Marta the Divine

I am beginning to take notes and ask questions for our production of Marta the Divine at UMass, Amherst.

How do you decide when you have a character who could be cast as either a man or a woman? Keep in mind that the choice will change the tone and relationships in the play considerably. Do you choose based on the statement(s) that you want to make, or do you leave it to be decided by the turnout at auditions?

The opening of the play begins with a sonnet of mourning by the leading lady, and then another by her sister. Their brother has just been murdered by a man who happens to be both of the woman's lovers. I wonder how to approach the audience entrance into the theater and the opening of the play. The play as a whole is a comedy, yet this opening is very mournful and somber. Do I assist the playwright's deceptive opening and create a mournful atmosphere with the sound? Will the lighting and costume designers open the play with lighting that helps to create a somber mood/atmosphere and costumes that are worn during a time of mourning? Here are a few sound bites that inspire me for the audience entrance into the space and the first two sonnets by Marta and Lucía...

Great Thaw

Nostalgia B

(Argentina) Tango