The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui

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January 19, 2017

by : Henry Ashburn
Posted in : 2016-17
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Ladies and gents, we bring you tonight – (Now settle down, folks – please be polite; And you there, young lady, that hat’s gotta go) – The great historical gangster show!

Today for the very first time we reveal the truth of the scandalous waterfront ideal, presenting for your comprehension the facts of Old Dogsborough’s Will and Confession. How the stock market crashed, and Ui rose higher – the sensational trial of the warehouse fire! The murder of Dullfeet! The Law in a coma! Warfare in gangland: the murder of Roma! Then, for our climax, the enlightened tableau: Gangsters control all of Cicero!

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Creative Team:

Director: Josh Loar
Projection Design: Taran Schatz
Sound Design: Devin Deal, Dominic Mosher, Taran Schatz
Scenic, Costume, and Lighting Design: M.C. Friedrich
Props: Hunter Storie
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Top of Show Introduction

Video created by Taran Schatz for Bertolt Brecht’s The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. This video was projected at the top of the show to introduce the story and set the tone.

Scene Title Slides

Slideshow above shows some research and inspiration, some elements used in the final product, and a photo of the final product.

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A Word from the Composer:

“Creating the composition for Arturo Ui was about making music that not only fit the time period and theme of the play, but many times the emotion carried from one scene to another. Careful attention was given towards the scene change music to carry the audience out of the scene, or into the next one. With influence drawn from Louis Armstrong, time period and style was achieved through instrumentation and certain compositional tropes.”

Devin Deal -Composer

Compositions:

This composition was created for the spinning newspaper projection that started the show. With a walking bassline underneath, the ripping trumpet and trombone are timed perfectly with the landing of the newspaper atop the pile.

At the end of scene 6, we begin to see Arturo's dark political side, and we transition to him speaking to the Cauliflower Trust members. The music in between these scenes is supposed to hint at further evil (the ripping trombones) while staying calm and collected.

Transitioning into a scene with Roma and his men meeting up with Arturo at shadowy garage, this music supports the transition into such garage with a sleezy jazz feel.

For curtain call, the music was to be upbeat, while at the same time somewhat dark because that is how the play ends. Tropes from other pieces of music in the play are littered throughout the tune, which created a long enough song for the actors to take their bows.

Sound Design:

Fire-Arson:

“As James Greenwool distracts everyone with his baritone singing, a plume of fire is heard off in the distance. As the fire builds the characters notice and panic, while the flames surround and engulf the whole space.”

Rain and Cars:

“On a dark stormy night Roma awaits the arrival of Arturo with his men to ensure his safe passage. Little does Roma know this night would be his last. This dramatic turn is kept tense by the constant empty threats of cars passing, and the relentless rain.”

Car Crash:

“Maddened Roma takes his crew and shoots up an innocent vegetable truck, which comes back to haunt him in a big way. Completely created with sound, we hear the crash somewhere unseen, and after the explosion of the crash we are left with the burning carcass as the passengers cry for help.”

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Sound System Documents:

Speaker Plot | Audio Block Diagram

“Working as a part of the system design team for me was quite a rewarding experience to see our ideas come to life. I really enjoyed working closely with the design team and seeing where the technical and artistic aspects meet. This show required a lot of localization to places on the set with various special mic elements which served its own challenges. It was very fun to solve these issues, and find what worked for us.” Zak L’Italien -1/5 of the System Designer

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