Meditation 2 – Staging “Prometheus Bound”

While reading “Prometheus Bound,” I tried to envision what the stage would look like if I were to design it today. This alone, I thought would be fairly simple because the focal point of the stage should be Prometheus and the boulder. So I envisioned a backdrop sponge painted blue and grey, two colors usually associates with mountaintops and boulders. There would also be a large stone-like structure on SR to look like the top of a peak. After a while I began to play around with having risers of some sort in the background. Many characters enter to speak with Prometheus, and I thought that the risers could be used to distinguish their status. For example, the chorus flies in on “the wings of sea birds.” This could be demonstrated by having the chorus stand on a riser that is higher than Prometheus. I could also put the boulder on a riser so Prometheus could be at a higher vantage point than Io and Hermes. Having him displaced by about two feet can serve as a reminder to the audience that he is bound to a cliff. These risers might be too difficult to work with. However, I think that by placing the actors on different heights the audience can get a better feel for the setting.

I think the lighting can also do a lot to help with the setting. Since the play does not entail a lot of physical action (the chorus is basically stationary and Prometheus is tied to a rock) dramatic lighting can help maintain the audience’s attention. I think the play should open with very dim lighting. The audience should be able to see the figures moving on stage and the silhouettes of the actors, but not in much detail. The lights could come on after Prometheus is bound because this is where the audience’s attention will be shifted from Power, Violence, and Hephaistos to Prometheus. Another example of where dramatic lighting could be used is during Prometheus’s speech to Ocean about Zeus and his physical power. The lights could slowly dim red and a spotlight could appear on Prometheus. This could help match the intensity and passion with which Prometheus speaks. In addition, the lightening could be portrayed by pulsing lights behind a translucent backdrop. The play could end with one bright flash of lightening and then go completely black

I understand that when “Prometheus Bound” was first preformed, it did not use high-tech lighting. And it is very possible the stage was bare except for Prometheus’s boulder. However, these are a few things I would consider doing if I were directing this play today.