Artistic Concept
Our concept for this production of Grease centered around the influential power pop culture has on and over teenage behavior. As Grease is a musical about a group of teenagers and was created as an homage to the music of the late 1950s. Because there is a 20-year gap between the time in which the story is set and the time is which it was written, we decided to take a closer look at how a story about teenagers could be for people in their late-30’s. This led our production team to examining the power of nostalgia how it can be a shared experience covering numerous demographics.
A common factor we found in multiple generations is the way in which the clear majority of teenagers are drawn to and influenced by the pop culture of the time. Because of this, we focused heavily on examining the music, television shows, and movies of the 1950s (when Grease is set), the 1970s (when Grease was written) and the (2010s). From Elvis Presley to Carol King to Cardi B, are artistic focus helped us strategize and mold everything the design of the set to dance choreography.
We discovered the one major (and possibly the only) common factor of the artists we researched is a rebellion and a resistance to conform. It came as no surprise as we found teenagers to also tend to exhibit many forms of rebellion. Using these common points, our director approached the cast and crew with concept of rebellion in hopes of connecting to an American audience in a unifying way.
A common factor we found in multiple generations is the way in which the clear majority of teenagers are drawn to and influenced by the pop culture of the time. Because of this, we focused heavily on examining the music, television shows, and movies of the 1950s (when Grease is set), the 1970s (when Grease was written) and the (2010s). From Elvis Presley to Carol King to Cardi B, are artistic focus helped us strategize and mold everything the design of the set to dance choreography.
We discovered the one major (and possibly the only) common factor of the artists we researched is a rebellion and a resistance to conform. It came as no surprise as we found teenagers to also tend to exhibit many forms of rebellion. Using these common points, our director approached the cast and crew with concept of rebellion in hopes of connecting to an American audience in a unifying way.