Introduction to Set Design UNIT VIII

Wednesday, January 20th Today's Objectives Journal Prompt Complete journal prompt View video clip: American Theatre Wing Review & copy scene design notes View video clip #2: Little Shop of Horror opening number When is your Pinterest project due?

Introduction to Scene Design The American Theatre Wing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H dk2w_3Yzi4

the scene design process

The set design process Read the play (for fun & basic knowledge) Read the play a second time (notes, highlight important info) Read the play a third time (for specific production details & to prepare for your director’s meeting Meet with the director to determine his impressions of the play. Complete a play analysis. Research the play & time period.

The design process continued… Create research board or binder. Meet with the director a second time to show research. Create rough sketches. Draw floor plan [present this to the director for rehearsal] Build set design model or rendering (drawing). Draft construction drawings [present to the scene shop foreman for set construction Work with the scene shop foreman during the building process

FLOOR PLAN

SEVEN KEYS TO A GOOD FLOOR PLAN FURNITURE/SCENIC ITEMS SHOULD BE PLACED ON THE DIAGONAL INCORPORATE OPPORTUNITES FOR HEAD LEVELS USE THE CENTER AND DOWN CENTER STAGE PLANES AVOID PLACING PRIMARY FURNITURE PIECES AGAINST WALLS (EXAMPLE SOFA) HAVE AT LEAST 5-7 ACTING AREAS TIE DOWN THE DOWNSTAGE RIGHT AND LEFT CORNERS WITH SCENIC ELEMENTS OR FURNITURE UNDERSTAND AND USE THE ELEMENTS & PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

3. The Purpose of stage Scenery The most important purpose of scenery is to provide a place to act and define the time and setting of the play.

A. TIME Historical period Seasons of the year Time of day Changes in time during the play

B. SETTING Climate & geographical conditions Socio-economic situation Cultural background Political-governmental system of area Interior or exterior Rural or urban Real or imaginary

C. About the Characters A set should also help inform the audience about the effects of the environment on the characters, and how, in turn, the characters’ personality traits affect their surroundings.

Effective Scenery & Design Should… Match the author’s intent. Match the director’s interpretation. Always serve the actor, never “upstage’ him or her. Complement the costumes, never clash with them. Help bring all of the play elements together. Aid the action of the play, not hinder it. Fit the needs of the play. Be simple in design, construction, & shifting.

In the play, You Can’t Take It With You, the home must communicate the eccentric hobbies & interests of the characters who inhabit it.

D. Character Relationships A set can reveal the interrelationships between people as well as their ranks, stations, influence, or positions in their families, offices, or communities.

In the musical RAGtime, the social order of the world of the play is shown in the stage leves.

Minimal Scenery The play Our Town requires almost no scenery because the playwright, Thornton Wilder, wanted the audience to use their imagination.

Theater Staging Conventions Almost all of the furniture faces the audience. Furniture placed diagonally. Doors & windows are placed on the stage right, left, up right, up left. Doors & windows are never placed downstage on the proscenium line because this would block the audience view.

MONDAY JANUARY 23 TODAY’S OBJECTIVES JOURNAL PROMPT Complete journal prompt. Sign up for PINTEREST presentation order. DURING EXCEL: move to the commons so that Larsen can clean up the stage. Where does Ming Cho Lee teach and what was the name of the play for his most recent scene design project?

4. THE HISTORY OF SET DESIGN

a. The Development of Scene Design 1) Stage design, as we know it today, came into being in Italy during the 15th century. 2) The oldest theater structure still remaining is the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, Italy. Built in 1585. 3) The large central entrance of the Teatro Olimpico inspired the present day “proscenium arch”

b. The Raked Stage 1) The RAKED STAGE, another Renaissance invention, was popular in England and was still used in London early in the 20th century. 2) The terms “upstage” and “downstage” originated from this period of theater history when actors walked upstage & downstage.

The Raked Stage

C. Restoration 1) In England during the Restoration period, most of the acting took place on raked aprons, with little action in the scenery behind the proscenium. 2) The proscenium was a very thick wall with one or two doors in each side wall to enable the actors to enter on the apron rather than in back of the frame.

PROSCENIUM STAGE

D. 19th Century Efforts were made to suit the scenery to the individual play. Interior sets-canvas drops & wings painted to represent a room. Exterior scenes—painted trees, fountains, gates, & pathways. Entrances—wings parallel to the back wall. Street Scenes—painted buildings, store windows, signs, & street lamps.

E. Later in the 19th Century Designers began working towards accuracy in historical & realistic representation (realism). The gradual shrinking of the apron. The addition of orchestra seats. The elimination of painted backdrops. The closing of the wings, which gave the illusion of left & right walls onstage.

F. 20th Century 1) Realistic scenery dominated the stage in the 20th century. 2) French designer Andre’ Antoine and American designer David Belasco sets were so realistic that the style became known as “naturalism” 3) Belasco sets were said to have been so realistically accurate that the audience was sometimes distracted from the play.

ARENA STAGE

G. The Evolution of Set Design Most realistic stage sets today are designed with selective realism. The idea that the impression of actuality is better theatrically and artistically. 3) Three-dimensional structures & cuts outs are placed against a drop or sky cyclorama.

H. The Fourth Wall The fourth wall is imaginary. The proscenium opening, closest to the audience, is the fourth wall.

THRUST STAGE

I. Adolphe Appia Concentrated on three dimensional forms. Emphasized the importance of the actor. Used dramatic lighting innovations to focus attention on the performer.

j. Gordon Craig Believed that the essential message of the play was best communicated by the designer. He suggested eliminating the actors & replacing them with super- marionettes.

Tuesday, January 24th TODAY’S OBJECTIVES JOURNAL PROMPT COMPLETE JOURNAL PROMPT COPY NOTES REVIEW PLAY ANALYSIS ASSIGN PLAY READING ROLES AND BEGIN PLAYS ANALYSIS (COMPLETED PLAY ANALYSIS IS DUE NEXT MONDAY, JANUARY 30TH) WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE ANTAGONIST IN THE MUSICAL LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS?

5. Types of sets

a. Box Set 1) The box set is the most common type of interior set. 2) Box sets consists of two or three walls built of flats and often covered by a ceiling.

b. Unit Set 1) A series of scenic units that can be moved , turned and interchanged to create several settings. 2) The UIL set is an example of a unit set.

The UIL OAP Unit Set is a Unit Set

C. Permanent Set A permanent set does not change during the course of the play.

Permanent set example

Uses curtains as a backdrop for a play. d. Profile Set Also known as a cut-down or minimum set. The profile set forms the entire perimeter of the setting. Colors and patterns from gobos and light on the cyclorama suggest changing moods in the play. e. Curtain Set Uses curtains as a backdrop for a play. Doors, windows, flats, or a fireplace unit can be placed in between the curtains to create walls.

E. Skeleton Set This kind of set consists simply of frames and openings that can be left empty or filled by draperies, backstage, and doors.

Identify the Set Design Styles

1) PERMANENT SET

2) PERMANENT SET

3) BOX/PROFILE SET

4) PERMANENT SET

5) PROFILE SET

6) PROFILE SET

PERMANENT/PROFILE SET 7) PERMANENT/PROFILE SET

6. PERIAKTOI a) Minimum space b) Quick changes

PERIAKTOI

THE END