TWELFTH NIGHT by William Shakespeare
Due: 11/14
OVERVIEW: Our space is the Stieren Theatre. You are to use your model boxes. You are to submit either a 1/4" colored model with five significant scenes (to be determined in consultation with me) or a 1/4" rendering with ground plan and story boards for at least 12 scenes (also to be determined in consultation with me). It is essential that you come to class prepared having worked outside of class. The following is a schedule of events and deadlines. ALSO, note that our class meetings will shift from the RTT to AMB depending on the assignments.
A word about Shakespearean Designs …
The most produced playwright in the world, Shakespeare wrote his plays for a specific theatre structure with given lighting and an appreciation of the stagecraft conventions of the period. http://www.william-shakespeare.info/william-shakespeare-globe-theatre-structure.htm
When you read his plays, knowing how they might have been staged is an important “beginning point” for your design. He wrote shows that were fluid and able to change locations from scene to scene. Through dialogue, he tells us the time of day and where we are. As you approach the design for TWELFTH NIGHT, you need to provide a space that can change from moment to moment without major scene changes. Imagine how the first production might have been staged.
Theatre historians have pieced together a pretty good idea of what the Globe Theatre looked like. There was a thrust stage around which an audience stood. This stage was 4-5’ off the ground, which gave space for trap doors a la the grave in HAMLET. There was an inner below with a curtain (the tapestry in HAMLET) and an upper above (balcony for ROMEO & JULIET). Whenever I design a Shakespearean show, I think about ways to recreate the structure of the Globe as a means to facilitate what was written. Go to my designs for ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL and TAMING OF THE SHREW produced at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival to see how I modified the Globe structure to fit these shows.
http://faculty.trinity.edu/sgilliam/SLG/ALLSWELL/csf.html
Shakespearean productions have been done and will continue to be done in a wide range of periods and locations. To appreciate this, you are to log onto the design web sites listed below. They belong to Richard Feinstein, Kent Goetz and me. You are to select a Shakespearean design from each site and then discuss how they are similar to one another. You are to be prepared to present these in class on 10/26. I will give you each 3-4 minutes including logon times to demonstrate your conclusions in class. This will be a graded exercise.
http://www.rfdesigns.org/
http://www.arts.cornell.edu/theatrearts/kgoetz/
http://faculty.trinity.edu/sgilliam/showlinks.html
R 10/26 Production Meeting TWELFTH NIGHT (AMB)
In the rush to complete a design, often, the careful reading and reflection of the text is neglected. You must read for overall tone and understanding. This is your first of many visits to the script. While studying the text, jot down thoughts, underline significant lines and feels, doodle, walk the line of the play. Conclude by answering the following questions:
1. What is the overall tone of the play? Each scene? Each Act?
2. What is the play about? What does it mean?
3. What are metaphors, symbols, concepts that describe the play?
4. What are the line, the shape, the texture, the color and the space of the show?
Answers to these questions help center your investigation and make your research more productive. Usually, this sort of information is discussed in a production meeting. Hopefully, the director will take charge in presenting this information. However, it is essential that you have opinions. Remember, at its best, theatre is a collaborative venture.
The focus of subsequent readings should be to discover details that create a functional world for the actors to tell the story. In conducting this aspect of the preparation for the design, depending on the show, there are several documents you should execute.
1. A scenic flow list. List the name of each scene, location, time of day and any other significant event. Keep it simple. The list should be posted on your drafting table or next to your computer as you begin you sketching.
2. Complete a scene by scene synopsis.
3. Complete a prop list.
In class, you will present your comparative studies of three Shakespearean designs. After this, you will divide into three groups to answer the questions above. During your discussion, I suggest you take notes. Jot down keywords that may assist you in doing research.
T 10/31 TWELFTH NIGHT Metaphors and Research (AMB)
Given your execution of the textual analysis, conducting specific research should be much easier. Look for pictures, paintings, images that provide a feeling of the overall tone. Look for specific images called for in the play.
You are to collage a metaphorical world for TWELFTH NIGHT in Photoshop to be presented in class. It must represent the tone of the play. You may do your own sketching and scan this into your presentation or cut and paste from digital images. It should be a design, not just a bunch of pictures pasted up. This is what I found online. Look at possible posters and book covers for inspiration.
http://www.ardenart.com/catalog/show_art.cfm?artwork_id=54&catalog_id=12
Bring you research to share in class. To date, perhaps, some of you may not be spending enough time on this important aspect of the design process. This is what loads your intuition.
We will work in our studio on your ground plans and sketches.
R 11/2 Preliminary Design Presentation & Studio (AMB)
You are to present a pencil sketch of the world of your play. This can be rough but should be detailed enough for everyone in the class to understand your design.
Ground Plans are due. These can be drafted ground plans but need to be scanned into a Photoshop document. We will spend the class on converting these plans into elevations.
In class, I will do a demonstration on story boarding a production.
T 11/7 Studio (AMB or RTT)
Your Elevations are due.
Work on model or colored rendering and storyboard.
R 11/9 Studio (AMB or RTT)
Work on model or colored rendering and storyboard.
T 11/14 TWELFTH NIGHT Presentation
Model and Run Sheets
Assign LITTLE SHOP OF HORROR
You are to submit either a 1/4" colored model with five significant scenes (to be determined in consultation with me) or a 1/4" rendering with ground plan and story boards for at least 12 scenes (also to be determined in consultation with me).