning when Lili discovered her pregnancy and ends when Guy kills himself.

It was also important to make sure neither myself or Guy took up more space than the other. We had to share the stage, we found our moments- however made sure that we equally worked off each other rather than competing for the spotlight. Our main technique was storytelling, and we focused each scene on the two characters. We allowed for the text to highlight both their individual themes, longing for Lili and insecurity for Guy, and also the whole book’s- relationships.

Characterization relating to themes-

The main themes of the scene were gender roles, sexual disfunction and tension, and a loss of love. Guy never felt like a real man, he didn’t make enough money, he barely knew his son, therefore Lili took on the role as the head of the home. Guy felt she belonged doing ‘female jobs’ and this caused a conflict in their marriage. Guy’s insecurities couldn't match Lili’s forward and bold personality, therefore they slowly fought their way out of love. As they began to fall out of love, their hope to even be civil went away- which related to the whole book’s theme of conflict and power. The struggle to connect left Lili completely broken, which connected to the book’s theme of relationships and internal conflict. She had many regrets, but Lili also struggled with recognizing her own fault.

(On stage) The most important piece of the scene was the people, the set was minimal and there were close to no props. This was because Danticat does the same thing in the novel and we valued that as something necessary to the story. She wrote about the family, money, power struggle and hopelessness, not their home or their material objects. This was purposeful in the book and our scene. It focused the attention of the audience on the characters. Lili is constantly conflicted. She wants to be the perfect housewife, but as Guy becomes more internally inferior, she feels the need to become more outwardly aggressive. This was important in the scene because it addressed the theme of gender roles. She forces herself to become more powerful, and confronting. Although she has a lot on her mind, she never talks about things, she internalizes everything. This is the theme of relationship conflict- and she takes her broken relationship as a personal dig to her own humanity. Theme of internal struggle.

Characterization in general-

Finding Lili in my body was a challenge, I had to find a feminine but also tired posture. I stood tall but relaxed my shoulders. She walked very naturally. She was modest, hair out of the face, a long dress- she was a stereotypical ‘wife’. She also was reserved, but had moments of explosive emotion. I varied these by speaking softly and calmly at times with my head down in obedience- then switch to using my arms, yelling and aiming to tower over Guy with my anger. This showed the two sides of Lili that she slowly was exploring more and more. She began to become more aggressive and angry as the scene went on, but I also balanced her vulnerability with this anger. I tried to always have pieces of hope or love, even when it didn’t seem obvious. I got this from Danticat’s constant emphasis on family and love throughout the book. It also made Lili multi-dimensional rather than one-toned and flat. Lastly, it gave Guy more emotion to work off of as he explored his own frustration.

Eventually, Lili gives up on Guy and puts all her energy into her son. The only thing keeping her going is the idea of her son's success. However, her loss of romantic love is slowly destroying her. Due to this, she walks very heavy, but also with purpose. She knows what she must do for her son so she works very hard to provide for him. She resents her husband for burdening her with all the household and childcare responsibilities.

Character Development-

Lili has a huge arch as a character, starting with excitement for the future, love because she is pregnant, the middle she is frustrated, anger but also very hurt and longs for love from her husband. By the end she is hopeless, still in love with Guy but knows that he is lost. I had to show all these changes through my body language- which slowly got less energized. I showed it in the way I touched, or didn’t touch Guy and the way I spoke to him. I felt it was important to be vulnerable and honest in my portrayal of Lily, I constantly changed things and made sure I didn't sound too rehearsed- this made the change believable.

In the book her change is similar, but not as drastic. She slowly gets angrier with Guy, and focuses on their lack of money and food. I searched deeper in the relationship for emotional reasons she could be upset. I found this development by using the aforementioned themes of relationships and conflict.

Possible Improvement-

If we had the chance to go back and fix things, I would have liked to add another scene of ‘love’. The first vignette is the only one where there is no anger. It is all excitement, there are undertones of insecurity, however to make their longing more believable and their fights more intense, I needed one more scene. Possibly of when the two met or when they got married. I also wished we had more time to truly put the lines and memorization into our bodies. I think I was a little caught in my head and over thinking the words, rather than focusing on how I wanted Lily to be portrayed. I don’t think it is clear on stage or obvious, although I think the scene had even more potential than what our final product was.

Conclusion-

Overall, I am very happy with the scene, the characters were multi-layered and interesting. We captured multiple themes of not only the scene and book, but of marriage in real life. It has the potential to connect to real people, which is what makes good theater. This relationship dynamic was integral to our scene's success. We focused on highlighting our own personalities while still challenging ourselves to make bold choices. We worked well as an ensemble and found moments to accentuate each other. Our story was simple, consisting of vignettes, but each scene grew in intensity and emotion. Our aggression matched each other. We were constantly able to build on one another. We found moments of silence to just look at each other which conveyed more emotion than our lines at some points.

The best scene in my opinion was the haunting radio scene. We were able to have such a build mixing in love with pure hopelessness reaching a point of extreme climax. When the radio hit the floor the audience felt the tension. When I picked it up and turned the music back on, the themes of gender roles and family were defied. The acting had depth and challenged me to be a character I never imagined myself as before. The scene grew so much overtime and faced rapid improvement.