Mookie Riffic

Before I get to the main topic of my post I should mention that I’m taking not one, but two drama courses. Speech and Drama, and Theater Production. Can you say Yikes! But I’m learning a lot, and I’m enjoying it. So as I learn it, I’m going to post it.

Now on to the topic, Colors In Theater.

All colors generally stand for a particular emotion, and are used to set people apart, distinguish groups, create moods, and foreshadowing.

The term colors also includes Wood tones, certain wood tones mean different thing. For example, a dark mahogany or oak generally is used in a tragedy. And Pine, or to be really picky, White Pine is used for upbeat things, like comedies and musicals. Its all about the mood.

When designing a set for a play there is generally two neutral colors that everything is based on. Either Black and White, or Brown and Ivory. If its going to be a black and white, you don’t want ivory in it because the ivory will just look dingy. And that of course is not good. Once you pick out your two base colors you work from there, generally with a color pallet, or if your thrifty/poor, you use paint chips.

For our fall show this year, we are doing Sabrina. We’re taking the best scenes from the original 1930’s play Sabrina Fair, the best from the Humphrey Bogart version and the best of the Harrison Ford version. It should be awesome. We have color coordinated each person and group with a very particular color. For example (I’m going to assume you know the basic plot and characters) the Larrabees are going to be in Blue. The matriarch of the family, Maude, in a almost purple blue. Why? Because-Ta Da!- purple means Royal. The blue is calm, and since we’re talking about a supper rich family, we’re assuming they have no real worries.

I don’t remember the color’s for a lot of the other characters, so here’s what each color means anyway. Green means Envy, Money, or Sickly. Red means Heat, Passion, Rage, Anger, Trouble, or Sex. Yellow is happiness, and surprise (all those emotions that generally make you want to barf when there in excess). Orange, this one is rarely used, but when it is its for people you want to stand out, and for seasonal. And if your really pushing it to the limit, food. Black generally means Dark, Evil (expected), mystery, and power. Notice the lack of Death on that list. That is because none other then the color of Innocence, White, symbolizes Death.

To give you an example of when White symbolizes Death, the 1960’s version of Romeo and Juliet (Zimmerman?). At the party scene she was in white, partly to stand out, and partly because it was foreshadowing. Also in the Leonardo Dicaprio version of it, when Juliet is on the bier she is in a white gown.

Well that’s enough on colors for now. Mainly because that’s the extent of my notes.