How can I show rape and abuse on stage?

Question

I am writing a script where a woman gets tricked to become a sex slave and gets raped and abused... however, I do not know how to show that on stage. Should I cover it and make it go backstage and just make noises or what?

Also, does anyone have any ideas for a disturbing topic that I can use to make a script?

By the way, this is for my school... so things are pretty minimal... simply a stage, curtains and a spotlight!

Answer 1

i've seen rape done on stage very effectively. the woman gets dragged behind the screen and screams and shouts no etc.

be careful as rape scenes will always disturb some people in the audience anyway

Answer 2

I read a story that is very similar to this in a magazine. The girl's school had a bathroom that was separate from the school building itself. Is your girlfriends school like this? Another idea may be that the bathroom she was in is a less popular bathroom or in a quieter part of the school. My school had a couple of bathrooms that hardly anyone used because one of them was in the stadium, where a couple of health classes took place but other than that it was quiet. Another two were just small bathrooms that were kind of old and creepy lol. Also, I agree with Jenni Lee that just because she was pregnant does not mean she was raped. I don't know your girl so I have no opinion on whether she is lying or not, but this is just another possible answer to your question. Then again, there isn't going to be much evidence without the police involved. However, I do know that many women find it difficult to go to the police for a variety of reasons including embarrassment, feeling hopeless about the situation, etc.

Answer 3

As the script writer, all you need to do is put the knowledge that she is raped within the script. It is up to the director to show it.

If you are also directing it, then you might want to stay away from literal translations of rape and abuse. Don't go backstage and make noises, find an artful way of showing it.

Perhaps she could cower before him as he raises a fist menacingly. Or she could lie still while he steps over her, winding in circles around her body without even touching her.

You might also want to talk to a director who has been in the business for a while. They might have some ideas that could help you a lot.

Answer 4

I'm completely with "d_cider1" above.

There is absolutely no need for such graphic obsenity onstage. First, it will turn your audience off significantly because it will make them so uncomfortable. Second, it will be far too difficult to stage [intense violence works realistically on film due to editing, but on stage is extremely difficult]. Third, if your teacher allowed this staging to happen, he/she would get in a lot of hot water.

At the risk of sounding like a prude, there is just no need for such intense violence/sexuality in a school play. It's admirable that you want to tackle gritty subject matter, but just throwing graphic "shock" elements onstage will not automatically equate to deep or meaningful theatre.

In theatre, the audience's imagination is an equal partner with the text and the actors -- as other answerers mentioned, showing the aftermath of an assault, or just describing it, is extremely effective. The audience will fill in the details with their imaginations. To get an idea of this, try to find some recordings of old pre-television radio programs -- there was just dialogue/narration and sound effects, yet the listener's minds created visuals.

Finally, I'll give you an example from a show I finished a month ago. It was "Man of La Mancha," which includes a rape of the female lead, Aldonza. The rape is done off-stage, but is preceded by onstage taunting of Aldonza and some violence, ending with her being knocked unconscious and one of the Muleteers growling, "Bring her," and the other men carrying her off-stage -- the audiences dread is sufficient discomfort for them to experience. It's complete when Aldonza reappears about ten minutes later bruised and with torn clothing.

So, in this production I just did [as Sancho, the comic relief], the director wanted to be as gritty and cutting-edge as possible, so he and the choreographer staged the assault to include simulated forced oral copulation. When several of us saw this scene at a run-through, we immediately launched a complaint, telling the director that such an overt sexual element was unacceptable. We didn't get angry, but we firmly let him know that the staging was untenable and had to be toned down. Believe me, this kind of "mutiny" is an extreme rarity, so it caused some hard feelings. But we prevailed, especially when the producer got wind of what had happened.

Hope this helps.

Answer 5

A very effective way is to get the action started with the initial physical confrontation, then let the actors freeze, then pull back and face the audience and emotionlessly narrate the concluding actions of the abuse and rape. It is important that they do so emotionlessly for it to have the most impact. Then at the end they can move into the "final postion" freeze and then separate from each other.

Answer 6

Tastefully is the key. Show the looming danger and the victim, and the stage fades to black. She is starting to scream, don't make any sound. Let the audience participate by putting in their own graphics. It's difficult to depict the subject with sound.
You are reaching, and your audience may be more impressed
with a tasteful rendition of the scene. Hollywood wants the whole bit, including the clothes and underwear tearing and requisite
show of flesh. See what I mean?

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use the Mexicans, they even go to war for us, but we scream at them to go home. they have been loyal and loving people to the US and what DO we do? good luck!

Answer 7

OK.....Jeez......

NEVER show a rape on stage. It is too disturbing and immediate, not to mention difficult to block. Do a Male to Female stage slap and, for God's sake, take it offstage!

Show the aftermath of rape. THAT is Drama. Anything else is prurient slavering. Ugh. Leave that to the movies.

Idea for a disturbing topic? Your question.

Answer 8

You can have her tied to a bed or whatever, have the male step upstage and start to undress, drop the lights to red and fade as he gets on top and she screams.

As lights come up, she can be crying wrapped in a sheet and continue your story, and you can cut to red fade to let the audience know what's happening each time you need to without actually showing it. Lighting and music plays a lot.

Answer 9

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Answer 10

as graphically as allowed by the institutions on whose stage you are performing. at school, i like the idea of screens. elsewhere, let the adult audience deal with the contorted face and horrific screams and what not.