Arts 3-4

• The visual elements of a play are considered a spectacle and include the physical relationship of the actors on the stage and with the audience, the theatre types, stage, stage settings and design, lighting design, costume design and properties or the set and hand props of the play.

  
• Theatre Types


  • Arena theatre where the audience surrounds the area on all sides
  • Thrust theatre where the audience is only on three sides of the stage
  • Proscenium theatre where the audience is only on one side

  
• Scene Design and Stage Settings


  • Uses composition like line, form, mass, color, repetition, and unity
  • Needs to create a three-dimensional space that allows for actor movement
• Lighting Design


  • Provides overall mood and must be nearly perfected
  • Sculpts with light to create shadows and ensure it falls in the right places
  • Has four functions: selective viability, rhythm and structure, mood and illusion, and motivation lighting
• Costume Design


  • Conveys time periods and historical context
  • Accents to show what is most vital
  • Reflects a particular period or era, day, weather, or location
  • Reveals characters' careers, age, social position, physique, and health
• Properties

  • Stage props include furniture, pictures, fireplaces, chairs, and tables
  • Hand props include pens, pencils, cigarettes, and glasses
  • Help convey the mood of the play and the taste of the characters
• Roles in a Stage Production


  • Producer
  • Director
  • Playwright
  • Set Designer
  • Lighting Designer
  • Costume Designer
  • Sound Designer
  • Choreographer
  • Stage Manager
• Producer


  Takes the play from concept to finished presentation, chooses the team, assigns functions, oversees casting, decides logistics
• Director


  The overall artistic coordinator, ensures a cohesive, seamless performance, guides actors, coordinates with designers
• Playwright


  Writes the script, which forms the basis of the entire production
• Set Designer


  Responsible for the physical stage setup and creating the environment
• Lighting Designer


  Sculpts with light to create the desired mood and effects
• Costume Designer


  Designs costumes to convey time periods, historical context, and reveal character details
• Sound Designer


  Responsible for the audio elements of the production
• Choreographer


  Designs the dance and movement sequences
• Stage Manager


  Coordinates the technical and logistical aspects of the production
• Playwright


  For a script intended for stage performance, the writer of the script
• Playwright


  • The initial concept or plot may be original, and then developed into a play script
  • Or it may be based on an existing story or another play which the playwright will then adapt to present in a new way
  • The script forms the basis of the entire production
  • It contains the exact lines of dialogue that each character will memorize and deliver on stage, often with notes on tone of voice, facial expression, and even movement or blocking
  • It also provides a clear description of the set, props, and lighting to be used in each scene
  • The director may collaborate with the playwright on making some script adjustments in the course of the rehearsals to better achieve the desired effect
• Set designer


  The concept and creation of the physical stage setup
• Set designer


  • Builds the set (or sets) that will simulate the world that the play's characters are supposed to live in
  • The set may be realistic and filled with authentic details; or it may be minimalist, merely suggesting the setting with a few pieces of furniture or props and a simple backdrop
  • Ensures that the set will enable the actors to move about easily and naturally to make their roles believable and will truly provide the ambiance on stage that the director and the playwright intend
• Lighting designer


  Coordinates closely with the set designer
• Lighting designer


  • Lighting is critical in creating the mood of each scene in the play, highlighting a dramatic moment, signaling the entrance of a character, focusing attention on a specific spot-on stage, or even providing the blanket of darkness for set and prop changes
  • Colored lights or filters may be used, as well as special effects such as gradual dimming or brightening, a speckled effect like sunlight through leaves, or flickering lights
  • Plans all these and adds detailed notes on the script for the lighting crew to follow during rehearsals and the actual performance
• Costume designer


  Ensures the actors and actresses look believable in their roles
• Costume designer


  • Studies the general setting (time and place) that the play is meant to take place in, as well as each character in the script
  • Decides what attire will not only give the audience a clear sense of the setting but will also express each character's personality and distinct qualities
  • The costumes may need to be designed and sewn to meet these requirements
  • Or they may simply be assembled from available clothes and accessories, with some additional touches created as needed
  • For a modern or avant-garde play, the actors sometimes wear regular street clothes with a simple prop, a mask, or headgear to denote the characters they are playing
• Sound designer


  Creates and enhances the atmosphere of the performance
• Sound designer


  • Includes music both on stage and as background, which the sound designer may need to source to suit the general time and place of the play, as well as particular scenes
  • Also involved are special sound effects like thunder, birds chirping, rushing water, gunfire, passing cars, approaching footsteps, and the like
  • Works with all these to support the action and interaction taking place on stage
  • Adds detailed notes to the script to serve as a guide for the sound crew during rehearsals and the actual performance
• In large scale productions where live musicians or even a full orchestra are involved, a separate musical director is responsible for coordinating the play's music
• Production manager


  Coordinates all the complex behind-the-scenes details of staging a play
• Production manager


  • Oversees the crews for the sets and props, the sound and music, the lighting, and the costumes
  • Ensures that all the needed elements, facilities, and equipment are not only available, but are in good working order, properly catalogued and labelled, and safely stored from one rehearsal to the next, up until the time of the performance
• Technical director


  Shadows the play's director throughout the entire production process
• Technical director


  • From the time the director presents his or her vision for the play and issues instructions at every rehearsal, the technical director carefully notes how each actor and every member of the stage, sound, lighting, and costume crews need to be coordinated to bring the director's vision to life—ensuring that every instruction is properly executed
  • By the time of the final technical rehearsal (sometimes called the dress rehearsal, since it is performed in full costume and makeup), the director focuses on assessing the total effect of the performance and how it might still be improved
  • It is then the technical director who takes over to closely monitor the individual details, and again ensure that these works together seamlessly in the actual performance
• Choreographer


  Included in the production team when a play involves dance in certain scenes
• Choreographer


  • Plans out all the dance steps to suit the music
  • Rehearses the actors until they are able to perform the dance skillfully—while remaining ―in character‖ on stage
  • If the play involves fight scenes, the choreographer will likewise program the moves of the opposing sides so these can be executed not only believably, but safely as well
• Makeup designer


  Plans the hairstyles and makeup to complement the costumes
• Makeup designer


  • The work may be as simple as making the actors look natural for their respective roles—based on their characters' age and personality, and the time and place of the story
  • Or it may be far more challenging, such as transforming the actors into mythical creatures, animals, a different nationality, or futuristic beings
  • Works his or her magic through the wonders of makeup, face and body painting, and hair coloring
  • Other accessories may be employed, like masks, wigs and hair extensions, headdresses, and even prosthetics to alter certain facial features or body parts