Drama 3313 ... SCENE DESIGN ... FALL, 2006
Steve Gilliam, Professor Office: 999-8587 RTT 118
SLG Design Studio: 494-7373
OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday & Thursday 3-5 & by appointment. To schedule a meeting outside office hours, please speak with Professor Gilliam in advance. M-F 9am-Noon, he may be reached by calling his design studio.
CLASS MEETING: AMB 206 and RTT Design Classroom, TR, 12:45 – 2:00.
COURSE OVERVIEW: Rooted in the discipline of theatre, our scene design course explores the art of conceptualization, visualization, and creativity. Problem solving activities include the use of metaphor to communicate literature for live performance, the creation of sculptural installations for plays and poetry, and the management of scenic design projects. The course examines the various means necessary to communicate a design to a producer, director or client (computer aided design work, sketching, drafting, painter elevations and model making).
SCRIPTS: The below listed plays will serve as text for design projects. Several are available in multiple copies in the Trinity Library; some are not. The class will order necessary scripts at the beginning of the semester.
THE FOREIGNER by Larry Shue
BLACK ANGER by Michael Cristofer
TWELFE NIGHT by William Shakespeare
LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken
COMPUTER LAB: This will be the first time this course is taught with the use of computers and related equipment. We are guests in the Art Digital Computer Lab. We will need to respect the policies governing the use of this space. There may be a computer lab fee or some sort of system to pay for the use of printers (ink). Our class will be approved to use printers requesting your Tiger Card. Additional information will be outlined in separate introductions and documents. AMB 206 is a MAC lab. You will be required to use these computer platforms in class, which are loaded with design software. The CLT has the same software on both PC and MAC platforms. We will spend the first several classes learning the computer systems, related equipment and Adobe Photoshop software.
ART SUPPLIES: You will need an array of art supplies to complete some of your design projects. Throughout the semester you will be asked to complete projects, which will include hand and computer drafting, sketches, colored elevations and models. A link on Professor Gilliam’s web site describes materials you may need for the completion of projects.
ATTENDANCE: Attendance in this class is required. You are allowed a total of two cuts (the equivalent of one weeks of class) before it will have a measurable impact on your progress and ability to keep-up in this course. Should you miss a class for whatever reason, it is your responsibility to cover the missed material and be prepared for the next class meeting.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: Whereas this course is a mixture of individual and collaborative creativity, it is assumed that each student can distinguish when it is proper to use and incorporate ideas and thoughts of others and when it would be ethically improper. Drama 3313 follows the guideline set forth by the University regarding Academic Integrity and the University Honor Code.
PROJECTS: There are a variety of projects throughout the semesters, which vary in length, complexity and degree of completeness. Each project serves to illuminate aspects of the design process. In most cases, the projects are sequential and essential for future assignments. Consequently, projects are due on the due date. Late assignments will be downgraded one grade (from B to B-) and may receive only a partial critique. Each must be completed in order. Projects submitted later than two weeks of the deadline will receive an automatic D. Projects not submitted will receive an "F" grade
ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION: A large portion of the communications for this course will be conducted via e-mail (sgilliam@trinity.edu slgdesign@satx.com) and by postings on Professor Gilliam's web site http://faculty.trinity.edu/sgilliam. Students are required to interact by electronic email to respond to classroom postings, individual comments from the professor and the sort. Failure to read posted announcements is not acceptable. Make it a practice to check your e-mail daily, even if your computer is broken.
EVALUATIONS: How can one assess artistic interpretations? To assume there are objective measures is to assume there is only one interpretation. Having said that, the evaluations in this course will be as constructive as possible and based on the instructor's thirty-five years of professional design experience. Feedback will be based on several considerations but not limited to the following:
Professor Gilliam schedules blocks of time to review specific projects as a group of assignments. Late projects will need to be evaluated when he has available time and will not receive the benefit of a class-wide overview. Therefore, late projects will be returned when possible and will receive abbreviated evaluations.
THERE ARE NO INCOMPLETE GRADES GRANTED IN DRAMA 3313.
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