Ruby Moon

Ruby Moon is a fractured fairytale. The dramatic structure is cyclical and episodic. It is episodic in that it contains a prologue and an epilogue with a series of ten short, self-contained scenes which run strictly with no interval, each scene having its own narrative and complication. It is a contemporary Australian drama containing absurdist elements with many different acting styles such as representational, presentational, heightened naturalism, absurdism and mime with influences from Growtoski.

To promote the play, I decided to preview Scene Seven to an audience as it best represents this decimated community at stake throughout this play which is a reacurring theme while also containing many Australian influences, being a place of high tension, engaging the audience and persuading them to see the rest of that play. As a dramaturge I must be able to study and interpret plays for actors and directors. I may advise on selecting plays, adaptations, translations, program notes, stagecraft’s etc. I must also be able to look at the interpretations through the dialogue and stage directions and create meaning from them.

Order custom essay Ruby Moon with free plagiarism report

450+ experts on 30 subjects Starting from 3 hours delivery

Get Essay Help

I decided to preview scene seven as it challenges Australian attitudes and values revolving around this terrifying paradox of the suburbs and decimated community which has now been formed in Australian neighbourhoods. There is a lack of trust in the suburbs whereas both Sylvie and Ray are stereotypically trustworthy challenging the audiences previous assumptions about safety within Australian suburbs, making them feel betrayed. It shows the fear existing in Australian society and the grief of the parents, putting their trust in the community which inevitably can’t be trusted.

It highly demonstrates the invasion of privacy and the safe haven in Australian neighbourhoods, for example when Sylvie states that, “Someone’s been in our home, Ray. ” The play overall is suitable for the festival as it challenges Australian attitudes and values about safe neighbourhoods which is clearly non-existent within the play and the fear of the unknown as well as how it comments on this terrifying and frightening paradox heavily existing in Australian suburbs today and the effect it has on not only the parents, but the loss of community as well.

As a director also, I must be able to supervise actors as they develop interpretations as well as co-ordinating all the elements that support performers. I must be able to shape, interpret and use the elements of drama to create particular effects for an audience. To enhance conflict I decided to place Ruby and Ray upstage so that they have a closer proximity with the audience. I decided to create many pauses between Sylvie and Ray’s dialogue to redefine the conflict.

For example when Sylvie says, ‘Ray…? Where’s Ruby? ’ and Ray responds with, ‘I don’t know, Sylvie! I don’t know! ’ I decided to place the actors so that they’re facing each other with a pause after Ray’s dialogue to show the climatic moment. I decided for Sylvie to imagine the mannequin of Ruby is outside the front under the street lamp so she is looking out into the audience enhancing the conflict revolving around the missing mannequin which she says. ‘The mannequin!

She’s not under the street lamp. Somebody’s taken her. Who could be that cruel? ’ Sylvie is looking out frantically into the audience making the audience feel uncomfortable and uneasy enhancing the conflict of this missing mannequin. One last way in which conflict is shown is through the body part of Ruby being sent in a parcel and how they don’t know the answers to who sent it and why and how it event got there reinforcing the invasion of a safe neighbourhood.

Read also: Moon By Chaim Potok