May 4th Voices: Kent State, 1970; A Play

Production Notes

5 P ro d uc t i o n n o t e s May 4th Voices was first performed at Kent State University on May 2, 2010, directed by Katherine burke, for the 40th annual May 4th Commemoration. The original cast was comprised of Maj Ragain as narrator and thirteen students who were enrolled in a semester-long Devising Theatre class taught by Katherine burke in the Kent State School of Theatre and Dance. Subsequent productions, directed by Katherine burke, were featured at Case Western Reserve University’s international Peace and War Conference in October 2010 and the Oral History Association’s international Conference in October 2012. All the text in the script has been edited and arranged based on the Kent State Shootings Oral History Project, housed in Kent State University Libraries’ Department of Special Collections and Archives, except for the voice of the narrator, which is excerpted from Maj Ragain’s prose poem, “May 4, 1970 / A Memory,” from A Hungry Ghost Surrenders His Tacklebox, published by Pavement Saw Press in 2006, and used here by permission. casting because the Devising Theatre class had only thirteen members (six males, seven females), we manipulated the script for the original production to fit exactly that many people—plus one narrator. Future productions, however, may use as many actors as are available. The only requirement is that the actors portray these voices with the truthfulness and dignity they deserve. Female actors may play male characters, and male actors may play female characters. A variety of ages are represented in the script, but there is no need to cast ageappropriate actors. On the contrary, there is a certain poignancy to a young actor speaking the words of an older voice, and vice versa. 6 set and costumes Since we had a very small budget in the spring of 2010, the original performance used wooden chairs and sheer white fabric. The lack of financing had initially seemed like an obstacle, but it turned out to be a blessing because the stark neutrality of the set forced us to be imaginative. The actors arranged the chairs to form a car (which was “rocked” by draping fabric over the people and pulling it back and forth), hills, walls, podiums, interrogation rooms, and more. The fabric was used as blankets, rivers, paths, hair, clothes, and in symbolic ways as well. The actors wore neutral clothing, so they could easily represent a variety of characters. We had discussed the possibility of using imagery and projections, but we decided against it, as May 4th imagery is so iconic and charged with emotion; we wanted the audience to focus on the words. i encourage you to use as simple a set as possible and to play with the many ways you can arrange bodies, tables, chairs, stools, fabric, rope, or whatever you have lying around. music and sound We found it particularly effective to use music and sound effects to make transitions from one scene to the next, to punctuate or intensify a moment, and to establish atmosphere and context. in the original performance, we were fortunate to have live music and sound effects provided by Kent musician and resident Hal Walker, who played an assortment of familiar and strange instruments to help create the world of the play. if you have live music available, if your actors are able to play instruments, or if you have a sound designer, sound and music can play an important role in the performance. ...