#purgatoryorbust

this ask has been sitting in my inbox FOREVER I'M SO SORRY but i do want to answer because it's so juicy..... tlt stage adaptation..... i'm swooning

realistically the only way to adapt what we currently have with the three books would be to treat each one separately as its own adaptation. in my Ideal World Scenario i'm writing and directing this and given infinite budget to work with and every venue is designed perfectly to suit each adaptation and there exists an audience willing to sit through three long plays of three SF/F fantasy books in a row

the other problem with any adaptation of tlt is that the technical work that would be required to pull off the effects of the necromancy/swordfighting/eldritch monstrosities.... well. it would be a lot. this is the problem that also keeps popping up in discussion of a live-action locked tomb television series or movie and why so many people are more open to the idea of an animated movie or show in the vein of arcane or atla (or even a series of video games, which i've talked about before). this issue is exacerbated in a live stage medium, which does not benefit from post-production or editing. the fight choreography would be a beast unto itself. luckily i am Insane and this uphill battle excites me more than it scares me

i think the only way to pull this off is to get real fuckin weird with it. in my head for all three productions i'm imagining tech like the curious incident of the dog in the nighttime or the life of pi - barebones sets, use of projections and lighting to create locations, extensive puppetry, dance or movement sequences to represent the necromancy, etc. these are pieces where the crew and artistic designers get to really shine. like let's say as an example that we're tasked with JUST staging the fight with cytherea at the end of gtn - how do you stage a fight between four people and a constantly-changing and regenerating monster? how do you light that? what does it sound like? how do you build or otherwise imply the existence of a massive bone construct? and how do you do it all on STAGE in REAL TIME for REAL PEOPLE to see it with their REAL EYES??? i really believe the only answer is to play to the abstract and to focus the attention of the audience on what they're most likely to connect with while watching any stage play - and the true beating heart of the locked tomb as a whole - which is the chemistry and relationships between the characters and how they interact with the world around them. also? what a dream as a technical artist. imagine a world in which you're hired on as the costume designer for the locked tomb. i would be ECSTATIC

in broader terms, and going by book:

gideon the ninth seems like it be the easiest and most straight forward to adapt for a proscenium stage. this could pretty easily play out one-to-one like the plot of the book, with some adaptational liberties. hang on i just imagined the lighting during the pool scene and i had to sit down

harrow the ninth gets more complicated. i think in my Ideal World Scenario this unfolds like an immersive theatre experience like that gatsby one that was running a few years ago - i.e, you could follow different characters (or maybe even just harrow) around a series of rooms and watch their interactions weave around each other. the flashback canaan house sequences would be SO fucking fun - you could have one room set up with a stage and a set everyone walks to and watches while the river bubble scenes play out. the immersive three-dimensional space of the mithraeum vs the flat two-dimensional space of harrow's canaan house. are u seeing the vision

nona the ninth simply must be a musical and i think nona is the only one who sings. it's what she would have wanted. i'm really interesting in playing this thrust or in the round with lots of opportunity for audience interaction. i think nona can break the fourth wall a little bit. as a treat

ahead of alecto's release i would like to stage it as a dream ballet. i refuse to elaborate

in terms of who i would theoretically want to be cast as: physically i do believe the only character i could realistically play is coronabeth. god how fun would that be. titties out big wig lots of swordfighting. dream role. if this were an animated series i would be so open to play literally anyone but i'm going to say corona again because i still think she'd be the most fun. @ netflix or w/e let me send you my voice reel. please i just need one chance