Moby-Dick-Study-Guide.pdf, Summaries of Voice

Download Moby-Dick-Study-Guide.pdf and more Summaries Voice in PDF only on Docsity! mere er ger MOBY DICK, REHEARSED based on Moby-Dick, or the Whale by Herman Melville adapted by Orson Welles directed by Scott Palmer March 3 - 20, 2016 STUDY GUIDE CONTENTS Introduction Background: The Writers Background: The Moby-Dick Story Background: Welles’ Adaptation Glossary of Terms Themes Questions and Prompts BAG&BAGGAGE STAFF Scott Palmer Artistic Director Beth Lewis Managing Director Arianne Jacques Patron Services Manager Cassie Greer Professional Development Coordinator Capital Campaign Manager Peter Schuyler Engagement Officer Emily Trimble Company Stage Manager CAST Jessi Walters* ........................................................ Young Actor/Ishmael Heidi Hunter ....................................... Member of the Company/Flask Peter Schuyler* ....................................... Serious Actor/Starbuck/Kent Eric St. Cyr* ................................................... Cynical Actor/Queequeg Joey Copsey* ............................. Member of the Company/Carpenter Gary Strong* ................................................. Middle Aged Actor/Stubb David Heath ...................................................................... Old Pro/Peleg Cassie Greer* ........................................... Young Actress/Pip/Cordelia Arianne Jacques* ............. Stage Manager/Elijah/Voice of The Rachel Kymberli Coulburne ............... Actor Manager/Ahab/Fr. Mapple/Lear Dawson Oliver ........................................... Member of the Company/ Mia Frances Duckart ................................. Member of the Company/ student ........................................... Member of the Company/ CREW/PRODUCTION TEAM Scott Palmer ............................................................................... Director Emily Trimble† ............................................................... Stage Manager Props Mistress Clara Hiller* ................................................... Movement/Voice Coach Amanda Kishlock ......................................... Assistant Stage Manager Melissa Heller† ......................................................... Costume Designer Megan Wilkerson† ........................................................ Scenic Designer Molly Stowe† ............................................................... Lighting Designer Scott Palmer ................................................................... Sound Designer TBA .......................................................................................... Run Crew *Member of the Bag&Baggage Resident Acting Company †Member of Bag&Baggage Resident Production Team Welles in Citizen Kane (1941) Welles remained in Ireland for a year, acting with the company at the Abbey Theatre as well as at the Gate; he also designed sets, wrote a newspaper column, and began directing plays. In 1933, he returned to the United States, and was introduced to actress Katharine Cornell by author Thornton Wilder. Cornell hired him to act in her road company, through which he became associated with producer John Houseman. Together, Welles and Houseman mounted several edgy and acclaimed productions for the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Theatre Project, which led to the 1937 founding of the Mercury Theater. In 1938 the Mercury Players undertook a series of radio dramas adapted from famous novels. They attained national notoriety with a program based on H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds when thousands of listeners mistakenly believed aliens had actually landed on Earth. The national coverage that resulted from his theatre and radio work brought Welles’ name before Hollywood. In 1939 he signed an extraordinary contract with the film studio RKO that guaranteed him near-total autonomy and final cut on any film he made. For his first film, Welles chose Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, which was to be filmed entirely from the point of view of the narrator Marlow. However, despite months of preparation, the film never got off the ground. Welles narrated Swiss Family Robinson (1940) while waiting for another project to evolve. Shortly thereafter, working as director, producer, co-author, and star, he made Citizen Kane (1941), the most discussed - if not the greatest - American movie ever created. It made striking use of classic filmmaking techniques, as well as new, more experimental ones, and included complex flashback structures and a beautifully evocative score. Welles’ distinctive directorial style featured layered and nonlinear narrative forms, innovative uses of lighting and chiaroscuro, unusual camera angles, sound techniques borrowed from radio, deep focus shots, and long takes. Citizen Kane put all of these on prime display, and while artistically brilliant, it was difficult to market, and failed to be a financial success. It nevertheless received nine Academy Award nominations - of which Welles received three (best actor, director, and original screenplay) - but only the screenplay won an Oscar. Welles second film, The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), ran into major budget and production problems, which brought down the studio management that had hired him. Word quickly spread through the film community of Welles’ difficulty in adhering to shooting schedules and budgets. His career never fully recovered, and, although he directed other films in Hollywood - including The Stranger (1946), Macbeth (1948), and Touch of Evil (1958) - he was never again given full control over his movies. European producers, however, were more forgiving, and - having discovered in the mid-’40s that, for 100,000 dollars a shot, he could make money as an actor to help finance his films and his fairly expensive lifestyle - Welles accepted many film acting assignments in England, France, and Italy. He made two series of short documentaries for British television, Orson Welles’ Sketch Book and Around the World with Orson Welles (both 1955), and that same year he also produced Moby Dick—Rehearsed for the London stage, an adaptation of Herman Melville’s novel in which he appeared as Captain Ahab and Father Mapple. American audiences saw him as Father Mapple in John Huston’s Moby Dick (1956) and as the imposing Varner in Martin Ritt’s The Long, Hot Summer (1958). He then returned to Hollywood for the first time in 10 years and made his acclaimed film Touch of Evil (1958), before returning to Europe for the following decade. Throughout, Welles continued to work as an actor, in addition to making television appearances and doing voice-overs, recordings, and occasional commercials. Welles died of a heart attack his home in Hollywood on October 10, 1985, leaving behind a swath of unfinished screenplays and films. Despite his lack of commercial success, Welles remains one of the most well-known, discussed, and important directors in the history of motion pictures.Welles as Father Mapple in Moby Dick (1956) Rockwell Kent’s cover design on the Lakeside Press edition of Moby Dick Rockwell Kent illustration BACKGROUND: The Moby-Dick Story Moby-Dick is an extensive work of fact-based fiction: a 136-chapter novel that details all aspects of the whaling trade, culture, and life, amid the story of Captain Ahab’s revenge on the great White Whale. Because of its massive length, author Robert A. diCurcio offers a quick overview of the novel to help first-time readers navigate their way through it. This serves as a succinct synopsis of the action, and highlights the important plot points that show up in Moby Dick, Rehearsed: Ishmael decides to go on a whaling voyage. Travels to New Bedford from Manhattan. There he becomes the friend of Queequeg, the South Sea Islander. They decide to go whaling together on a Nantucket whaleship. (Chapters 1 - 13) On Nantucket Island, they sign on the whaleship Pequod, commanded by the sinister Captain Ahab. A wharfside character called Elijah warns them that their souls are in danger on that ship. The Pequod leaves Nantucket bound “around the world” on Christmas Day. (Chapters 14 - 22) Various observations by Melville. (Chapters 23 - 25) The characters of Ahab, the mates Starbuck, Stubb, and Flask, the harpooneers Queequeg, Daggoo, and Tashtego, and the ship’s boy Pip are introduced. (Chapters 26 - 35) Captain Ahab nails a gold coin to the mast as a reward, making the crew swear that they will assist him in killing the white whale Moby Dick for revenge. Only Starbuck is against this. (Chapters 36 - 37) di Curcio suggests skimming Chapters 38 - 47: largely maritime descriptions and Melville’s musings on whaling culture and the sea. Fedallah is introduced - the leader of Ahab’s boat-crew of Parsees, smuggled on board as stowaways by Ahab. (Chapters 48 - 50) Various observations concerning Moby Dick’s supernatural powers. (Chapters 51 - 54) Various observations about whales and whale hunting, including further reference to Moby Dick’s ability to wreak death and destruction. (Chapters 55 - 92) Little black boy Pip jumps from a whaleboat, is abandoned and rescued, but goes insane as a result. (Chapter 93) More on whales, whaling, and Moby Dick’s doings. (Chapters 94 - 105) Ahab gets a new leg made by the ship’s carpenter. (Chapters 106 - 108) Confrontation between Ahab and Starbuck, where Ahab threatens to kill Starbuck with a gun. (Chapter 109) Queequeg decides he is dying, has the carpenter make him a coffin; then he decides he won’t die after all. His coffin plays an important role in the story after that. (Chapter 110) The Pequod reaches the Pacific Ocean by way of the Indian Ocean and the China Sea. Ahab has the ship’s blacksmith forge him a special harpoon, tempered in blood, for Moby Dick. (Chapters 111 - 116) Fedallah makes three predictions concerning Ahab’s death. (Chapter 117) Ahab smashes his quadrant, deciding to navigate by dead reckoning; he faces down a typhoon, gaining the respect of the crew and the revulsion of Starbuck. Ahab leaves the Sea of Japan to head for the Equator where he knows Moby Dick is waiting. (Chapters 118 - 122) Moby Dick Page 271 illustration by Matt Kish [ ] Starbuck comes close to shooting Ahab in his sleep, but chickens out. (Chapter 123) Ahab magnetizes a needle as a compass to the amazement of the crew. Then he befriends poor little Pip, showing a tender side to his gruff personality. (Chapters 124 - 125) Eerie wails are heard one night; the next morning a sailor falls down from the rigging into the sea, and disappears along with the ship’s life buoy. A buoy is made from Queequeg’s coffin, and it is prophetically hung over the stern of the ship. (Chapters 126 - 127) The Pequod meets the Nantucket whaleship Rachel whose Captain is searching for his son who is lost in a missing whaleboat. Ahab refuses to help in the search, because he is losing time. (Chapter 128) Chapters preparatory to the assault on Moby Dick. Ill omens occur, and Starbuck makes a final, failed plea to Ahab to stop seeking revenge on Moby Dick and take the ship back to Nantucket. (Chapters 129 - 132) The final three days -- Moby Dick is attacked each day. On the first two, the White Whale smashes the boats and drives them back on to the Pequod. On the third day Moby Dick sinks the Pequod and kills Captain Ahab by catching his neck in the harpoon-line and yanking him under water, fulfilling the three prophecies of Fedallah. (Chapters 133 - 135) Ishmael survives to tell the tale and spin the yarn. It was the life buoy made of Queequeg’s coffin that saved him until he was rescued by the Nantucket whaleship Rachel. (Epilogue) THE ESSEX On November 20, 1820, a Nantucket whaling ship named the Essex was on a routine expedition when it was suddenly struck by an 80-ton sperm whale in the middle of the South Pacific. After the ship sunk, the 20-man crew faced down a horrifying situation when they were forced to drift in three small boats for more than 90 days. Eventually, they washed up on an island almost 3,000 miles off of South America, but realized after a few short weeks that the island wouldn’t be able to support them for long and they would eventually starve to death. First mate Owen Chase encouraged his crew to get back in their three boats and head for South America; all but three of the sailors agreed, and the seventeen shipmen set off. One of the boats was never recovered; one was spotted and rescued by the British whaleship Indian on February 18, 90 days after the sinking of the Essex; and the third was rescued when almost within sight of the South American coast by the Nantucket whaleship Dauphin on February 23, 95 days after the Essex sank. Of the men who set out from the South Pacific island, only five survived, having faced storms, illness, starvation, and having been reduced to cannibalism for the sake of survival. The three sailors who had remained on the island were eventually rescued, themselves near to death from starvation. First Mate Owen Chase returned to Nantucket on June 11, 1821, and four months later he had completed a first-hand account of the disaster, the Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex. When Herman Melville was on his first whaling expedition in 1841, he met a Nantucketer named William Henry Chase - Owen Chase’s teenage son. After questioning the boy about his father’s experiences, William pulled out a copy of his father’s Essex narrative and loaned it to Melville. “The reading of this wondrous story upon the landless sea, and so close to the very latitude of the shipwreck, had a surprising effect on me,” Melville remembered. The experience of reading Chase’s account, along with his own experience on the Acushnet, largely served as Melville’s inspiration for Moby-Dick. The monomaniacal Captain Ahab as imagined by artists (from l-r) Jon Foster; Matt Kish; Johnny Martin; and Rockwell Kent GLOSSARY OF TERMS aft/abaft - Toward the rear (stern) of the boat. Behind. Antilles - An archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north and east. bow - The front of a vessel. bow-ends - “On her bow-ends” may mean the vessel is literally on her side. captain - The person lawfully in command of a vessel. “Captain” is an informal title of respect given to the commander of a naval vessel regardless of his or her formal rank; aboard a merchant ship, the ship ‘ s master is her “captain.” current - The horizontal movement of water. Cyclades - The Cyclades is a group of Greek islands, southeast of the mainland in the Aegean Sea. It centers on uninhabited Delos, considered the birthplace of Apollo, and home to some of Greece’s most important archaeological ruins. deck - A permanent covering over a compartment, hull or any part thereof. dismast - To break or topple the mast or masts of a ship. dock - A protected water area in which vessels are moored. The term is often used to denote a pier or a wharf. eddies - Circular movements of water, counter to a main current, causing small whirlpools. fan-tail - Aft end of the ship, also known as the Poop deck. first mate - The second-in-command of a commercial ship. fluke - The palm or flat surface of an anchor. forecastle - A partial deck, above the upper deck and at the head of the vessel; traditionally the sailors’ living quarters. The name is derived from the castle fitted to bear archers in time of war. gale - A very strong wind - the U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as 34–47 knots (39–54 miles/hour) of sustained surface winds. gam - A meeting of two (or more) whaling ships at sea. The ships each send out a boat to the other, and the two captains meet on one ship, while the two chief mates meet on the other. grog - Watered-down pusser’s rum consisting of half a gill with equal part of water, issued to all seamen over twenty. From the British Admiral Vernon who, in 1740, ordered the men’s ration of rum to be watered down. He was called “Old Grogram” because he often wore a grogram coat, and the watered rum came to be called ‘grog’. Often used (illegally) as currency in exchange for favours in quantities prescribed as ‘sippers’ and ‘gulpers’. Moby Dick, Rehearsed is dense with nautical terminology and references. The following glossary of terms will help you familiarize yourself with the language of Ahab, Ishmael, and the rest of the crew of the Pequod: harpoon - A long spear-like instrument attached to a rope and thrown or fired from a gun, used especially in whaling, fishing, sealing, and other marine hunting to catch fish or large marine mammals such as whales. helm - A ship’s steering mechanism, also called tiller and ship’s wheel; the wheel and/or wheelhouse area. jib/jib-stay - A triangular staysail at the front of a ship. keel - The centerline of a boat running fore and aft; the backbone of a vessel. landsman - The opposite of a seaman. A person who does not go to sea, who lacks the skills of a sailor or who is uncomfortable on ships or boats. lashing - An arrangement of rope wire or webbing with linking device used to secure and fasten two or more items together in a somewhat rigid manner. Lashings are most commonly applied to timber poles, and are commonly associated with the cargo, containerisation, the Scouting movement, and with sailors. lee/leeward - The side sheltered from the wind. To move leeward is to move in the direction away from the wind. main-top-sail - The top sail set on the main mast. mast - A vertical pole on a ship which supports sails or rigging. If a wooden, multi-part mast, this term applies specifically to the lowest portion. mastheads - A small platform partway up the mast, just above the height of the mast’s main yard. A lookout is stationed here, and men who are working on the main yard will embark from here. Also called a crow’s nest. muster - To assemble (troops), especially for inspection or in preparation for battle. Nantucket - A tiny, isolated island off Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The National Park Service cites Nantucket, designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1966, as being the “finest surviving architectural and environmental example of a late 18th- and early 19th-century New England seaport town”. oil/whale oil - Early industrial societies used whale oil widely in oil lamps and to make soap and margarine. With the commercial development of substitutes such as kerosene and vegetable oils, the use of whale oils declined considerably in the 20th century. parmacetty - Another word for spermaceti: a white, waxlike substance taken from the oil in the head of a sperm whale or dolphin, used in making cosmetics, ointments, candles, etc. Parmacetty can also refer to a sperm whale itself. prow - A poetical alternative term for bows. quarter/quarterdeck - The sides of a boat rear of midships. A quarterdeck refers to the rear-most deck of a warship. In the age of sail, the quarterdeck was the preserve of the ship’s officers. rigging - The system of masts and lines on ships and other sailing vessels. scuttle - A small opening, or lid thereof, in a ship’s deck or hull. shoal - Shallow water that is a hazard to navigation. smack - A traditional fishing boat used off the coast of England and the Atlantic coast of America for most of the 19th century, and in smaller numbers up to the mid-20th century. spars - A wooden (in later years also iron or steel) pole used to support various pieces of rigging and sails. splice - To join lines (ropes, cables, etc.) by unravelling their ends and intertwining them to form a continuous line. To form an eye or a knot by splicing. squall - A sudden, violent wind often accompanied by rain. starboard - The right side of a boat when looking forward. Derived from the old steering oar or “steerboard” which preceded the invention of the rudder. stem - The forward most part of the bow. stern/sternward - The after or rear part of the boat; in the direction of the rear of the boat. steward - A member of a vessel’s crew involved in commissary duties or in personal services to passengers or other crew members. stove - To smash inward, to force a hole or break in, as in a cask, door, or other (wooden) barrier. stove boat - A wrecked boat: a mess of splintered timber, fouled tackle, and flailing bodies. stunsails - Also called a studding sail or a studsail, is a sail used to increase the sail area of a square rigged vessel. tides - The periodic rise and fall of water level in the oceans. top-maul - A heavy hammer with a steel or wooden head, used in shipbuilding. transom - The aft “wall” of the stern. A more or less flat surface across the stern of a vessel. Dinghies tend to have almost vertical transoms, whereas yachts’ transoms may be raked forward or aft. watch - A period of time during which a part of the crew is on duty. Changes of watch are marked by strokes on the ship’s bell. whale-boats - A type of open boat that is relatively narrow and pointed at both ends, enabling it to move either forwards or backwards equally well. whaler - A specialized vessel designed for catching or processing whales. wharf - A structure on the shore of a harbor or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (i.e., mooring locations), and may also include piers, warehouses, or other facilities necessary for handling the ships. yard - A horizontal spar that holds up a square sail. yaw - To swing or steer off course, as when running the ship with waves striking it at an angle (as opposed to running it in the same direction as the waves).