Course Title: Performance Analysis

Course Code: THEA 114

Assignment number:
Assignment Title: Performance analysis- group project 2022
Due Date: 30th November 2022
Tutor: Nancii Yearwood
Student Identification Number: 0146026, 0161750, 0161750, 0161104 and 0161685
Names: Faith Marshall, M’laika Jordan, Phoebe Mayers and Macaria Marshall
In partial completion of the Associate Degree in Theatre arts
Synopsis
Yerma was a young woman of rural Spain. She was married to a shepherd named Juan.
As we start the play, we are introduced to the conflict straight away. As Yerma is seeing her
husband out to work they begin to argue about children. Yerma wants children. She yearns to
experience motherhood and the love that a mother has for her child. However, her husband does
not share that same fondness of parenthood. In fact, Juan believes that having children would
disrupt their peaceful lives. He does not want them. The pair have been married for five years
and Yerma is beginning to feel insecure about her identity as a woman and her performance as a
wife.

When Juan leaves for work, Maria, a friend of his wife shows up to tell her the good
news of her pregnancy. Yerma celebrates with the woman while also experiencing jealousy.
Besides her displeasure in not having her own baby Yerma offers Maria with advice on raising
children and offers to sew her diapers and baby clothes. After Maria leaves, Yerma greets
another guest. Victor, the cousin of her husband. The two have a friendly conversation before
Victor leaves for work.

On taking lunch for her husband Yerma meets and old woman coming from doing the
same. Yerma begs the woman for guidance on conception, but the woman refuses to tell her what
she knows and Yerma rejects the little that she is told. Next, she meets two young women. One
of the young wives tells Yerma of her mother who forces herbs and specialists onto her so that
she becomes pregnant. Yerma asks for her information so that she can seek council from this
woman. After Juan catches Yerma speaking to Victor passed the time she was meant to be home
he quarrels with her saying that people might accuse her of infidelity and other gossip so she
must stay home.

Through the washerwomen we learn that Juan has brought his two sisters to their home
so that they can watch over Yerma to make sure she doesn't get herself into trouble. The women
speak about the rumours that fuel Juan’s paranoia. Seen talking to two men, Yerma has been
labelled a scandal as her actions were analysed as. It is her we discover that Juan cannot give
Yerma children and other know about it.
 When she gets home Juan is waiting angrily. Yerma has gone out to fetch water and
come back at sunset. Juan scolds his wife and reminds her that he does not like her going out for
fear what people will say and how it will negatively affect his reputation. Yerma argues back that
she can not be kept inside with nothing to do and no children. Juan is frustration at her constant
nagging about children and threatens to locker her away if it continues. Yerma ends the argument
and ends up alone as Juan and sisters go to eat dinner. Maria stops by just then with her baby
who Yerma is saddened to see. It fills her with envy to see others with what she wishes most she
had. She feels empty and useless.

Just when Yerma was drowning in self-pity the young wife from before secretly comes to
tell her that her mother is wating on Yerma. Yerma accepts to go but must wait. As she is
looking for an escape route Victor comes by to tell her that he is leaving the village. Yerma slips
away with the young mother to meet Dolores who she says prayers within a graveyard and goes
back to the older woman’s home. There she declares that she does not love Juan, but he is her
only way to have children and get by in the world.

In the final act and scene Yerma is at a shrine ceremony where women go to pray for
what they want. Yerma, of course, prays for a child. When she has said her prayers, she finds
herself speaking to the same old woman from the fields her husband works in. The woman
reveals to Yerma what many in their village have known. Juan has descended from a lineage of
men known to be barren. The woman tells Yerma to leave her husband and come take her son
instead, but Yerma refused saying that she could not entertain the mere thought of another man.
Yerma seems to be taking the news relatively well until Juan decided it is a good idea to speak to
her on what has truly been going through his mind. Juan tells his already devasted wife that he
does not want children and because he does not want them, she can not want them. Repeatedly
invalidating her feelings and pushing his oppressive values onto her, Juna does not realise that he
is coaxing his wife to a murderous rage. Having enough of what her husband is saying to her,
Yerma lies over Juan and chokes him to death.

Yerma is the story of a woman versus society. She experiences the frustration of being a
woman in a society where women are oppressed and kept from living for themselves instead of
solely their husbands. This is her trial throughout the play.
 Director’s Vision

Throughout the play several themes are exhibited and here they will be discussed in detail. To
show Suppression Yerma wears a constricted blouse, that she pulls at through the play, when she
kills her husband, she rips it a part freeing herself of her husband and the oppressive dress
[ society] put also revealing her nakedness her shame, exposing herself and her vulnerability to
the world who will point and ridicule her. Rumours will spread she will be an outcast; she has
gone too far she has gone against God.

Barrenness and Contrast: As will be seen in the set design, the use of orange flowers on the old
woman who is very successful in her fertility and the lack of flowers (representing children) and
even the dying grass beneath Yerma's feet, represent her bareness and the contrast between what
other women have so easily in her mind and what she lacks, as though she is cursed even the
once thriving and green grass beneath her feet, exiles her as a person and dies beneath her feet.

Oppression is displayed from the beginning of the play and to the end,
 Character Analysis Protagonist and Antagonist
To say that Yerma, our protagonist, wants a child is an understatement. Yerma yearns for
one! From the beginning on the play to the end every conversation that she has alludes to her
want. This her main conflict during the play. She describes the love a mother has for a child.. In
act two, scene 2 Yerma says “Men have another life: flocks, trees, comradeship; women only
have children and childcare”.

“Yerma” is a tragedy play written by Federico Garcia Lorca. “Yerma” explores themes of
bareness, lack of freedom and oppression. The play was set in the 1930’s, in rural Andalucia,
Spain. Every play has a protagonist and an antagonist. The protagonist is the main character of
the play, and the antagonist is the character which opposes someone or something in the play,
usually the protagonist. Therefore, there will be an analysis of both characters, including a
discussion of their characteristics, goals and motivations and character arc. Additionally, the
relationship between the characters will be examined.

Firstly, the protagonist of “Yerma” is a Christian woman named Yerma. She is Spanish and
she is middle class. Yerma’s most prominent characteristics is that she is hopeful, desperate and
rebellious. Yerma has been married to her husband Juan for five years but has not been able to
conceive any children. After all that time, most people would have given up the idea of having
children or would be tired of trying and getting disappointed, because by that point it would
seem almost impossible. But not Yerma, she was still holding onto hope that she could have a
baby. For example, in Act 1, Scene 1, Yerma sings as if she is speaking to her child, with her
hand over her belly. This highlights Yerma’s constant faith that she will be able to have a child.
Another example is when in Act 1 Scene 1, Yerma’s friend, Maria, reveals that she is pregnant
after only five months. Even after learning that her friend, who had been trying for a child for
much less time than her and not nearly as hard as Yerma had, she did not lose hope.

Yerma’s hopefulness slowly transformed into desperation as the play progressed. In fact,
even in the beginning of the play we can see the start of Yerma’s desperation to have a child. For
instance, in Act 1 Scene 1, Yerma says “Helena took three years, and others in my mother's day
even longer, but five years and twenty days, like me, is too long to wait.” This shows that Yerma
has counted how long up to the very day that she has been trying to conceive a child. That action
alone, emphasizes that Yerma is desperately hoping for a child, which eventually turns into full
on desperation. Yerma began to be willing to do anything and go to great lengths to have a child.
For example, in Act 3 scene 1 Yerma goes to see a witch doctor to help her get pregnant. This
highlights Yerma’s desperation because she is a Christian woman, and going to a witch doctor
would not be acceptable to the church.

Yerma is also rebellious. In this period, women were expected to listen to their husbands
and do as they are told. They were not allowed to make any decisions for themselves or do
anything without their spouse's approval because during the time in which the play is set, society
had little to no respect for women. In Act 2, Scene 2, Juan tells Yerma that she leaves the house
too often and that he does not want her to go out anymore. Yerma does not care. In Act 3, Scene
1, Yerma (the very next scene) Yerma proceeds to leave the house regardless of her husband's
wishes. This proves that Yerma is a very rebellious character.

Yerma’s goal throughout the entire play is to finally be able to have a child. She wishes,
more than anything, to be a mother. It is almost as if she feels like she has no purpose without a
child, which was probably influenced by society’s expectations of a woman during this time
period.

Throughout the play her husband and antagonist, Juan is persistent in his stance that his wife
should stay at home and do nothing, but the duties prescribed to her by society and her husband’s
ruling hand. However, Yerma is not the type of person to find contentment in being housebound.
She enjoys being outside and speaking to different people [Act 2, scene 1: YERMA “to talk with
people’s no sin”]. This displeases Juan who is a traditional man and believes that women should
listen to and appease their husbands every request. This could be from the fact that he has been
raised in a society where this way of thinking is the norm. Like his wife, Yerma, Juan is a
Spanish, middle-class, heterosexual, Christian man who was raised in the rural Spain society.

Juan is a selfish man. He only thinks of what he wants. In the last scene of the play, we
see this in his confrontation with Yerma where she finds out that he cannot have children.
Yerma’s biggest dream is to have a child but because Juan does not want children, he expects
Yerma not to want children [YERMA: “and you’ve never thought about it even when you could
see I wanted one”; JUAN Never; YERMA “and I’m not to hope for one?” JUAN “No”]. Juan
believes that in his household his word should be treated as god’s, and he becomes frustrated and
angry when it is not obeyed. It is apparent that he has created a perfect world in his mind and
expects everything around him to fall into place as he pleases.

Yerma is made the subject of untrue gossip. Because she is seen speaking with men (such
as Juan’s cousin, Victor) she is villainized in her society as a promiscuous woman. Juan takes to
the words of the people in his community more than those of his wife [Act 2, scene 1: YERMA
“to talk to people’s no crime”; JUAN “it may appear so”]. Despite Yerma telling him
repeatedly that she was simply conversing he still subjects Yerma to his scolding when she is
caught outside without him or speaking to a man. This is because Juan cares deeply about
reputation and the way he is viewed. He sees Yerma’s action as his possible ruin and begins to
resent her because of it [Act 2, scene 1: JUAN “Near you one feels only inquieted and
dissatisfaction”] [Act 2 Scene 1: JUAN “…and you’re trying to ruin a man against his will”] .
This causes Juan to demand his wife always stay in the house- making him possessive and at
times verbally abusive. It is possible that this way of acting is not his true nature and instead him
implicating the teaching of the hierarchal society he lives in. It is a mark of shame for him to
have a wife who he can not control.

Despite being selfish and controlling Juan is a hard worker. In fact, he is such a hard
worker that he does not go home to his wife [Act 2, scene 2: YERMA Are you staying; JUAN I
have to guard the flock. You know it’s the owner’s duty.”] for the sake of tending to his flock.
Whenever Juan is seen throughout the play he is leaving or coming from work. It seems that that
is a part of his ‘peaceful’ lifestyle- the same lifestyle that does not include children or the ability
to sympathize with his wife [YERMA: “and you’ve never thought about it even when you could
see I wanted one”; JUAN Never; YERMA “and I’m not to hope for one?”; JUAN “No”].

In today’s age the relationship between spouses is one of mutual respect and
responsibility. However, in the 1930s, in Andalucía men ruled over their wives and were free to
control them in whatever manner they deemed fit for their household. This was what the
relationship between Juan and Yerma was like. Yerma was subjected to Juan and was expected
to completely submit to him with no complaint. This was how the relationship was to the very
end. However, Yerma did not fit the societal norm for good wives. She was rebellious and often
disobeyed her husband’s commands. This caused conflict in the relationship as Juan was deeply
displeased by his wife’ lack of submission. This resulted in a marriage full of resentment and
anger which eventually boiled over, resulting in a man’s death.

Juan wants to live peacefully. He wants a silent and docile wife who he can come back to
after long days of hard work. He does not want children and he wants his wife to be okay with
that. He wants her to stay home at all times and not cause any fuss in their community. To put it
shortly: Juan’s goal is to live quietly and in control of everything around him. It seems his
motivation for this is the hierarchy built around him. His society has put into notion that this is
the lifestyle of real, respectable men have.
Rationale for Set Design and Set Sketch

The play ‘Yerma’ generally highlights several themes, however, the main themes being
portrayed in this scene/set design are contrast and fertility. In this scene (Act 1, Scene 2) Yerma
is in a field after taking lunch for her husband. For the design, the field is a bright luscious green
filled with olive trees which represent peace in the land, olives are also mentioned in the play
when Yerma mentions her husband Juan works in the olive grove, these trees are displayed as a
backdrop to assist with identifying how far the trees are. A flock of sheep are also placed in the
field to graze near the olive trees, in the play Victor sings a song in which he mentions a
shepherd, shepherds must tend to their sheep, the hidden context in this design is Yerma is a
sheep, she is innocent, Juan her husband is the shepherd, the person entrusted to take care of her
however he neglects her to allow her as a sheep to stray away from him.

The field is divided by a path of soil. On the left side of the field there is a patch of brown
dying grass and a trail of footprints in which Yerma stands to have her discussion with the first
old woman, the brown grass is to emphasise on Yerma being in an area (marriage) which is
barren and corrupt, wherever she may go the constant haunting feeling of being barren follows
her with every step she takes. On the right side of the field are small blooming patches of orange
bougainvillaea planted in random areas of the field. To get a sense of Andalucia the
bougainvillaea flower was selected. The colour orange was selected because it represents
fertility. Orange is the combination of red, which signifies love and yellow which signifies
happiness.
Music

Malagueña - Lucas Imbiriba (Acoustic Guitar)

Francisco Tárrega - Capricho árabe

Tchaikovsky - Valse Sentimentale
 Costume & Makeup Sketches & Rationale

Costume Sketches
Makeup Sketch

Costume Rationale
Yerma is depicted in this costume as wearing a white, restricted blouse, which she frequently
tugs at throughout the play. The white in her blouse stands for the innocents she once was before
going insane. The orange in this material indicates infertility since, before learning the truth,
Yerma believed she was unable to have children. She is dressed in a large, white skirt that is
layered with an orange piece of material that resembles a frill. Yellow was chosen for a pocket
on her blouse since it is the colour of hope, and if Yerma had any hope at all, it was the hope that
she and her husband would be able to have a child. Low horizontal squares are at the bottom of
Yerma's skirt they stand in for oppression. The piece of material with slanted lines visible at the
top of her skirt suggests conflict between her and a certain character because there is a lot of it
throughout the play. The material's reverse is beige, which suggests simplicity because she
wasn't very fancy. Yerma also has curved lines, which indicate comfort and ease; she frequently
behaves in this manner towards Victor. She is wearing socks that match her skin tone, and her
sandals are brown and laced up. She also wore a cross-adorned necklace as a sign of her devotion
to God.

Makeup Rationale
Yerma's makeup is pretty lovely; she has black eyeliner and mascara that flow down her cheek as
she sobs, and she has bright pink lipstick that accentuates her youthfulness. Her hair, which hung
in her face, hid her eyebrows, leaving a little pink blush on each cheek. Yerma has stunning long
black hair.
Appendix