Unit Four: Scenery Design
The job of a scenic designer is to create the world of a play. Worlds can be as simple as selecting an appropriate chair for a blank stage or as complex as engineering a computer guided moving stage. Scenery can be fashioned out of found objects and cardboard boxes just like building a fort in the living room as a child. Or, scenery can cost millions of dollars and demand the creative collaboration of scores of theatre artisans. Whatever the degree of complexity or cost, all theatre designs begin with a script, an imagination and follows a process to arrive at a visual representation, model or rendering of the design. This unit explores the process of scene design from text to a paper design. Trust the process and engage in multiple possibilities. Your imagination is the only limit. However, an informed and disciplined imagination renders greater results. Keep up and be prepared for each class or studio.
#26. Investigation and Dreaming about the Play
Due: 4/16
Reread the story. This time, think about the environment. Think about the Home Under Ground Scene and another "Favorite" Scene for an exercise in class. Write down your ideas for discussion.
As a class, we will discuss the Home Under the Ground Scene to consider how the environment shapes the action of the play. Then, we will break up into various groups to brainstorm and find metaphors for your "favorite" scene.
#27. Scenery as a Character in the Story.
Due: 4/21
Scenic Character Descriptions
When I read a play, I envision a location, a world, with people in it. I see a tangible environment that might enable an audience to believe in the actions and words of the playwright's characters. This world sets the boundaries for the reality of the play.
In a multi-location play, I invent a space that allows each scene to be believable in the overall world as well as enables the scenes to move fluidly from location to location. I imagine a world where all the scenes logically unfold in a unified style and period. Peter Pan is a musical with multiple locations. However, for the purposes of this exercise, you will create a sketch and/or a model for just one location but it must consider the other scenes in an overall concept.
To arrive at a final design, the designer must explore the script to determine the demands of the play, the requirements of the setting. As you read the play, take notes regarding the settings. How many doors? How is the main window used? What happens on the ship? What images do you see? Write them down. Then, consider and imagine Peter Pan in your ideal production. You are to provide a written explanation of the world of your play. Describe the overall locations, the textures, the colors you see and how they might interact with one another. If you have a specific location in mind, discuss it. If you have a specific artist or piece of music or a film or period, include this in your paper. Then select one the scene to design for this unit. Write a character description of this scene using the following format as a guide.
SCENE:
TIME OF DAY:
SEASON/WEATHER/CLIMATE:
REQUIREMENTS OF THE SETTING AS INDICATED IN THE SCRIPT:
WORDS, COMMENTS OR ADJECTIVES USED TO DESCRIBE THE ENVIRONMENT (Distinguish between that which is a) written by the playwright, b) included as stage directions, and c) indicated in the dialogue.)
MOOD:
#28. Loading the Intuition through Research.
Due: 4/23
You are to conduct research for your specific scenic location. Although you may use the same period you selected for your costumes, you may decide to select a new one. Nevertheless, you are to select a period, a style, a spirit that will inspire your final design. You may need to collect pictures of mushrooms or Victorian nurseries or examples of doors, windows, fireplaces, etc. You are to immerse yourself into the world of your play as supported by external documents and visual research.
You are to provide AT LEAST 10 photocopies of your research for scenery and 10 for costumes. These should be varied examples (Not 10 examples of doors nor 10 of hats).
#29. Manipulating Space for Movement to Tell the Story, Ground Plans.
Due: 4/28
AFTER you have written your character descriptions, listed all the scenic requirements and conducted your research, it is time to develop a ground plan or space for you story to unfold. The ground plan is a bird's eye view of the stage that indicates where furniture, walls and objects touch the floor.
For your chosen scene, list all the furniture and objects scripted or in your imagination. Draw a diagram of each object in a 1/4" scale. For example, an ordinary kitchen chair is about 1'-6" x 1'-6" square. If 1/4" equals 1'-0" in scale, the square would be 3/8" x 3/8". A single bed is 3'x 6' or 3/4" x 11/2". Label all the objects. Cut them out. On a large piece of paper, create the stage area. Your stage is 40' wide and 20' deep. In scale, then, your stage would be 10" by 5". Lay out your objects in this space and move them around until they make sense. Once you have a possible ground plan configuration, overlay a piece of tracing paper and trace the object.
To give you an idea of space, your room is probably approximately 10x10. The stage is 4 of these rooms downstage and 4 of these rooms upstage.
You are to develop two different ground plans of your selected scene for class.
#30. Scenic Roughs
Due: 4/29 - 5/1 Individual Appointments.
After developing your 1/4" ground plans, it is time to draw the scenery. In class we will investigate how to transfer a ground plan into a front elevation. These are called scenic roughs as they are "studies" for composition and consideration. Execute two scenic roughs.
You are to prepare for a conference with me either from 4/29 -5/1 in lieu of class on Thursday. Schedule a 30-minute appointment by signing up on an appointment sheet posted on my office door. Bring your Research, Sketches, Written Descriptions, Preliminary Ideas and anything else you think we may need for our Individual Conference.
#31. The Colored Scenic Sketch
Due: On the date and at the time of the Final Exam scheduled for this class.
Unlike costumes, lighting, sound and other supporting production elements, generally speaking, once approval has been given for a scenic plan, the ideas cannot evolve throughout the production process. Construction materials are ordered. Blueprints drawn up. Large-scale objects are built. Changing the concept or redesign the scenery is a very expensive endeavor. It might mean hiring additional crew. It just does not happen often. As a result, the colored scenic sketch or model is an important final verification before budgets are committed.
Colored sketches are "moments in the life of the play". They indicate mood through shadows/highlights (value). They show actors in costumes interacting in the environment. They are used to "story board" the play by showing each scene under lighting. They communicate to the director and lighting designer, how the scenic designer sees the show in his/her mind. It is the last step before final renderings or final models are constructed.
You are to take your ideas as refined by our appointment and redraw them for presentation on our final day of class. Taking the 1/8"plans and sketches, photocopy and enlarge them to 1/4". Redraft the ground plan as best you can in 1/4" scale using straight edges and the drafting conventions I have distributed. Redraw your scene indicating a specific moment and include at least one costumed character. Clean it up. Then photocopy your line drawing onto 11x 17 paper (centered). Color the sketch showing lighting.
You will have 5 minutes to present your project to the entire class. Come prepared with an oral presentation.