Style
1) Morgan, Ross and Cherniak developed The Anger in Ernest and Ernestine through a series of improvisational exercises. Their background in clowning brings the exaggerated and stylized movement of the piece to the forefront. This play is metatheatrical, as these character address the audience from their alcoves at opposite ends of the stage, as well as within their scenes. The play is stylized in a form very similar to clowning.
2) We intend to work with a similar style, with an emphasis on absurd realism. We understand absurd realism in this piece to be the way in which Ernest and Ernestine's seemingly normal conversations take a drastic and exaggerated turn towards the abstract. For example, when Ernestine is reading the poetry book and comments simply on her love for the author's work, Ernest acts in the most extreme way and literally tears the book apart. Ernestine reacts by asking "Where's the scotch-tape Ernest? We can fix it." Both are absurd reactions given the circumstances of a seemingly normal interaction.
3) The Anger in Ernest and Ernestine is extremely stylized in the way that the script is written. It is the stylization of the play that creates the comedic moments. Part of the stylization is Ernest and Ernestine's relationship with the audience. The audience acts as an informant and confidante to which these characters can express the feelings that they have to hide from each other.
4) In terms of our intended acting style, we hope to achieve comedy through exaggeration. It is vital that the actors understand that the issues presented by Ernest and Ernestine, although mundane to the average couple are incredibly important and life altering to them. The actors playing Ernest and Ernestine must play their characters in the most genuine way. It is the little things in their lives that need to be over emphasized. These characters must be completely genuine but at the same time, exude the awkwardness that is Ernest and Ernestine.
The design of the piece is where part of the realism comes in. The realistic nature of the design is what helps to make the absurdity within the characters stand out. Everything should look real, there is nothing abstract about the apartment. The only abstract elements will come in with the lit alcoves and from the various versions of "So Many Reasons."
5) Our overall approach to style is presentational representation. The story itself is representational, it follows a seemingly ordinary couple, in an ordinary apartment, through their ordinary lives. However, the way in which their story is performed is presentational. Despite the realistic situations that this couple finds themselves in, they are completely aware of their audience, who they address throughout the play.
Story World
1) Understanding the Storyworld is not central to our approach to The Anger in Ernest and Ernestine, as this Storyworld is very similar to our own. However, due to the abstract, stylized elements, their world becomes distanced from our own reality.
2) We will not be changing the Storyworld that is in the original script. The majority of the plot points are based on the function of their apartment and that is where the entirety of the piece takes place. If we were to change the world that Ernest and Ernestine live in, the nature of their arguments and the exaggeration of their actions would not resonate.
3/4) The most important aspects of our Storyworld are the ways in which Ernest and Ernestine's reality mirrors ours. We must note however, that the way they respond to seemingly mundane circumstances places them in an altered reality. There is a defined physical restraint, as they have the option to leave the apartment, but rarely do so. They have a want to escape each other but their understanding of what it means to be married, keeps them confined to their small basement apartment. There is a clear code of behaviour that is established through their actions. It is clearly stated in the very first scene, that they have definite expectations of each other that they feel will allow them to have a successful marriage. They have an unrealistic understanding that a married couple should never fight, and as a result of this expectation, they repress all negative feelings which allows for comedic moments to occur throughout the play. An understanding of Ernest and Ernestine's ideals help us to make sense of the way that they perceive their relationship. This also helps to inform our interpretation of why their relationship breaks down.
Feel
1) Tone - Exagerrated emotion. It is a heightened version of whatever a realist interpretation of the circumstance would be.
Atmosphere - Ernest and Ernestine invite the audience into their home and into their lives. At the top of the show, the atmosphere is established as being warm and inviting, but we know that this feeling is the calm before the storm, and that this feeling will be short lived. The atmosphere of the play shifts as their anger grows and leaves a contrast between the warmness of the setting versus the frantic emotion portrayed by Ernest and Ernestine.
Mood - The mood of The Anger in Ernest and Ernestine in constantly in flux. It is constantly changing, moving up and down but always at a consistent height of emotion - their emotions are always exaggerated. The mood and the feeling of the piece can change in an instant, and can move from hot to cold.
Pace - This play is incredibly fast paced between the book ends of the romantic and slow paced face to face confessions that occur at the beginning and end of the play.
2) The shift of the atmosphere is gradual throughout the duration of the play. Ernest and Ernestine never truly go back to the state at which they began. Throughout the course of the play, their ideals and innocence break down. As a result of this their open communication with the audience is lost, and they finally allow themselves to honestly communicate with one another in the final scene.
Character
The audience is never meant
to not like Ernest and Ernestine, even when they come to their breaking point.
There is a certain kind of distance created by their ridiculousness that allows
for audience to laugh at them, even when they are ready to kill one another.
It’s a kind of “oh them, they’re crazy” attitude. You could compare it
to the character of Joey on the television show FRIENDS. Even when Joey
realizes something that is very serious to his character, it is often spun in a
comedic light, the audience feels bad for him not with empathy but because he
is so dense. Ernest and Ernestine are endearing. They are in love and working to
maintain that love, it's sweet.
Ernest and Ernestine have a warmth to them. They are extremely awkward but this
awkwardness is not off-putting. They are smiley simpletons that one appreciates
but does not go out of their way to get to know… because they are weird. They
are weird but sweet.
More abstractly, they are sunny yellow and amber in colour, with an old faded
flowery pattern that is very loud. They
have an innocence about them that is fresh in the beginning and grows stale in
the end.
Casting
Both of our actors need to be able to play sweet and awkward, which means they have to be naturally confident and charming.
For Ernest, we would ideally want a very tall man with a small to medium build, handsome with a bit of a baby face.
For Ernestine, we would ideally like a sweet girl with the ability to be crash and obnoxious. She will ideally be short and somewhat stocky – an opposite to that of Ernest.
Bottom line; they need to look good together and have great chemistry
Scoring: Music and Sound
There are musical interludes that are written into the script. An instrumental track would have to be created to underscore the song "So Many Reasons" at the beginning of the play. This same track would then have to be altered into different styles and used as transition music between scenes. The original track for "So Many Reasons" would be really romantic and melodic. As the couple moves away from this, and as their relationship begins to wear thin, the alteration of the original track would help to accentuate this. Having live music for this would be an interesting concept to explore. This would allow the band to project the inner feelings that Ernest and Ernestine long to express but cant, through their music and their way of playing. This too would add to the absurdity of the piece, as the realism of their basement apartment would be juxtaposed with having a live band present.
