Lea Peterson

10/22/2013
Theatre 103
ASSIGNMENT E

A
1) Holding onto the past will simply ruin the future.
2) The play is both a comedy and tragedy in genre, also known as a tragicomedy. The style
is realism.

B
Act 1: The scene begins in the nursery, transitions outside to greet Ranevsky, and then back
inside into various hallways and bedrooms of the house. The nursery should have pastel
colors and floral patterns. The bedspread and window curtains should be matching fabric
of off-white with pink roses on them: feminine, classy, and mature, while still evocative of a
nursery setting. The saucer that Dunyasha drops should be porcelain with a gold ring
around the edge. It should be slightly scratched and chipped, with a faded pattern in the
middle. The outside should be open, green, luscious, and gorgeous. The trees are in full
bloom with pink cherry blossoms, which resemble the pink of the roses on the nursery
windows and bed. The trees are old, so the trunk and branches are twisted and warbled,
some falling towards the ground instead of pointing up to the sky.

Act 2: This act takes place in the midst of nature. They are standing in a secluded, wooded
spot behind which runs a river. The constant sound of the river is heard except when
interrupted by the sounds of the breaking cable. The light that comes through is green, dark
and dappled. The woods are thick, and they create a phenomenon of isolation and
seclusion, because nothing can be seen outside of the clearing in which they are standing.
There is one bench, which is old and crumbling. Everything is in earth tones, and the
instruments played by Yepikhodov are made of the same wood as the bench, also chipping
and looking fragile. Everything is dense and lush. It is the opposite of the orchard, which is
open, light, and clear.
Act 3: The party should show an attempt at decadence and formality that falls slightly
short. Everything is lace, but ripped lace. Nice china, but chipped china. Beautiful dresses,
but yellowed and stained dresses. The carpets and drapes are all very busy patterns of
many colors, but colors are faded. The walls are a deep red, and all the wood is cherry or
mahogany. Dunyasha’s fan is beautiful with gorgeous wooden slats and black lace at the
top. It is the only thing in the scene that actually conveys riches. The view from the window
is of the cherry orchard. However, from this angle, the only tree that can be seen is the
dying one that is bent over in the shape of an old woman, and although she does not state it,
the audience can see a moment where Ranevsky once again thinks it is her mother walking
around the orchard that she now no longer owns.

Act 4: This act takes place back inside the house, most importantly in the nursery again.
The rose bedspread and curtains are gone, and all the wood furniture and decorations are
disorderly piled in a corner. The rug is rolled up and propped against a wall. The gentle
cream color of the wall is covered in scuff marks, sooty handprints, and other dirt. Outside
the window, the view of the orchard is no longer beautiful, for it is filled with strange men,
fallen trees, and tools such as big axes and saws. The scene is exactly as it was at the
beginning, except everything is destroyed, and nothing new has been added at all.