The Illusionists and the Liars: An Adaptaion and Analysis of 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'
Open Access
Author:
Scrabis, Johnna Laurene
Area of Honors:
English
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Dr. Richard Matthew Doyle, Thesis Supervisor Dr. Richard Matthew Doyle, Thesis Supervisor
Keywords:
Tennessee Williams No Refund Theatre Cat on a Hot Tin Roof directing nrt
Abstract:
Directing Tennessee Williams’ three-act, dialogue-heavy drama “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” is a huge undertaking. It has the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, has been staged and restaged on Broadway, and made into a major motion picture. In short, it has already been done, and done beautifully. It was the challenge of my talented actors to re-imagine the iconic performances of Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor, and it all had to be accomplished with a minimal budget and a little over a month of rehearsals. Yet even with these restrictions, I feel that we created new performances that hold a beauty and poignancy all their own and ultimately achieved the results that I wanted: a professional show with a clear understanding among the actors and the audience of the striking subtleties of Williams’ script. My thesis includes the details of the creation of this show, from my initial research on Williams’ life down to the choices that were made in regards to set and costuming. A DVD of the actual production, which took place March 25-27th, 2010, is available in the No Refund Theatre office. My hope is that this project not only provides a comprehensive analysis of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”, but can also serve as a guide for the future directors in No Refund Theatre.