Attention Must Be Paid

In honor of--and response to--Mark's post, I give you: a presentation of the Louisiana Environmental Emersion Theatre...

Described almost universally as being about the American Dream, DEATH OF A SALESMAN (DOAS) is masterpiece of the modern theatre, and as such is usually presented in a traditional theatre environment. But Schechner's 6 Axioms work just as well for this well known gem as for any other script. I would manifest it as follows, and with the conceit that I have lucked into unlimited funding from some Old South Louisiana mint julep madame who wants to finance my every endeavor.

She starts by buying me an extremely large performance space, some kind of abandoned warehouse with at least 50 feet of height, because step one is to build the LOMAN house. This adheres to steps 2 and 3 of Schechner, which tells us that all space may be used for performance, and that that space may then be either found or transformed. We will be transforming a non-theatre space, because we need the ability to build an entire house that will conform to our needs. DOAS exists primarily in the memory of the Loman family, centered mainly around the house and the members of that house. Step 5 of Schechner's list is our next guideline, which states that all production elements speak their own language. In this vein, we will be using the top radio hits of the 1940's to underscore the themes and elements of the play. Arthur Miller references music many times in his stage directions for DOAS. Act I begins with "a melody heard and played upon a flute." At the end of the play, Willy seems about to head to bed, when Miller writes, "Suddenly music, faint and high, stops him. It rises in intensity, almost to an unbearable scream." Willy then gets in his car and rushes off; to his death, we later realize.

So. These are the elements we have in play: a fully realized house in the style of the late 1940's, which would make Arthur Miller (and the Loman family) proud. Perhaps it will look like this:

Second, we have a catalogue of music popular in the 1940's to choose from, and which will be used to underscore the show. The general idea, is that upon entering the space, the audience finds themselves looking at the front of the Loman house. Sitting on the front porch are Willy and Linda Loman. Willy has an acoustic guitar in his hand, and is serenading his wife, singing the Mills Brothers "You Always Hurt the One You Love."

When he finishes, he and Linda get up and enter the house. The audience then has the choice to follow them or explore the surroundings. Wherever they go, there will be actors dressed as the characters from the play, and also musicians mirroring those characters. So if the audience chooses to walk to the back yard, they will see Biff and Happy and Bernard playing catch, which a mirror of Biff sings, "I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover,"

Different scenes from the play take place throughout the house: in the upstairs bedroom Biff and Happy discuss their dreams and plans. In the kitchen Willy talks to his boss Howard about his job. In the living room, Biff and Willy have a bitter argument with Happy and Linda looking on. In the attic we discover a secret hotel room, where we see Willy engaged in an affair with another woman. At some point, Biff enters the room and catches his father in the act. Songs from the 40's will play throughout, before, during, and after scenes. In the basement of the house is speakeasy, where we see Happy and his lovely ladies, as well as Biff and Willy joining for drinks. And at the end of the night, back in the front yard and happening only once, we can join in the funeral for Willy Loman. All of the actors gather around the grave, and Linda sings, "You're Breaking My Heart."

The script for DOAS will be used in all of the scenes, with varying length and necessity. For example, I imagine the entire bedroom scene between Biff and Happy played, with audience members scattered throughout the bedroom. But the scene between Willy and his mistress in the hotel room can happen more as a piece of choreographed movement set to music. Willy's dead brother, Ben, can wander the entire area as a ghost, interacting here and there with only Willy. The fight in the living room can use much of the Miller script, whereas the backyard football scene can be more improvised.

The idea is to allow the audience to partake of as much of the Loman's life as they want. Schechner says in step 4 that focus is flexible and variable. A guide can be printed before entering the space, instructing the audience of which scenes take place when, so that if they wish they can track things chronologically. Or, they can let chance lead them, and experience the story as a series of connected but disjointed scenes. The audience gets to decide if they focus in on one particular room and experience all that it has to offer, or if they want to broaden that focus and move through the house seeing everything.

Ultimately, the audience will be able to say  that they gave the salesman his due. For, as Linda remarks towards the end of Act One, "He's a human being. So attention must be paid."