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Stagecraft Week 15:  Scenic Design
(Intro to Scenic Design)
November 25-26, 2024

Important terms are in RED.

Google Classroom assignments are in BLUE.

Ms. Price provides ALL learning for absent students in a self-directed format. 

Just read & understand/complete each of the day's activities below.  You are EXPECTED to keep up with what's going on IN class.

DAY 1:  Intro to Scenic Design / How to Read a (Musical) Script

1.)  Discussed our next unit:  SCENIC DESIGN.  (If absent, read below...)

  • In our next unit in Stagecraft, we will be learning about THE PROCESS OF DESIGN and how to design something used on stage.  Specifically, we will be focusing on scenic (set) design

2.) Discussed the things you MUST have in place before ever beginning a rehearsal for a show:

  • Rights (written permission to do the show from the producing agency)

  • A rehearsal & performance space (often the theatre/performance space isn't used until the END of the process)

  • A Director / Cast (for musicals, you also need a vocal director, pit director, and choreographer)

  • A set design (because you can't rehearse without knowing what you will have in the space with you - the physical things in your space that support the storytelling and/or provide boundaries for the storytelling)

3.) Watched a video about the Process of Scenic Design and the difference of figurative vs. literal scenic design.  (started at 3:07 - if absent, be sure to watch 3:07-end for the learning we did in class today, OR watch full video if you missed yesterday's class also.)

4.)  Discussed next/final project:  Scenic (Set) Design Project.  Students will choose a musical to READ and your final Summative Stagecraft project will be to DESIGN A SET for that musical (more info to follow).  You can choose to work alone or with 1 or 2 partners.  (Groups can not be larger than 3.) 

5.)  Listened (in class) to the opening numbers from the musicals listed below.  Ms. Price led students in an activity to to determine what the music FEELS like, (even when there are no lyrics) and then students tried to determine the MEANING/STORY/THEME (from just the opening number's lyrics).  Students responded in Google Classroom (Assignment:  Intro to Musical Scenic Design)​​.  (If absent, you MUST do this activity/assignment on your own before next class, but you only need to respond to 5 of the musicals listed on the assignment.  It is recommended that you respond on your Google Classroom assignment WHILE listening to the musical numbers - since the musical mood may shift/change throughout).  Click the title of each musical below to hear the musical's first/opening song.

  • Once on this Island  (Setting: the French Antilles in the Caribbean Sea)   

  • Hunchback of Notre Dame - listen to at least 5:00  (Setting:  Paris, 1482)

  • Fiddler on the Roof  - listen to at least to 3:05 (Setting:  a Jewish Settlement in Imperial Russia around 1905)

  • Footloose  - listen to at least 5:07 (Setting:  the fictitious town of 'Bomont' in the early 1980's)

  • Little Shop of Horrors  (Setting: Skid Row in New York; early 1960's)

  • Blood Brothers - listen to 3:42  (Setting:  1960's England) - not an option this year

  • Matilda (Setting:  an English village, 1988)

  • Secret Garden (Setting:  1901 British-occupied India then Yorkshire England)

  • Phantom of the Opera (Setting:  a Paris Opera House, 1881)

*REMEMBER:  In musicals, the music (what it "feels like") ALWAYS impacts design choices.  You can not work on a musical without listening to the music that helps tell the story/mood of the musical.

6.) Students chose a musical (from the above list) that you'd like to READ and DESIGN A SET for.  Students Indicated their choices on the bottom of their Intro to Musical (Scenic) Design Project assignment in Google Classroom.  (If absent, be sure to do this TODAY so that Ms. Price can make a copy of your script.)

DAY 2:  Literal vs. Figurative Design 

1.  Reviewed the Process of Scenic Design (steps/stages).

2.) Watched a video about the Process of Scenic Design and the difference of figurative vs. literal scenic design.  (started at 3:07 - if absent, be sure to watch 3:07-end for the learning we did in class today.)

3.) Students selected their groups (if desired) AND musicals for their final project.   (See the Google Classroom assignment from yesterday's learning.)  Ms. Price looked at students' first and second choices to determine which musical each would be designing a set for.  (If absent, you MUST complete yesterday's Google Classroom assignment ASAP!)

Note:  Too many people were absent to complete the rest of today's activities without having to re-teach in class after break or having to assign homework for absent students.)

 

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