Once a month I’m going to talk about a specific production,
what it was like to film it, and what was involved in making it happen. This month I’m going to talk about Trojan Women
Trojan Women is a
short film that very few people have seen but it’s an important production
because it’s the only short film that was shot in a studio. It was produced as a final project for
a class on Studio Production. I
had the chance to do whatever I wanted as a final project and decided to do a
scene from Trojan Women because I adore the script. I chose the scene where Menelaus talks to Hecuba and allows
her to confront Helen. It’s a very
dramatic scene with some dynamic elements and fun chance to play with camera
angles and subtle blocking. However the scene is about 2/3 through the script and doesn’t
really end it just goes on to another scene with a smooth transition. I wanted more of a poetic wrap up for
the end with Hecuba delivering a speech.
I found a speech in the play that sort of worked and rewrote it, adding
a few bits, to make it feel more final and dramatic.
I cast Annamarie as Hecuba because she’s awesome and can
carry a scene and Chris Hutchens as Menelaus because he’s very talented and has
good on-screen chemistry with Annamarie.
Originally Jill Hutchison was cast as Helen of Troy, but in the end she
was not able to make it to the shoot, so at the last minute (the day before I
think) Morgan Dietkus agreed to take on the part. She does a great job, especially considering how little time
she had to memorize the lines. Unfortunately
she did not have enough time to memorize the very long speech that Helen makes
in her own defense so that part doesn’t make a lot of sense. She begs Menelaus to let her speak,
then says “I do not wish to speak”, but it was all we could think of at the
last minute to work it without the monologue. 
The cast had the script a week or two before filming and we
had one rehearsal a few days before the shoot. Unfortunately we had to do a little re-blocking outside the
studio to adjust for Morgan because we had rehearsed with Jill. Also, Annamarie was sick on the shooting day. I think she had a bad cold, but I know she was a little hoarse and she wasn't happy about it, although it made her sound more like the old woman Hecuba is supposed to be.
I remember having the actors run
through the scene in the hallway outside the studio because I had to assist
another student with his production.
The actors got ready in the costumes provided and I slipped out to style
some hair while the set was changed.
I had to bring in my own pillars, which I had used for the production of Trojan Women I had directed for the stage at my high school in my senior
year.
We were running late and I remember getting in trouble with
Tim, the teacher, because I wasn’t ready on time. Finally everything was set – we had great lighting thanks to
Tim and a student named Jeff – and the actors took their places. We only had time to test the ending
effect with the fire before we began shooting. The whole scene was done in one take with three cameras.
It was a really awesome to direct a studio production and I
had a lot of fun. Thanks to the
super cast for participating and helping me ace my final project. If you want to see the scene then check
out the video below.
I have always wanted to produce a full version of Trojan Women shot on location at a beach.
Maybe some day I will.
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