When you are writing or beginning to research a play, it's important to think about the history or time period surrounding the setting for your production. This will inform everything from characterization to set and costume design. What types of technology were prevalent, and how do they impact your characters? What types of diseases, medicines, drugs, and food were around? What was the government pushing propaganda-wise, and how does that feature in your story? What were the major goods being traded at this point, and how did that affect what characters had access to (ex: color dyes, types of food, paper, etc).
To answer these questions, research is the key! You can utilize special collections and library catalog materials to answer all these questions and more.
What is the culture of this play? What aesthetics of art is created and celebrated in this culture? What is the vernacular dialect, and how did that evolve? What type of music is popular, and what are the different cultural contexts for different types of music? What fashions are popular, what materials are used in textiles, what home design and decor is preferable? What is the religion, and how does that inform the structure of one's day or philosophy?
What is considered "normal" behavior for your characters according to the dictates of the society featured in the play? How do your characters adhere to or deviate from that norm? Who has the most power as far as class and social hierarchy go, and how is this indicated in design or character development and physicality? What signifies power? What is the history of power structures in this society? What signifies social currency, and how is wealth displayed? What is fashionable, and who has access to this? What type of vocabulary or speech indicates education or upbringing? What are the ways individuals circumvent or manipulate social barriers? What is taboo, what are societal expectations for gender roles, professions, the elderly, children?
What is the psychology of the main characters? What psychological discussions were prevalent during this time period? Freud? Talk therapy? Stiff upper lip and shut up? What are popular philosophies of the time, and how does that inform characters' trajectories, politics, and goals? Do any of the characters exhibit symptoms of mental illnesses you can research? How do these things affect physicality? Their dress? What they surround themselves with? The lighting?
Did you know that Purdue Archives and Special Collections has a vast collection of materials related to mental health and psychoactive substances? This collecting area brings together primary source materials that document the history of psychedelic medicine. Types of materials available for research include correspondence, photographs, unpublished notes and writings, speeches, interviews, born digital materials, and other items of historical import and enduring value. These items are preserved and made accessible in perpetuity for scholars and the public with generous funding from the Betsy Gordon Foundation. Check it out here.
Where are we? What is the history of this house, city, state, country, continent? What type of jobs are available, what color dirt is on the ground? Is there pollution? What is easily accessible? What is the landscape (mountainous, rivers, desert, etc) and how does that inform the physicality, design, lighting, sound, lifestyle of the characters?
What is the climate like? What type of weather is normal and how does that inform physicality, design, and sound? Is the climate harsh or temperate? Does it feel at odds with the action? What kind of light and sound does the climate make, what colors are appropriate for it?
Think about the physical space that the play exists within. What type of architecture is characteristic of the setting? How does that make characters feel? Are wide spaces or tight confines utilized? How does that inform physicality and design? How can you use artistic depictions of architecture and the people who lived alongside it from the period to inform these considerations when building the elements of your play?
