Theatre

SCENARY

The Audience’s View—What do you see in the physical environment of the play? • Look for specifics when taking in the visual elements of performance. • Is it realistic or abstract? • Is it futuristic or dreamlike? • Are they everyday, contemporary costumes, or do they suggest a particular period? • Is the lighting realistic or abstract? What about sound? • We should be conscious of the visual and aural signals that are being sent continuously.

The Designers 1 • The visual and aural elements of design provide an audience with an understanding of time, place, mood, etc. • Scene designer—responsible for the stage set. • Costume designer—responsible for the outfits and accessories worn by the performers. • Lighting designer—responsible for the light, illumination of the stage space. • Sound designer—responsible for the aural world of the play and the sound system.

The Scene Designer 2 • Designers make connections between symbols and ideas, creating the world of the play in which the performers interact. • They deal with the practical and aesthetic concerns of the stage production. They have to consider budget, materials and labor constraints as well as the design elements. They must consider how the stage design works for that theatre as well as the demands of the play. • The scenic designer decides on colors, shapes, and the visual style of the play in conjunction with the playwright and director.

History of Stage Design Originally created simply by physical space for performance—no “sets”. Some special devices to create effects. • Greeks—facade of the stage house. • Medieval—“mansions”. The beginnings of scenic design. The evolution of the proscenium stage. Modern stage scenery influenced by mechanization, technology, and realism.

Scenic Design Today 1 • Everything we encounter in real-life can be considered a scenic design. • The architecture of the room, the furniture, the color, the fabrics, the details—all work to create a unified whole that provides a sense of place, time, and mood. • How does this translate to the stage environment.

Scenic Design Today 2 The designer must ask: • Questions of scale. • Performer relationship to space. • Specific choices of what inhabits the world of the play in regards to symbolic meaning as well as practical implications.

Scene Designer’s Objectives 1. Help set the tone and style of the production. 2. Establish the locale and period in which the play takes place. 3. Develop a design concept consistent with the director’s concept. 4. Provide a central image or metaphor, where appropriate. 5. Ensure that scenery is coordinated with other production elements. 6. Solve practical design problems.

Establishing Tone and Style Realistic theatre. • Settings that resemble the real-life counterpart (traditional western theatre)

Nonrealistic theatre. • Uses imagination and symbol to evoke meaning and spatial ideas.

Establishing Locale and Period • Regardless of the style, the designer must indicate locale, period, and a sense of the play. • Setting suggests to us immediately what kind of characters the play is about.

The Design Concept 1 A unifying idea carried out visually. • Important when shifting the play in time and place—allows audience to know when/where the story occurs (this happens most often with Shakespeare or with Greek works). Establishes central image or metaphor. Provides the means to coordinate the whole design—all the design elements. The design concept must be unified with the director’s concept to insure that the audience receives the same message in the production.

The Elements of Scene Design The five elements of scene design: • Line. • Mass. • Composition. • Texture. • Color. Designers commonly use these elements to affect us in conjunction with the action and other aspects of the production.

Physical Layout: The Playing Area • Stage design is determined by the physical space of the performance. • Space is determined differently by the types of stage spaces. • The scenic designer develops a “ground plan” that lays out the location of walls, furniture, etc., from a “bird’s eye view” of the stage.

Special Effects Special effects are scenery, lighting, sound and props that seem unusual or even miraculous. Special effects can include: • Fog, ghosts, knives, swords, breakaway props and furniture, etc. Enhanced technology has allowed theatrical productions to incorporate sophisticated effects more frequently.

Steps to Scenic Design • Read the script. • Meet with the director to discuss ideas and concept. • Develop rough sketches (thumbnails). • More meetings with the director. • Complete sketch of the design (rendering). • Upon director approval, make a 3-D scale model (white model vs. color model). • Develop the ground plan and elevations to communicated ideas to collaborators (sometimes done through C A D). This is a mutable process that changes with every director/designer relationship as well as different production needs.

The Scene Designer’s Collaborators • Technical director. • Property designer. • Scenic charge artists. • Paint charge artist.

Designing a Total Environment • Beyond scenery and special effects, the entire theatre space may be reconfigured. • Rearrange the seating for spectators. • Determine relationship of the stage area to the audience.

Videos: The Scenic Design Process Watch these two short videos to get a sense of how these productions were developed. One is a large Broadway musical, one is a more intimate play in a smaller theatre. Behind the Scenes of Wicked SET DESIGN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DHcON8JKhY&t=190s What I do: Scenic Design with Deb Sivigny (Kennedy Center Education Digital Learning) This digs into more of the entire process of creating a set, from the research to the practical considerations, to working with the lighting designer for a production of She A Gem. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZ6hLvH7sRk

Weekly Assignment #9: Chapter 7 (2024 Release): Stage Costumes

If you’d like to draw your answers for the first question, do a drawing on a computer program or take a picture and embed it in your file. Send as a Word or PDF in Moodle. Be thorough—I’m looking for detail in your answers! The first question is worth 20 points, and the remaining questions are each worth 10 points. This assignment is due by 11:59 pm on Thursday, July 2.

NAME:

1. (20 pts.) Describe a character’s personality and the costume that might fit that personality for a hypothetical character. Be specific. Include hairstyling, describe colors and fabrics, accessories if they work for your character. Or—draw a costume that might work for the character you described. (This is for you to make up---do not reference an existing costume.) Note that I’m asking for 1) a written description AND then: 2) either write and describe a costume, or you can draw it. NOTE: Make this VERY detailed—you are the costume designer here! If I was helping you create these costumes, I need to be able to do this from your description and/or drawing. Make sure to note if it is contemporary (present day) or influenced or in another era/location.

You may use AI at level 1 for this question ONLY. In other words, you may use AI to come up with costume ideas only after giving it your character’s description. Check it over to make sure it has all aspects of what I am looking for here. Remember to cite your use of AI if you utilize it.

2. Name 3 things that an outfit or costume “says” about a person or character.

3. What information is the costume designer looking for when they analyze the script? Name and explain 3 things they need to consider.

4. Describe what these terms mean:

a. Pulling a costume:

b. Distressing a costume:

c. Draping a costume:

d. Altering a costume:

5. What is the difference between a costume shop supervisor and the wardrobe supervisor?

6. Why would an actor prefer to wear a wig for a show rather than doing their own hair?

7. What were 2-3 of the historical references that were used for designing Catherine of Aragon’s costume in Six?

8. After viewing the video on theatrical makeup design, what are two of the concerns that need to be addressed in a makeup design for a character in a play?

Costumes Clothing is not limited to “costumes.” The manner in which a person dresses can indicate multiple things: • Position and status. • Gender identity. • Occupation. • Relative flamboyance or modesty. • Degree of independence or regimentation. • Whether one is dressed for work or leisure, or for a routine event or a special occasion. Costumes and/or clothing holds symbolic importance—telling an audience much about a character before the performer even speaks. The formal dresses of the sisters in the musical Hamilton, written by Lin Manuel Miranda, give a sense of history, and the colors help the audience tell the different sisters apart. Costume designer: Paul Tazewel

Objectives of Costume Design • Help establish the style of a production. • Indicate the historical period of a play and the locale in which it occurs. • Indicate the nature of individual characters or groups in a play—their stations in life, their occupations, their personalities. • Show relationships among characters, separating major characters from minor ones, or contrasting one group with another. • Where appropriate, symbolically convey the significance of individual characters or the theme of the play. • Meet the needs of individual performers. • Be consistent with the production as a whole, especially other visual elements.

The Process of Costume Design • Read the script. • Meet with the director to discuss ideas and concept. • Develop rough sketches (thumbnails). • More meetings with the director. • Complete sketch of the designs (costume renderings). • Upon director approval, begin building the actual costume pieces and meeting with the performers for fittings. This is a mutable process that changes with every director/designer relationship as well as different production needs.

Objectives of Costume Designers • Setting the tone and style. • Indicating time and place. • Identifying status and personality. • Indicating relationships among characters. • Creating symbolic and nonhuman characters. • Meeting performers’ needs. • Maintaining consistency.

The Costume Designer at Work Every production requires someone who takes responsibility for the costumes whether the costumes are: • Pulled or rented (and require some alterations). • Built or created in a costume shop under the direction of a shop supervisor. • Drafted as flat patterns. • Draped. Draping on a Dress Form Costume designers may: Alter—change costumes to fit the actors they have (take in or let out hems, waists, etc. Distress-make costumes look worn or old with dyes, staining, ripping, sandpaper, even blowtorches!

The Costume Designer’s Resources

The elements that a costume designer works with: • Line, shape, silhouette. • Color. • Fabric. • Accessories.

The Costume Designer’s Collaborators 1 Costume Shop Supervisor: Lead costume technician, leads all people and volunteers working in the shop. Buyers: If available, will source fabrics and accessories that best match the designer’s renderings. First Hand or Lead Stitcher: (can also include cutter/draper) Creates the pattern and sewing for the construction of a costume. Wardrobe Supervisor: In charge of completed costumes for the show. Keeps up with alterations and mending needed, as well as laundry during the run. Wardrobe crew: assists the wardrobe supervisor during performances, and may also assist with quick changes and presets.

Related Elements

• Costume designers often are responsible for the overall look of the characters, but need extra support to finish the “illusion.” • Make-up, Hairstyles, Wigs, and Masks. • Millinery (hats), Accessories, and Crafts. • Special effects.

Coordination of the Whole • Often, costumes are vital for performers to complete the creation of their characters. • Beyond that dimension, the costume design often brings the stage to life, as a moving element that draws the focus and sets the presence of the characters. • Costume designers must communicate with the rest of the design team, the director, and the performers to achieve a unified whole that brings the production to completion.

Videos In lieu of a second lecture this week, to bring the production process together, watch the following videos regarding costume design as well as collaborations with hair and makeup. A discussion of the research and considerations used when designing Catherine of Aragon’s costume for the musical “Six” with costume designer Gabriella Slade. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zIIXX6CY9U An episode of Working in the Theatre (American Theatre Wing) with Paul Huntley, a wig designer for Broadway shows. He is working on A Bronx Tale in this episode. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XsOMG6q860 Stage makeup with Brian Strumwasser, makeup designer. He is working here on the Broadway production of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. It also visits with Thelma Pollard, who is the makeup supervisor for all productions of The Phantom of the Opera (Broadway and Touring.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0hsrNUUF_w

SCENARY

The Audience’s View—What do you see in the physical environment of the play? • Look for specifics when taking in the visual elements of performance. • Is it realistic or abstract? • Is it futuristic or dreamlike? • Are they everyday, contemporary costumes, or do they suggest a particular period? • Is the lighting realistic or abstract? What about sound? • We should be conscious of the visual and aural signals that are being sent continuously.

The Designers 1 • The visual and aural elements of design provide an audience with an understanding of time, place, mood, etc. • Scene designer—responsible for the stage set. • Costume designer—responsible for the outfits and accessories worn by the performers. • Lighting designer—responsible for the light, illumination of the stage space. • Sound designer—responsible for the aural world of the play and the sound system.

The Scene Designer 2 • Designers make connections between symbols and ideas, creating the world of the play in which the performers interact. • They deal with the practical and aesthetic concerns of the stage production. They have to consider budget, materials and labor constraints as well as the design elements. They must consider how the stage design works for that theatre as well as the demands of the play. • The scenic designer decides on colors, shapes, and the visual style of the play in conjunction with the playwright and director.

History of Stage Design Originally created simply by physical space for performance—no “sets”. Some special devices to create effects. • Greeks—facade of the stage house. • Medieval—“mansions”. The beginnings of scenic design. The evolution of the proscenium stage. Modern stage scenery influenced by mechanization, technology, and realism.

Scenic Design Today 1 • Everything we encounter in real-life can be considered a scenic design. • The architecture of the room, the furniture, the color, the fabrics, the details—all work to create a unified whole that provides a sense of place, time, and mood. • How does this translate to the stage environment.

Scenic Design Today 2 The designer must ask: • Questions of scale. • Performer relationship to space. • Specific choices of what inhabits the world of the play in regards to symbolic meaning as well as practical implications.

Scene Designer’s Objectives 1. Help set the tone and style of the production. 2. Establish the locale and period in which the play takes place. 3. Develop a design concept consistent with the director’s concept. 4. Provide a central image or metaphor, where appropriate. 5. Ensure that scenery is coordinated with other production elements. 6. Solve practical design problems.

Establishing Tone and Style Realistic theatre. • Settings that resemble the real-life counterpart (traditional western theatre)

Nonrealistic theatre. • Uses imagination and symbol to evoke meaning and spatial ideas.

Establishing Locale and Period • Regardless of the style, the designer must indicate locale, period, and a sense of the play. • Setting suggests to us immediately what kind of characters the play is about.

The Design Concept 1 A unifying idea carried out visually. • Important when shifting the play in time and place—allows audience to know when/where the story occurs (this happens most often with Shakespeare or with Greek works). Establishes central image or metaphor. Provides the means to coordinate the whole design—all the design elements. The design concept must be unified with the director’s concept to insure that the audience receives the same message in the production.

The Elements of Scene Design The five elements of scene design: • Line. • Mass. • Composition. • Texture. • Color. Designers commonly use these elements to affect us in conjunction with the action and other aspects of the production.

Physical Layout: The Playing Area • Stage design is determined by the physical space of the performance. • Space is determined differently by the types of stage spaces. • The scenic designer develops a “ground plan” that lays out the location of walls, furniture, etc., from a “bird’s eye view” of the stage.

Special Effects Special effects are scenery, lighting, sound and props that seem unusual or even miraculous. Special effects can include: • Fog, ghosts, knives, swords, breakaway props and furniture, etc. Enhanced technology has allowed theatrical productions to incorporate sophisticated effects more frequently.

Steps to Scenic Design • Read the script. • Meet with the director to discuss ideas and concept. • Develop rough sketches (thumbnails). • More meetings with the director. • Complete sketch of the design (rendering). • Upon director approval, make a 3-D scale model (white model vs. color model). • Develop the ground plan and elevations to communicated ideas to collaborators (sometimes done through C A D). This is a mutable process that changes with every director/designer relationship as well as different production needs.

The Scene Designer’s Collaborators • Technical director. • Property designer. • Scenic charge artists. • Paint charge artist.

Designing a Total Environment • Beyond scenery and special effects, the entire theatre space may be reconfigured. • Rearrange the seating for spectators. • Determine relationship of the stage area to the audience.

Videos: The Scenic Design Process Watch these two short videos to get a sense of how these productions were developed. One is a large Broadway musical, one is a more intimate play in a smaller theatre. Behind the Scenes of Wicked SET DESIGN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DHcON8JKhY&t=190s What I do: Scenic Design with Deb Sivigny (Kennedy Center Education Digital Learning) This digs into more of the entire process of creating a set, from the research to the practical considerations, to working with the lighting designer for a production of She A Gem. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZ6hLvH7sRk