- Romeo--Sword
- Juliet--A bunch of flowers
- Tybalt--Swords
- Mercutio--Wooden Sword
- Benvolio--Pipes
- Friar Lawrence--Potion
- Nurse--A letter
- Capulet--over exaggerated golden necklace
- Prince--Crown
- Paris--A golden goblet of wine
At the beginning of our discussion, we follow the story's line to think the casting and the objects for the characters. Therefore, Romeo, Juliet, Tybalt, Mercutio, Lawrence, and Nurse are irreplaceable for casting, and swords will be the main props for objects. For casting, there are four more positions to let us choose the character. Paris's existence is a threat to Juliet's love, so he is important; Prince makes the banishment to Romeo. They can be the turning point in the play, but Capulet and Montague are more like a symbol. The member of each family should stand on the stage to make peace with each other. Therefore, we chose Capulet and Benvolio. When we think about Capulet, we do not think of Lady Capulet or Lord Capulet at all because they are like one thing for us, which is the power and reputation of the family. To be more specific, Lady Capulet and Lord Capulet share same finance and make same decisions in the family. The only difference between Lady Capulet and Lord Capulet is the reaction when Juliet shows her attitude about her marriage to Paris. Lady Capulet can talk to Juliet in peace, but Lord Capulet cannot, but all in all, it does not matter. The reason is that Lady Capulet has to listen to Lord Capulet, and Lord Capulet wants Juliet to marry Paris. The situation is the same if we have Lord or Lady Capulet either.
For Montague, we do not have a clear memory about the Montague because they hardly show up in the play. In addition, Lady Montague is dead in the end. Therefore, we forgot the existence of Montague in our discussion until Ms. Guarino mentioned it. After a reconsideration, I still want to keep Benvolio instead of Romeo's parents. Firstly, Benvolio is also a member of Montague so he can represent the Montague. Secondly, I believe Romeo spend more time with Benvolio than his parents. I can see it in the play when Romeo's parents worry about Romeo but they do not go for a conversation with Romeo directly but let Benvolio talk to Romeo. It is easy for Benvolio to chat with Romeo, so Benvolio is really important for Romeo. In the end, in the play, Benvolio has a clear personality which is peaceful and calm, but Shakespeare did not write too many lines for Montague to identify Montague's figure. Therefore, if we let Montague and Capulet all wearing necklaces and diamond ring in the black dresses, the audience can mix characters' identities.
For the object, especially for Romeo, our group wanted to choose sword for him because the play need it. However, we did not think that Romeo can pick up someone else's sword to kill Tybalt. Then, I prefer to let Romeo wears the suit of armor, which is the idea of Cassidy's group. I like their explanation, and I also agree that a Knight figure really fit Romeo. Moreover, I would like to point out the differences between Tybalt and Mercutio. Tybalt is a real soldier in my mind, he is good at fighting, but he does not abuse his power. Tybalt is pretty serious. Therefore, the swords for him should be the double swords that carry on the back or a long katana swords that only belong to a real Japanese soldier who follows the Bushido. Even though Tybalt is not a Japanese soldier, I want to show his honor and the spirit to the audience by carrying really long fancy swords. For Mercutio, I will give him a tagger, or a wooden sword because he is not a real soldier in my mind. Mercutio is like a childish boy, who will say what he wants to see and get temper immediately when he feels mad. A mature person can speak a word or show his or her emotion after a consideration, and they will react properly in a proper situation. Therefore, Mercutio cannot have a sword as same as Tybalt's.
Next, I would like to explain the golden goblet of wine for Paris and a pipe for Benvolio. Paris in the play also shows up with the propose of marriage. Every time he speaks, he talks about the marriage with Juliet. Therefore, it makes Paris seems like he does not care anything else but his marriage. I pick a goblet for him because I think drinking wine is the most important part of the wedding. I used to think Paris can carry the diamond ring all the time, but the ring is too small to show his figure, so I change the idea to a golden goblet. In addition, a golden goblet can show the feeling of happiness because people only use the fancy ware in an important party or meeting to show his welcome and his reputation. Benvolio has a pipe, and the pipe shows his peaceful identity. In many movies I saw before, a lot of fighting between men will be solved when a person hands out the cigarette for them. "Calm down! Cigar?" One person says. After a short time, the men who want to argue with each other will sit on the sofa in a silence with a cigar. Benvolio has the ability to stop people from fighting, so he is like a cigar, pipes or cigarette to calm people down.
In the end, I think our group's casting and objects can be used for the play as long as we change the swords of Romeo to suit of armor. Other group's meanings of objects are too vague, which can make the audience confused, such as the kaleidoscope. Although kaleidoscope is a new and interesting idea, you have to explain to the audience in the words directly. However, the audience will understand our group's objects. In my opinion, the objects should be easy to understand, and they also should be useful for the characters to use.
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