Macbeth (Initial Research)
February 26, 2018
Brief: To choose from one of Shakespeare's plays; Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, or Tempest and put it into a period and culture of your choosing. You can decide on the gender and background of each of the characters.
To begin, I read the plot summary for all of the above and Romeo and Juliet appealed to the inner romantic in me, while Macbeth intrigued me. In the end, Macbeth won as the more I read, the more I find it steeped in symbolism and meanings.
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| Page 1/15 of Script Breakdown |
Macbeth Script Breakdown
Feedback on Script Breakdown (By Anna):
-Under 'Background Action', this should be everything needed for Extras/people in the background such as swords, shields, armour, horse regalia.
-Secondly, you can add set numbers to Set No. starting with 1, 2, and repeating the same number if a location is used twice.
-Under 'Background Action', this should be everything needed for Extras/people in the background such as swords, shields, armour, horse regalia.
-Secondly, you can add set numbers to Set No. starting with 1, 2, and repeating the same number if a location is used twice.
After reading the script of Macbeth, I decided to create my set in Ming Dynasty, China (1368-1644) More specifically, I wanted my design to revolve around the gardens of that time. As I was reading, I could not help but notice a lot of reference to Nature and how the different characters refer to it.
Duncan
"I have begun to plant thee, and will labour to make thee full of growing" (Act 1, Scene 4)
"I have begun to plant thee, and will labour to make thee full of growing" (Act 1, Scene 4)
Lady MB:
"Stars, hide your fires! Let not light see my black and deep desires." (Act 1, Scene 4)
"Look like the innocent flower, But be the serpent under it" (Act 1, Scene 5)
Here, Duncan is thinking of how he can contribute and make his country bloom under his leadership. Whereas instead of embracing Nature like Duncan did, Lady Macbeth uses Nature to hide their dark plotting. On top of that, each time that the witches appear or some kind of immoral act is conducted, the order in the nature world would also be disturbed by lighting and thunder.
That being said, I wanted to channel this into my design and somehow find a way to incorporate Nature or elements of it into my set. When I was doing further research into this, I found out that London do not actually have any Chinese Gardens. The closest I found to it is a Chinese Pagoda in Kews Garden, but even then, that is not historically correct. Chinese Pagodas are normally made out of an odd numbers of floor (Commonly 3, 7 or 13) However, the one in Kews is a ten-storey octagon tower. I read that although designer Sir William Chambers studied oriental architecture in China, he ignored traditional conventions while designing Kew's pagoda. I was quite disappointed when I learnt about that because the only other remotely Chinese looking building I found in London is a supermarket in Edgware called Wing Yip. But when I paid it a visit, I just was not feeling the vibe. The bold colours seemed too disorienting for me and it is not what I envisioned in my head.
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| Exterior Of Asian Supermarket, Wing Yip (London) |
At this point in time I was a little dishearten and was experiencing what one would call an "artist block". I was no longer motivated and was even thinking of potentially changing my idea and period! The stress was getting to me and since it was Easter break, I decided I am not going to think about it for a while and take a trip to Vancouver to visit my cousins. Who knew, all I needed was a little vacation!
In the last few days that I was up there, I came across this little enclave in the heart of China town, also known as Sun Yet Sun memorial park, which conveniently, is built after the Gardens in China during the period I wanted.
Do you know that Chinese Gardens back then are constructed to depict a microcosm of the natural world and the human beings place within nature? Cool huh?
I cannot even begin to tell you how much I love the place. It was not just a feast for my eyes, but for my mind as well. I always knew that the Chinese love their symbolism and Feng Shui but I did not know that so much of their construction actually revolve around it! There was a pamphlet of the place, which I eagerly took and make notes on it by highlighting all those key features which I felt fascinated me. (As seen by the all the green marks in the picture below)
Fun Facts:
In the pictures above, you see two different gates. They are the two opposite opening to the Jade Water Pavilion and known as the Heaven (Circular) and Earth (Square) gates. The moon gate implies a never ending circle, of heaven and perfection. Therefore as you look out from it, you will see the garden in its natural, inhabited state. On the opposite side, when you look out from the Earth's gate, you see another view of the garden, the more "man-made" part of the garden where the beauty has been enhanced by human's creation. This kind of contrast is carried on throughout most parts of the garden as the Chinese are a firm believer of creating upholding the balance and Yin and Yang of things.
Another place where this Yin and Yang can be seen is in the division of the male and female domains. The architecture separation of the space is very subtle and demonstrated through the different tiles used in the respective location. These are the tiles found in the female section of the garden.
Speaking of division of power, they also even have two separate corridors, known as the double corridor that runs around the garden. But this is not to show the power play between the genders, instead to highlight the status division of one's class. One walkway are for servants, while the other are for esteemed guests.
It does not even ends there! The zig-zag pathways also ensures that the entire path is not seen and specially designed to slow your steps and make you appreciate the beauty of the garden more as with each turns, more of the garden is revealed to you. How fascinating is that?
And all of these is just scrapping the surface. There is still so much to talk about! I have not even touched on the types of plants, rocks and even the lucky bat symbolisms. But I think I talked quite a bit already, so I shall stop there. Opsies.
To sum up, I am really really glad I decided to take that break and found this gem of a garden. Because now I just cannot wait to get started on my project.
Do you know that Chinese Gardens back then are constructed to depict a microcosm of the natural world and the human beings place within nature? Cool huh?
I cannot even begin to tell you how much I love the place. It was not just a feast for my eyes, but for my mind as well. I always knew that the Chinese love their symbolism and Feng Shui but I did not know that so much of their construction actually revolve around it! There was a pamphlet of the place, which I eagerly took and make notes on it by highlighting all those key features which I felt fascinated me. (As seen by the all the green marks in the picture below)
Fun Facts:
In the pictures above, you see two different gates. They are the two opposite opening to the Jade Water Pavilion and known as the Heaven (Circular) and Earth (Square) gates. The moon gate implies a never ending circle, of heaven and perfection. Therefore as you look out from it, you will see the garden in its natural, inhabited state. On the opposite side, when you look out from the Earth's gate, you see another view of the garden, the more "man-made" part of the garden where the beauty has been enhanced by human's creation. This kind of contrast is carried on throughout most parts of the garden as the Chinese are a firm believer of creating upholding the balance and Yin and Yang of things.
Another place where this Yin and Yang can be seen is in the division of the male and female domains. The architecture separation of the space is very subtle and demonstrated through the different tiles used in the respective location. These are the tiles found in the female section of the garden.
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| Famine Tiles |
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| Masculine Tiles |
It does not even ends there! The zig-zag pathways also ensures that the entire path is not seen and specially designed to slow your steps and make you appreciate the beauty of the garden more as with each turns, more of the garden is revealed to you. How fascinating is that?
And all of these is just scrapping the surface. There is still so much to talk about! I have not even touched on the types of plants, rocks and even the lucky bat symbolisms. But I think I talked quite a bit already, so I shall stop there. Opsies.
To sum up, I am really really glad I decided to take that break and found this gem of a garden. Because now I just cannot wait to get started on my project.
Update: With renewed enthusiasm, I went back to London and got started on my research. I started from websites like Britannica Image Quest, however I felt like their archive was more catered towards more European base research. In the end, I managed to find some really useful supporting books in the library on the history of Chinese Gardens. And you will see how these two books helped me tremendously later on in the designing process.
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