Index IntroductionExploring the World of Entertainment Rehearsal ConsiderationsProduction PracticeConclusionIntroductionWest Side Story and The British Raj are two completely different topics, but in some ways they can still relate to the present day. Within this essay you will read how I intend to incorporate these two topics together, to produce a new adaptation of the award-winning show, West Side Story. By bringing these subjects together, we will create a new and interesting play, which tells not only a tragic love story of two people who cannot be together, but also a story about the British invasion of India. Therefore give a fun and educational theater show. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayThe British Raj was the rule of the British Crown over the Indian subcontinent from 1858 to 1947. This was put in place after the Indian War against the British. It was also the moment the crown was handed over to Queen Victoria. It lasted until India was divided into two sovereign dominion states which were; India's rule and Pakistan's rule. West Side Story is a musical in which modern-day Romeo and Juliet are both involved with or have had past relationships with New York street gangs. In the harsh, numbing streets of the Upper West Side, two gangs fight for turf control and dominance. The situation becomes even more complicated when a former gang member falls in love with a rival's little sister. You will find more information on these two topics later in this article. '. In India, this word means government or rule. During this period of time, India transformed into the country as we know it today. Britain at the time had a number of colonies, which are parts of the world that they control, before deciding to conquer all of India. Like many other countries, India at the time lacked the power to counter Britain's seizure of power, thus making the country divided and making it possible for the British to conquer the entire region. In fact, some British leaders have held power in India for over 200 years thanks to a business owned by the British government. However, in 1858, Britain decided that they wanted to conquer the entire region of India, after some of their leaders wanted to start a war for independence. This did not work in their favor as the English had a much better and powerful army, which led them to win and conquer the entire country. The infamous West Side Story is an adaptation of the incredible story of Romeo and Juliet written by William Shakespeare. Set in uptown New York in 1950, this story explores two gangs who come from different ethnic backgrounds, with the Sharks being Puerto Rican and the Jets being an all-white gang. Tony, who is a member of the Jets, falls in love with Maria, who is the younger sister of the leader of the Sharks gang, which does not go well with the others. To resolve the issue of who takes Dominican on the street, both parties agree to have a confrontation (a fight), which becomes complicated since Tony is in love with Maria. Against Maria's wishes, Tony attempts to break up the fight but ends up killing the Sharks' ringleader, Bernardo, who is also Maria's older brother. Tony is told shortly afterwards that the love of his life has been killed by another character from the show and goes looking for him. He eventually finds Maria alive, but this happens shortly before he is shot dead at the end of the musical. The reason why I decided to make an adaptation of West Side Story that includes the British Raj,It's because if I feel like it's an important message that the show is about loving who you want and not caring what other people think. Nowadays, many people are concerned about who they are, what they are, and even in different cultures around the world, arranged marriage is still accepted as normal. The culture is changing and I felt it was time to renew this amazing story, which has been around for many years. If you go see West Side Story today, you'll probably notice the cultural shift throughout history that has happened for us coming here today, or maybe things haven't changed that much since the musical phenomenon emerged? Since 1950, there have been many changes not only in America but around the world, and what better way to portray different cultures and eras today than to create a stage show that most people know well and can to understand the context? also of comedy. Taking a well-known piece of theater and changing it slightly is a risk to take in the industry, but by doing so you spark more interest and therefore hopefully give more people information that they may not have known before. For this adaptation of the production, in order to establish a connection with The British Raj, some characters needed a slight ethnic change. My idea for this production is that West Side Story would be set in the British Raj, and the character of Maria would be an Indian princess, and the character of Tony would be a working-class British boy. The Sharks will be Indian and the Jets will be British; Maria - A young girl who finds herself in the middle of the conflict between the two gangs. In my adaptation, she is half Indian and half British, and she is also the king's daughter. Kutcha Butcha is a term used during the Raj that we thought suited our adaptation of West Side Story. Kutcha means raw or undercooked and children's butcha. The color of semi-baked bread, which in our production would be Maria. This essentially refers to a mixed-race child. During the Raj, mixed-race children of Indian and British descent were accepted, and adults were encouraged to reproduce interracially. This whole idea refers to the idea of ​​belonging. Maria is a city between two worlds, two halves of itself. Who does it belong to? Tony - A poor British boy who fell in love with Maria. He was a former leader of the Jets, but now has a new lifestyle that doesn't involve gangs. He too is torn between two worlds, whether to choose the one he loves or remain faithful to his friends. He finally decides to go to Maria but leaves her with an unfortunate death. Anita - She is the most exuberant of the group, she is the king's fiancée and she is also Indian. He wants the best for Maria but greatly disapproves of the choices she is making regarding Tony. As the king's wife, she is highly respected within the community. Bernard - (1858) The British government took control of India. Raj is the Hindu word for sovereignty. This translates as supreme ruler, especially in reference to a monarch. Bernard takes over as king. In our version of West Side Story, Bernardo represents the power Britain had over India after the rebellion. It describes the brutality shown towards the Indian people during this time. Bernardo truly believed that Tony was an intruder as he brought a foreign army to essentially take control of the crown, to end his reign. Some of the key themes found in West Side Story are; Love: Their love blossoms, trying to show everyone that fighting is not the answer. Loyalty - Tony is expected to cooperate with the Jets but is no longer part of their gang, however Maria grows to hate Tony for killing her brother (The King) but returns her loyalty to Tony. Vendetta- This is the main theme that drives the violence within the production. You never know how or when this rivalry actually began. Youth - Compared to Romeo and Juliet, this story is a little kinder to its protagonists. They have passion and drive that comes with being young. It ends with a tragedy that hits ever harder when young people are involved. Race - The film itself received a little backlash regarding it being racist. Compared to today, we are more open to entertainment and society has overcome anti-immigrant sentiment. The Jets and Sharks might rumble about who holds dominance and who takes power, but ultimately they are all losers in the little game they play with each other. They are helpless. As they fight over property, the police remind them that they can ruin their lives whenever they feel like it. The two gangs in West Side Story essentially fight against this as much as they fight against each other, and they all secretly know how it's going to end. All the themes in the original script and in our version are linked backwards. to self-government and imperialism. Here in Britain we have always wanted to have our own independence and authority. We don't like other countries and power figures dictating how we should run our country. However this fact becomes ironic because we, Britain, have never been good at giving other countries their independence. We have westernized other countries, telling them how to dress and act to conform to our social norms. Now that "BREXIT" has come into play, we are rebelling against other countries offering us a brexit deal. Britain now shows a clear dichotomy between two sides, deciding whether to leave or remain. However this is ironic because as early as the 1850s (Raj) we were sending convoys to India to establish trade agreements and to impose Catholic views and Victorian lifestyles. We want to govern ourselves again, which is definitely relevant to our history, the fact that Britain is not that good at being governed or controlled by others and yet throughout our history, our capitalist approach, has been exactly that. Rehearsal Considerations For this production, we will have 7 weeks to prepare for opening night. We will send scripts to the cast so they can get familiar with their lines and who they are as shippers. This then means that they can go away individually and research the culture and who they are as a character. They will also have to consider how they will approach each scene and song, at least in terms of the overall effect they want to achieve. First Rehearsal - The full cast read-through is done at this point in the process. Make sure everyone is clear on the story and understands their characters. As the weeks go by, there will be a vocal coach that comes in to help with the accents so they are able to do it correctly. Day to day - The first week or two is about playing with how they want the scenes to look for example, this means there may be many around so others are expected to leave with the voice tutor. By the time the third week of rehearsal arrives, everyone should be off the books and wearing something similar to their characters to ensure they are able to move easily and not get on stage and struggle with costumes. During this time the choreography will be taught and learned, this therefore means that the cast will once again have to go away and research and understand Indian dance in that period. Dance in India has many different styles which are normally classified as classical or folk. Just like other aspects of India, different dance styles have formed inthroughout the country and have developed according to local traditions and elements from other parts of the country. At the end of each rehearsal there will be cast notes so everyone is aware of what needs improvement. Costume fittings - These are separate days from the rehearsals and are carried out two weeks before the start of the show. It is very important to make sure everyone's costumes fit perfectly and that they are able to move around in them. If they cannot move on stage, the choreographer will alter the movement. Technical Rehearsals: This part of the process requires a full cast and crew. The entire show is followed in running order making sure all lights/sounds and microphones are correctly timed. The cast will be in full costume so they can place microphones inside the materials. Dress rehearsals - More than one of these will be scheduled, as the performance includes moving the set, etc. This is the last time that we as a cast will be able to correct any technical issues that may still be present. Also, by doing dress rehearsals, it means that if something goes wrong with the costumes, for example, rapid changes, then we are able to work around it and not ruin the show for a paying audience. One important thing that every cast member needs to have is a strong speaking voice. This is because when they are on stage, voices can sometimes be drowned out by the theatre, so having a vocal coach will help them maintain a healthy and strong voice for the show. Having a vocal coach means that you will properly understand how your voice works and how to take care of it. Not only can they show you those things, but they can also help you with your character and how he sounds while speaking. For example, Bernardo is a strong character, he is a king, so having a powerful voice will help to give the information that is important. Production Practices When we are in the real house, there will be some fabric fallen from the walls and ceiling and we thought to make it with golden/silky colors. Royalty at the time meant having many expensive things and having statues placed in the center of the room. I imagined that when you enter the king's palace, suddenly you are created with a bunch of bright colors and expensive objects. But when you go out on the street, you are surrounded by poverty and dull colors that don't show any color. In this adaptation of West Side Story, we really wanted to keep the spirit of Indian culture alive and make sure that all the vibrant colors that represent different things are still included in the story. Clothing in India changes depending on the different ethnicity, geography, climate and cultural traditions of the people of each region of India. The known history of the Indian subcontinent dates back approximately 5,000 years. The earliest civilization known as Indus Valley Civilization has archaeological evidence of draped garments. Traditional clothing found in India would be a sari and wrapped garments. So in our adaptation, we wanted to make sure that all of these were represented within the play. For example, for Maria and Anita's costumes, we wanted them both to wear red and gold dresses, so we could see the connection between the two as they are both classed as royalty. For Maria, the upper body will wear traditional Indian clothing with bright colors and for the lower half a multi-layered Victorian dress. The layers mixed with our bright lighting will represent the heat and how the overly crowded clothes were not suitable for the climate and heat of India. We will have the bustle dress in dark monochrome colors to suggest that India had become dark and depressing due to the invasion of British soldiers and how the identity of Indian culture was being.