by Samuel Beckett
University of Idaho
May 2002

Embers was originally written as a piece for radio, and because of this, the language of the play is enhanced for the ear. Simply, Beckett wrote for the ear and not the eye. After deciding to adapt this piece for the stage, I decided to preserve this aural quality. Meaning, I did not wish to merely realistically spell out the scene on stage. Beckett's language eliminated the need for any concrete visual assistance. Instead, I decided to underscore the plays language with physical gestures and live sound effects. These devices were to aid the audience's immersion into the world of the play.

To begin, I worked for weeks with my cast in a workshop setting. Using the text as a catalyst, we improvised physically searching for appropriate gestures and movements. At one point, I had the cast listen as I read from the text. I invited them to sketch freely as I read. After a time, we laid the sketches out on the floor. I then asked the actors to arrange themselves so that they resembled the drawings. The result was a series of extremely abstract images linked closely to the text. After weeks of workshopping the text, we began to select the most appropriate gestures to be added to the final staging. This catalogue of images served as a supplementary layer of information for the audience. The goal was not to indicate but to underscore.

We also experimented with various methods of creating live sound effects. The text calls for the sound of the ocean and horse hooves. We decided on a pair of high-pitched clavés for the horses. This sound was extremely jarring. It worked well to breakup the fluid rhythm of the text. For the ocean, we constructed devices out of wooden dowels and rubber bands, which the actors whirled over their heads. The effect was an unnerving drone similar to a didgeridoo. This sound was almost constant as is the sound of the ocean within the play.

Embers is by far the most abstract of my projects. The audience reaction was not unified. Many were intrigued, and many were not. However, the purpose of this project was experimentation, and as such, I consider it a success.