My Staging Proposal

My Love, My Love by Rosa Guy has a compelling storyline which makes it quite interesting to try to adapt. There are a few specific aspects that I would like to focus on in my adaptation. One would be the fairytale feel to the story. The basics of the plot are that a girl, who is pining for more in her life, falls in love with a boy who suddenly becomes a part of her life through a car crash. She nurses him back to health and eventually follows him back to his house to be with him. The themes of love and adolescence are very apparent. But the story does not have a happy ending as expected. I think this is where we could really showcase this difference. A big part of this would be the way that Desiree carries herself. While she is caring for Daniel and falling in love with him, she needs to look content and very happy. She would walk very lightly and daintily, almost floating. As she starts to realize that Daniel does not love her anymore, she should change her gait, possibly more slumped, but still very eager. This is because she still wants Daniel to be with her. Her clothes could change from brighter, more vibrant hues to darker, duller shades. This could show her returning to the clothes of the people from her village who have accepted their fate. Similarly, she has also understood that this is her life; without Daniel. She has understood the hard way what her parents tried to tell her.

Another aspect of the story that I would be excited to adapt would be the role of the gods. Showing the interaction and reaction of the gods is something that we could elaborate on. We get parts of each god’s character through the details, but to grow their personalities into roles would engaging. There should be a scene where, on one side of the stage, the humans are going through something while, on the other side, the gods are watching and changing the situation. One example could be when Daniel’s car crashes. On stage left, on the ground, Daniel would be driving along in his car. A platform in stage right would be where the gods are looking over the situation and making changes. Papa Gey would start as the only one on the platform, but as the scene progresses and plans are made for Desiree and Daniel, slowly each god comes onto the platform to discuss what’s going on. Each god will be dressed differently to showcase the contrast between them. Papa Gey would be wearing all black, with a top hat and mustache while Erzulie would be wearing pinks and reds with fitted, attractive clothing. The power that the gods have combined with their varying personalities make for such an enthralling scene. I think that the lighting for the gods’ side of the stage would be much brighter when compared to the human side. To show their inferiority, the side would be dimly lit. It also reinforces the fact that the gods are less aware of the humans than of themselves. These two aspects, namely the fairytale feel of the story and the role of the gods in the story, would be the things that I would focus on when adapting this story. They’re the parts that intrigued me the most. The relationships between the different humans (like Desiree and Daniel) and the gods (Agwe and Asaka or Erzulie and Papa Gey) are the key parts of the story that can be interpreted and created into a show.