Statement: Producing the Play

The Importance of being Earnest does produce some textual problems in which the dialect of the characters is that of a British accent. The play is set in London in the late nineteenth century Victorian era and all the characters have either a level of aristocracy or intellect. This poses a problem to the actors playing these characters who do not have a natural British accent and the level of dialect coaching needed to make these characters believable. Another problem from an actor and directors concern would be hitting each line with the correct comedic timing. Without delivering the lines with a certain emphasis where need be, the audience could miss out on the irony and hypocrisy of the characters. Comedic timing would definitely be a main focus during any rehearsal for this play.

The main problem with The Importance of Being Earnest is that it is so widely known and over produced. Since this play doesn’t have many hidden themes or elements, there is not many options for a director to exhaust to make this play a new adaptation. Once a person has seen the show once, they may not feel the need to see it again even though it may have been entertaining. Although The Importance of Being Earnest is a cheerful piece, academically, it would not be a piece that the students here at Sam Houston State University would get a great learning experience from. One positive aspect of the over production of the piece is that it may bring in more attendance from the Huntsville community regardless of the age group. The Importance of Being Earnest doesn’t not openly suggest any controversial issues. Although the play is often referred to as a portrait of Wilde’s own double life with homosexuality. If produced here at Sam Houston State, it would be best if it was preformed in the main stage since the context of the play does not call for a intimate setting.

Many productions of The Importance of Being Earnest have used the assistance of a dialect coach to rehearse the actors in the correct use of the language and dialect at that period. Previous productions of The Importance of Being Earnest take a new direction on the costuming. Where as the costumes are shown to be over the top to match the outlandish behavior of the characters of the play. This can be shown by the production from the Cal Poly Department of Theater. The costumes were extravagant, and seemed to be a over the top interpretation of the characters. In this production, the Cecily almost resembles a gothic character than the innocent young woman she was originally intended to be. This seemed to not necessarily be effective but definitely eye catching to an audience member familiar with the piece. Another approach to making a production stand out from others was the Paper Mill Playhouse production. They used the actor who played the characters of Lane and Merriman to also play Oscar Wilde and placed him in a box seat so all the audience could see him during the performance. This gave the impression that Oscar Wilde was watching his own play, which gave a more interactive version for the audience.

Majority of the reviews of previous productions of this play are positive. They acclaim it to a classical piece with productions that continues to attract and amuse an audience. Although the Paper Mill Playhouse seemed to receive mainly negative reviews regarding the acting. Critics agreed that the actors different approach with the characters seemed to make the characters actions unbelievable. “As Jack's ward (and Algernon's eventual love interest) Cecily, Zoe Winters takes the production's theatricality motif way too far, turning scenes of dialogue into irritating shouting matches” (Matt Windman, Theatre Mania). Making a classical piece stand out from other productions can have its drawbacks if a director takes the play into a direction that the context of the script doest not support, as seen in the case of the Paper Mill Playhouse.