Elements used in Raisin in the Sun Essay

Lorraine Hansberrys Raisin in the solarise is a monumental course in the theatrical world. Produced in 1959, it became the first drama written by an African-American woman to hit the present and was later nominated for several Tony Awards. The turn tail touched many controversial tooth roots of the fourth dimension including racial discrimination and poverty. The number of Raisin in the Sun, including scenic, costume, blowsying, and sound elements, were crucial to incuring the while of ground and emphasizing these themes. all in all of the elements are vital to the message and hearing interpretation of the production, and overall, the Playmakers repertoire Company executed them well.The scenic radiation pattern of a play is arguably the roughly primary(prenominal) element of a production. It is what castigates the do and puts both the graphemes and the script into context. In Raisin in the Sun, the set, including scenery and props, helped define the characters, allowing the audience to jack off a sprightliness for the setting and beat period. Most importantly, the scenery developed the key of the playthe station in which the young family had to livewhich was strategic to developing fleck conflict. The Younger family lived in a small, turn tail down a severalizement that emphasized their mixer class.To name a few, the wallpaper was discolored, the dungeon room couch was old and musty, and the only visible bedroom to the audience was exclusively big enough for the bed. Travis, the son, was forced to relief on the couch, and it was unclear how much space was upstairs where Beneatha, the daughter, and the Grandm some other, Lena, slept. The design of the flatbed compete to the overall conflict within the family the hopelessness to fly the coop poverty only increase within these cramped quarters.Although, the characters managed to deal with their quick situation, it caused tension to build within for apiece one member o f the family, which was a crucial part of plot development. The lower class opinion of the fellowship honed in on Walter lee(prenominal)s burning desire to get into business and climb the social ladder. The less-than-luxurious surroundings seemed to amplify his unhappiness when he entered the room, allowing the plot to build on with the tension in the house. In improver to scenery, the props strategically placed around the housedillustrated the familys cares and values. passim the room, the audience could see many cope with frames. However, the two that were predominately displayed were a picture of messiah hanging over the front door, and a picture of Lenas deceased keep up that stayed on a table in the living room. These props emphasized grandeur the Youngers placed on family and religion, which came up many quantify throughout the production. The entire family lived under one roof, face after one another and fashioning ends meet, together as a whole.In addition, t he plot centered around a life-insurance check from the death of Lenas husband. This unbroken the element of religion present since he was deceased and in the eyes of Lena, observation over the family. Both the design of the apartment and the detail of the props within it gave the audience a greater understanding of the constituted values and conflicts of the family. The costume design of Raisin in the Sun went hand-in-hand with the scenery and props. The genuinelyistic uniform of the Younger family further described a family of lower class, although not an untidy one. from each one(prenominal) day, the members of the family would dress for work or schooling as well as they could, which illustrated the disdain the family carried. This enormous pride stemmed from an important theme within the play overcoming racial discrimination. Lena dreamed of escaping the busyness of Chicago, and bought a house in a white similarity with the hefty check from her husbands insurance policy. Her pride unbroken the family rudderless and was their only defense against the discrimination they face up from the area. Furthermore, each characters costumes fit their personalities.While Lena, Ruth, and Walter lee were usually svelte in working clothes, reflecting their family duty, Beneatha dressed in more modern clothes, illustrating her character as a free-spirited college student. One day she would run down girly skirts and flowery designs, the next she was going tail end to her roots wearing African garments and sport natural hair. The costume designers successfully captured each characters personality as well as keeping the compass of pride apparent through the characters choice of clothes. In addition to scenic and costume design, every play must have specific inflammation.This sets the liking of each scene, giving the audience a better feel of what is happening within the plot. For the most part, the lighting within the apartment was warm and dim, giving the s etting a homey and somewhat relaxed feel. However, the dimness of the light also played upon the unhappiness that steamy within the family during certain scenes. These moments of lighting kept with the veridicalistic aspect of the play. However, there were times of unrealistic lighting meant to enhance a scene. When Beneatha was dancing to African music and Walter lee side came in and joined her, the lighting became jungle-like.The reds and oranges along with the images of palm frons surrounded the two, carrying them away from the real world. Although this would never happen in real life, it was apparent the lighting was illustrating what was going on in their minds, dooming the desire to escape their current troubles. The second and only other time of surreal lighting was when Walter Lee had his breakdown and then moment of lucidness near the end of the show. The entire set went dark except for a set off on him. This choice in lighting was appropriate for such a swarthy scen e and drew the audience in even more.The times of abstract or unrealistic lighting did not retain away from the realness of the play. Instead, it enhanced the scenes to the proceeds of the audience. The last element of design that unnatural the play is the sound design. Obviously the show had typical sound effectsdoors slamming for emphasis, Beneatha acting African music, etc. that decorated each scene as it unfolded. However, there was a significant aspect to the sound design of this particular production. Throughout the play, the characters would turn on the radio and interviews and other recordings from the 1960s would play over the speaker.Some of these included Lorraine Hansberry oration about the nominations and winning the Tony and discussion of urbane rights movements of the time. Some may think this was distracting, tho it anchored the play within the time period. This allowed the audience to get a better feel of what was happening during the era and highlighted the major theme of racial discrimination within the plot. All in all, the production of Raisin in the Sun was a success. Yes, this is highly due in part to the excellent skill of the actors.However, without stagecraft, a play cannot be complete. The elements of design green groceries a world that actors could never crap on script alone. In the Playmakers repertory Companys production of Raisin in the Sun, the scenic, costume, lighting, and sound design worked cohesively to enhance and develop all aspects of the characters and plot. The provocative themes of escaping poverty, chasing dreams, and overcoming racial discrimination were illustrated brilliantly by tremendous action of the elements of design and an impressive performance by the acting company.