2022
The Moon
“Li’l ‘Legba begins to walk away like the half moon in the morning.”
– In the Red and Brown Water (2010), Tarell Alvin McCraney
“Li’l ‘Legba exits like a three-quarter moon in the morning.”
“’Legba sneaks off like the moon behind a cloud gone but still there.”
“’Legba fades into the house like the moon in the shadow of the world.”
“Enter ‘Legba beaming like a full moon.”
“’Legba enters like the moon during the day, there but not saying anything.”
“’Legba enters like the moon eclipsing the sun.”
This project was first intrigued by a series of lines in the script describing Elegba coming in and out of the scene like a moon.
The front door is designed to act like a moon. It swings both inward and outward – from new moon to full moon.
The Porch
Oya spends a lot of time on the porch, refusing to go inside the house. She doesn’t want to be trapped, but she is trapped, and maybe more so on the porch than in the house.
A porch is both inside and outside. It is simultaneously private and public.
The scene consisting of the porches and walls can act as either exterior or interior. Lighting would play an important role here. The swinging direction of the front door would also indicate the inside-outside relationship.
The Wound
There’s only one person who really entered Oya’s heart – Shango.
The hidden door on the side wall is used only by Shango. He penetrates the wall when he comes to Oya, and when he leaves, he leaves a hole on the wall.
The “wound” is on the right side of the scene; Oya gives her right ear to Shango.
The Red and Brown Water
The porches are structured with pedestals beneath the platforms. This type of structure is commonly seen in flooding areas and houses by a body of water.
A few specific scenes where the ground turns into a body of water with fog entering from beneath the porches:
Act ONE Scene 2: Elegba’s dream.
Act ONE Scene 6: Mama Moja dies. “Down by the riverside”.
Act TWO Scene 8: Oya collapses.
