In discussing the Scenes from an Execution there are four main topics of discussion and discrepancy. They are characters, history, genre, and general staging. Below will be specific places in the script and ideas that will hopefully give a head start for making the transition between the script and the stage.
To start, let’s begin with the character known as “Sketchbook”. I read somewhere that the Sketchbook is meant to embody Galactia’s process and also act as a narrator. When cast, this character seems to be cast predominantly by a woman. But the Sketchbook is very ambiguous. The Sketchbook’s job is to discuss the Galactia’s painting. Then we move onto characters called Dimintia, Supporta and Urgentino. Each character’s name has a meaning or seems to be a play on words. The list of characters is in itself a sort of allegory. But then there is the discrepancy that they are not accurate. Galactia’s daughter is named Supporta, but not supportive of her mother. Is this sarcasm or an intentional play with words? Either way, the character’s names seem to be very intentional since they will clearly lend the audience to apply what their names sound like to the character.
This is a mix between history and characters, but what does it mean and what does it matter that Galactia is based on a real woman from Venice during the 1600’s? Her name is Artemisia Gentileschi. A woman who was able to paint the way that she was because her father owned an art school. She showed promise and an interest in painting at a time when women really were not allowed to go to school for art because they would have to paint nude portraits which was forbidden by the church. So what does it mean in this play that we have a woman doing all of that? Artemisia was raped by her tutor that her father had gotten for her. Does this play into the script? Does it effect the character of Galactia? I guess the whole subject that needs to be decided is, how much is Galactia like and based off of Artemisia and how does Artemisia’s life not play into the characterization of Galactia.
Next, the history behind the play. It is debated if this script is historically accurate, historical fiction, or another form. This will be discussed further in the next section, but the point is that if it is based on history at all, it might be important to know the facts surrounding the possible and obvious history. To start, Italy is on the decline of the Renaissance, but the influence is lasting. This is important because Italy has been brought out of the highlight of art and literature and it’s “awakening”, but the importance and lasting effect that the Renaissance had would make this time that the show could be set in, 1620, a great time for art and painting. It is also important to note the battle for which Galactia is painting: The Battle of Lepanto. It was Venice against the Ottoman Empire. The following is a brief, but important synopsis of the battle. “The greatest moment in the history of Venice occurred on the morning of October 7, 1570 at Lepanto. Both sides were evenly matched, and the Christians led by the Venetians immediately attacked the Turkish fleet. Finally, as the flagship of the Turkish fleet was taken and the admiral beheaded the battle drew to an end. On October, a Venetian galley entered the bay of San Marco trailing the Turkish banners in the water behind her stern, with her deck piled high with trophies. Within an hour the whole of Venice was celebrating the victory. Upon hearing the news, the Pope ordered the church bells of all the churches to ring at midday to celebrate the victory. As so today, at the stroke of midday, the chimes of the bells ring out still celebrating this famous Venetian victory.”
This battle is know as Venice’s most supreme victory and yet we have this painter named Galactia who feels the need to go against the government and paint it for what it really was. Maybe it’s important to formulate an opinion of the battle. Maybe it’s important just because of the history it created for Venice. But it certainly is important to the plot no matter what is done with it.
This certainly leads into the question of genre. The title alone seems to tell of a dramatic play. But then add a touch of history, a man’s open head that could be seemingly comical, a naked man, and a handful of incongruities and this play no longer seems to have a place to be set. Postmodern seems to be an option with the script’s mixing of ideas and places. Maybe it’s just a misunderstood dark comedy. We do have a female painter in the early 17th century, painting naked men, and has a sketchbook that talks to her. This has the potential to ooze comedy. I guess the point is that deciding a genre or a couple of genres may help place the acting style and design in a more consistent direction.
The last big piece is the staging of this script. The question here is how realistic or suggestive is necessary to get the point across? Yet again, go back to the character Sketchbook. Is this person dressed like one? Is she on an easel? Where do you put a sketchbook on a stage? Then there is the character who calls himself “Man with the Crossbow.” How graphic does this presentation need to be? Even the painting that Galactia is working on, in one review it was said that Howard Barker had no intentions of letting the audience see the work. How will this be handled?
