The Theatre Experience Chapter 9
What steps in the design process are not illustrated in these photographs?
- A computerized or CAD design. - A color rendering.
______ gives visual and aural life to the production by creating an environment in which to place the play.
Design
This Czech designer _____ _____developed a number of techniques in stage design with screens and projections, sometimes in conjunction with the actors, such as in laterna magika.
Josef Svoboda
This refers to a set design that should develop and adapt as a performance progresses rather than function independently of the actors.
Kinetic stage
________ is when characters, places, and events on stage correspond to those we observe in everyday life.
Realism
Scene design becomes more complex and ornate with the development of this feature of theatre architecture.
The proscenium
The various design elements in the theatre most often closely parallel those found in
everyday life.
True or false: A good scene design work independent of the other design areas to establish setting, time and place, and atmosphere of the production.
false
Match the definitions of the elements of design with its term.
line - the outline or silhouette onstage mass - the overall bulk or weight of scenic elements composition - the balance and arrangement of elements texture - the "feel" projected by surfaces and fabrics color - the shadings and contrasts of chromatic combinations
The five elements of design are:
line, mass, composition, texture, color
The term prop comes from the word __________.
property
_______ is the relationship of the actor in the set to his or her surroundings.
scale
The manner in which a work is done, how scenery looks, how a playwright uses language, or how performers portray characters is referred to as ________.
style
Which of the following accurately describe the various steps in the scene design process.
-The designer creates a rendering, a more complete sketch that will include color, based on discussions with the director. -The director and designer meet to discuss ideas about the design out of which they will develop a style or visual concept. -The designer reads the script and begins to develop rough ideas and perhaps sketches to illustrate her ideas.
What does the rundown automobile in the photo tell us is the central concept of this production?
-The old, beat up truck suggests the futility of trying to find a better life in the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. -The truck overstuffed with possessions suggests that the characters are constantly moving from place to place.
The scene design concept is
-a unifying idea carried out visually. -is arrived at in consultation with the director. -should complement the directorial concept.
The design work of creating a total environment can mean [more than one answer may be correct]
-building an entire theater space out of a gymnasium or warehouse including seats. -going beyond scenery and special effects to design an entire theater space, rearranging seats and orienting the stage to the audience.
The essential design elements of any production are
-costume -scene -sound -lighting
line mass composition texture
-curved vs sharply angular -high, heavy platforms versus a bare stage with a single tree -elements on one side of the stage or in a horizontal or vertical configuration, or equally distributed onstage. -the slickness of chrome or glass versus the roughness of brick or burlap.
A strong scene design
-harmonizes with other elements of the production. -sets the tone and style of a production. -informs the audience as to where or when the action takes place.
in theatre style refers to....
-how a playwrights uses language. -how scenery looks. -how actors portray characters. -the way in which a work is done.
The design concept
-must be consistent with the play -should add up to a complete visual universe for the play through its lines, shapes, and colors. -should have its own integrity
Due in part to significant advances in technology, which of the following are burgeoning areas of stage design?
-projection design - video design
The following are examples of props.
-smartphones -umbrellas -fans -walking sticks
Technical Director property designer scenic charge artist paint charge artist
-solves overall technical problems, and charged with scheduling, constructing and painting scenery as conceived by the scene designer. -creates and executes all props including special furniture, and devising magical equipment. -makes sure that sets are built and painted -in charge of painting the set
In creating a total environment, a designer may have to take into account
-the needs of the play itself -the texture and nature of the building materials -the atmosphere of the space -the size and shape of the space
line mass composition texture color
-the outline or silhouette onstage -the overall bulk or weight of scenic elements -the balance and arrangement of elements -the "feel" projected by surfaces and fabrics - the shadings and contrasts of chromatic combinations
True or false: Design signals very little to the audience in the way of period, time of day, location, or a character's profession.
False
How did scene design began to become more complex, ornate, and visually spectacular?
Scene design became more visually spectacular with the arrival of the proscenium arch in Italy, and later France and England.
From the audience's perspective, we should
be conscious of the specific aural and visual signals that are continually being sent.
A single unit of canvas stretched on a wood frame painted to look like a solid wall is called a _____.
flat
The area from the which scenery can be dropped from above the stage is called a _____ ______.
fly loft
The designer will create this to assist the director, actors, and stage technicians with the locations of furniture, walls, windows, doors, and other scenic elements.
ground plan
The stage designer's blueprint or ______ ______ helps illustrate to the director, performers, and stage technicians the exact locations of furniture, walls, windows, doors, and other scenic elements.
ground plan
A rustic, dusty saloon, a messy bedroom, a hot and humid courtroom, a dark palace or forbidding forest help indicate to the audience
location and period
Projection ____allows projection to be designed and viewed on a computer and then projected on various three-dimensional objects on the stage.
mapping
Because theatre is not life but a resemblance of life, Robert Edmond Jones has suggested that it has an opportunity and an obligation to be ____________.
more than mere reproduction
A musical in which characters sing and dance; a play like Shakespeare's Macbeth because it has a ghost and soliloquies; language that is poetic. These are examples of
nonrealism
The style of theatre that departs from observable reality is often called _____.
nonrealism
A stage set featuring a kitchen with old fashioned utensils and no electrical appliances would indicate the play is set in the _______, while a stage set featuring a spaceship or the landscape of a faraway planet may indicate the play is set in the _________.
past, future
Everything in the production that conforms to the observation of the world around us from the way characters speak and the clothes they wear to the physical environment is called
realism
Because it conforms to our observations of everyday life the top scene design reflects a ___________ setting whereas the design at the bottom reflects a _____________ setting because it departs from observable reality.
realistic or realism; nonrealistic, nonrealism, or surrealistic
A more complete sketch, usually in color, based on discussions between the director and the designer, is called a
rendering or render
What is one of the major differences between set designs for the stage and the environments in which we find ourselves in everyday life?
scale
This person, along with the playwright and the director, creates the visual world of the play.
scene designer
The _____ designer determines what the visual world of the play will look like.
scene or scenic
The person responsible for solving overall technical problems but is also in charge of scheduling, constructing and painting scenery and in general making sure that all designs are executed as conceived by the scene designer is called the
technical director
Match the staff members who support the work of the scene designer with their responsibilities.
technical director - solves overall technical problems, and charged with scheduling, constructing and painting scenery as conceived by the scene designer. property director - creates and executes all props including special furniture, and devising magical equipment. scenic charge artist - makes sure that sets are built and painted. paint charge artist - in charge of painting the set.
The design concept is closely related to
the idea of a central image or metaphor.
