‘The Smile’ - Performance space, text realisation and character analysis

TYPES OF PERFORMANCE SPACES:

End - On

End - on staging is where the audience is positioned directly in front of the acting area, facing one side of the stage only. They may sit at a lower height or in tiered seating.

The Tron theatre is an example of end on staging.

Proscenium Arch

The Proscenium arch is similar to end - on staging, however, the frame around the stage in this layout is called the proscenium arch. This helps to define the ‘fourth wall’ in realistic theatre. The area in front of the arch is the proscenium. In the literal sense this means ‘in front of the scenery’.

Thrust stage/Apron

A thrust stage is where the acting area in front of the proscenium arch comes forward so that some of the audience are sitting on three sides of the action of the play. An apron stage is often used as an alternative term for thrust stage but can also refer to the much smaller acting area in front of the proscenium arch in some theatres.

Theatre In-the-round/Arena

An in-the-round stage is positioned at the centre of the audience. This means that there’s an audience around the whole stage. This type of stage creates quite an intimate atmosphere, and is good for drama that needs audience involvement. There are walkways for the performers to reach the acting area. This kind of staging means that you have to think carefully about not turning your back on the audience. An actor will sometimes do this for effect but in theatre in the round, part of the audience will always be looking at your back. Theatre in the round can also be referred to as arena theatre.

Corridor/Traverse stage

A stage where the audience sits on two sides is called a traverse stage. Again, this type of stage is good for creating an intimate atmosphere as the audience are close to the action. It’s an unusual form of staging but you will often see the format used for fashion shows since it is, effectively, a catwalk.

Promenade Theatre

Promenade theatre is when the audience move from place to place during the performance. This is a popular device used by various modern practitioners. A well-known example would be National Theatre Wales's production of The Passion.

Amphitheatre

Amphitheatre staging is similar to in the round staging, however, rather than the audience being seated the entire way around the stage, they are arranged in an extended semi - circle layout.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF PERFORMANCE SPACES:

After reading ‘The Smile’, I believe that theatre In the round/arena, traverse/corridor, promenade and amphitheatre layouts, would not be very effective performance spaces for this particular text. This is because the way the audience are seated in these layouts mean that at all times a part of the audience would be facing the actors front. This would mean that in the part of the play where Len says; “Harry! Harry! Stretcher-bearer! Stretcher-bearer”, and the stage directions say: (From this moment until the end of the play the actor playing Harry is always on stage and has his back to the audience. It is more effective if the audience are left to imagine the injuries.) these staging layouts wouldn’t work because the actors wouldn’t be able to have their backs entirely to the audience.

Overall, I think the best performance spaces to use for a production of 'The Smile’ would be either end - on, proscenium arch or thrust/apron staging. This is because these layouts allow the actors to stand with their backs to the audience on the line above, as well as providing an appropriate and effective layout for the remainder of the play.

REALISING THE TEXT:

Often, finding the meaning of a text can be a very complex and difficult task as many ideas and themes are not always immediately obvious and can take some time to realise. However, from reading ‘The Smile’, I believe that one of the best methods of finding the meaning of this particular text would be to pay close attention to character dialogue and what the subtext behind specific lines could mean.

For example, when Violent says the line;  “When we’re walking out and I’m on your arm I swear, I feel ten feet tall.” This suggests that Violet is only interested in Harry because of how he makes her feel (“ten feet tall”) rather than how she feels for him and because of how walking around on the arm of a handsome and respectable soldier, reflects in the eye of the public, enhancing her status. She then continues to say “I wished we could get married before you go.” Which reinforces how eager she is to be able ensure that she can adopt the title of a soldiers wife, explaining why she is in such a hurry to wed before he leaves. This shows that Violet, in her selfish ways, objectifies and demeans Harry, something that is not expected of a woman in such a patriarchal society.

Furthermore with the line; “I’m not going to cry, I’m not going to have you remembering me all red-eyed with tears streaming down my cheeks.”, it is shown that Violet cares more about Harry remembering her looking ‘nice’, ‘pretty’ and ‘attractive’ than she does about actually expressing her emotions regarding how much she’s going to miss him. This demonstrates Violet’s shallow nature and obsession about physicality and appearance. On the other hand, it could suggest that perhaps the reason she isn’t crying isn’t because she doesn’t want to look all red - eyed and blotchy faced at all, but instead it’s because she isn’t truly that upset, which just reinforces the idea that she is only with Harry because of the positive effect their association has on her status within society.  

These two quotes suggests that perhaps one of the deeper meanings that the playwright was trying to express in this text was that sometimes you don’t always know people as well as you might think, for example Harry probably thought Violet was a loving, loyal young woman who would stand by him no matter what, however until her love was really put to the test, he was unable to see just how shallow she was.

Another theme or meaning could also be that of optimism as considering the circumstances, Harry is a rather optimistic character. This idea is backed up by the recurring mention of ‘Smiling’, hence the name of the play being ‘The Smile’. Throughout the very few pages of the play there is, smiling is mentioned at least six times: “Keep smiling I always say.”, “I’d smile if I’d got a face to smile with.”, “p.s. keep smiling.” “I think i must have smiled.” “He’s got  nice smile.” “Come on, smile.”

Therefore it is clear to say that one of the playwright’s intentions may have been to present the idea of optimism and making the best of even the worst of situations. On the other hand however, this may be the playwright using ‘Irony’ to create an effect in the play as the play is called ‘The Smile’ however one of the main characters doesn’t have anything she believes is worth smiling for and the other no longer has ‘a face to smile with’.

Another line which I believe shows a deeper meaning in the play is when the nurse says; “Pull yourself together! He’s done his duty for King and country and now you’ve got to do yours. You’ve got to stick by him, that’s your duty now.” Which is a truthful and motivational speech that would surely make anyone realise how right the nurse is, how much Harry has suffered through and how much he needs someone to stick by him, now more than ever.

However, clearly this does not apply to Violet who seems only able to think of her own needs, for she merely replies; 

“I can’t. Have you seen his face?”

This section of the script reinforces the concept of Violet’s selfish character and just how cruel and unempathic she is prepared to be in order to uphold her ‘image’ and ‘status’. Likewise, towards the end of the script when Harry says;

“You don’t have to marry me you know.”

Rather than replying “Of course I will still marry you Harry! Why would that have ever changed? You’re still the same wonderful man that I fell in love with. Surely you don’t believe that how you look would change how I felt about you or our future together?” she instead replies; “I know.”

This just goes to show Violet’s complete lack of empathy and respect and the fact that she is so indulged in the concept of image and how she and her associates appear to others, that she is willing to compromise what is likely to be the last positive element of ‘the man she supposedly love’s’ life for her own selfish desire.

In terms of a deeper meaning, I believe this simply depicts the idea that in the world there are some genuine and some not so genuine people and sometimes it takes a tragic misfortune like this to see one from the other.

When searching for the message in a text such as this, I would make note of the limited amount of stage directions in the play and analyse how these act as tools which can give us an insight into the meaning of the play and the playwright's intentions. For example; “(We hear the very loud sound of a shell exploding. Harry is hit.)”

‘The Smile’ deliberately has few stage directions in order to give the audience the facts and let them decide what the message is that they personally want to take away from the characters’ dialogue and overall performance.

Furthermore, some additional research into the original play also allowed me to gain a further insight into what the true meaning of the play might be. Sources say that the events depicted in this play are based on true events. Captain Francis Derwent-Wood was a real british sculptor and officer in the Royal Medical Corps. Which could suggest that the meaning the playwright was trying to put across was the simple realism of what war was like for both the soldier, and those waiting for them back home. By basing the characters on real life people and events, it is probable that one of the messages within the text was to try to make the audience understand what it would’ve been like for people living in those times.

It also says that the play requires ‘informacting’ which means the actors shouldn’t ‘overplay’ the emotion of the play. Which again reinforces that idea of depicting ‘realism’ to the audience rather than an over exaggeration of the story which would be able to capture or portray to the audience the real essence of the times. 

CHARACTER ANALYSIS

The character from the play which I would choose to perform would be ‘Harry’. 

Harry is a polite, modest, respectable character who is due to be married to the shallow, small minded, Violet. However, during the war his face is injured badly and he has to go through a reconstruction process which leaves Violet unsure whether or not she want’s to marry him anymore.

I find him interesting because unlike Violet, even under the extremely tragic circumstances, he is still able to keep a somewhat positive outlook on life, rather than feeling sorry for himself which i’m sure would be very easy to do.

An example of this would be when the reconstruction process is finally completed and he says: 

“You’ve done a fine job, Sir. It even looks a bit like me!” Which is possibly one of the most positive approaches one could have to such a depressing situation. This just goes to show his admirable ability to be mature and optimistic, which I  believe makes him even more respectable.

Likewise, when he leaves the hospital he says: “Thanks for everything, Nurse. I’ll send you a card; let you know how I’ve got on.” and when he ends the text by saying to Violet: “Come on, smile; it can’t be as bad as all that.”

Which again shows the polite, positive person that he is and how he always thinks of others before himself, despite being so terribly injured. However, sometimes positivity and optimism can actually be used as a coping mechanism; Harry distracts himself with an optimistic attitude and in helping others to feel better

Likewise, he sees the best in the other characters. Particularly Violet. He feels guilty for "putting her through this", yet he doesn't see her selfish nature.

On the other hand, at the beginning of the play Violet sees him as an admirable figure however, she also objectifies him and treats him as if he is simply there to boost her status and ego. And, at the end of the play, she takes advantage of his kind heart by abusing the fact that he feels guilty.

Overall, I believe Harry would be the most interesting character to play as his complex nature and deeply emotional story would be a great challenge to capture, but also a true reward to perform.