KRISTA D. PRICE
Stagecraft Week 15
(May 10-14, 2021)
Important terms/concepts/info are in RED.
Google Classroom assignments are in BLUE.
Ms. Price provides ALL learning for absent students in a self-directed format so there is NO NEED TO ZOOM if quarantined.
Just read & understand/complete each of the day's activities below. You are EXPECTED to keep up with what's going on in class.
If absent or quarantined, read the following, and then complete the learning tasks under Day 1 & Day 2 below...
This week's lessons are focused on...
PROCESS OF (SCENIC) DESIGN: DESIGN CONCEPT
In this Stagecraft unit, we are learning about THE PROCESS OF (SCENIC/SET) DESIGN.
So far we've learned the following about the process of theatrical design:
1.) Often, design starts with an overall FEELING or mood that the designer hopes to achieve for an audience.
2.) Designers read the script to determine what NEEDS to be included in their designs. (Needs are both stated and implied in the script.)
3.) Designers speak (early on) with the production's Director to understand her/his vision for the show.
4.) Designers conduct RESEARCH for design-related needs, as well as for their own design ideas.
5.) Many designs "start" with an INSPIRATION image, idea, or item that has surfaced during the process.
Once designers have INSPIRATION for their design, they can begin working on their overall DESIGN CONCEPT, which is what you'll be exploring this week in Stagecraft...
Day 1: Design INSPIRATION
1. If absent or quarantined, be sure you've read all of the above, and also completed last week's learning if you haven't already. Remember, design is a PROCESS, so following the process in order is key.
2. Chose an INDIVIDUAL focus for the week and write it in your Reflection Journal in Google Classroom under Week 15.
3. Watched a Video (Set Design of Newsies) and discussed as a class. If absent or quarantined, answer the following questions while/after watching the video.
Google Classroom Reflection Journal Title: Scenic Design (Newsies) (week 15 - day 1)
1.) How was the set designed to meet the NEEDS of the show?
2.) What RESEARCH did the designers do to make their designs historically accurate?
3.) What are some repeated images you observed in the design choices?
4.) What was the "STARTING POINT" for INSPIRATION of the entire design?
4. Discussed: Research vs. Inspiration
Research is what you LEARN that keeps you ACCURATE in your designs. (accurate in time/place/style, etc.)
Inspiration is what you FIND that sparks your OWN creativity/ideas.
*Research is the FIRST STEP in "coming up with ideas".
5. Discussed how theatre is NOT film, and that ideas, locations, moods can be conveyed ARTISTICALLY (figuratively) on stage rather than just/only literally. Getting to the HEART and MEANING of a story, scene, character, or song can help to convey ideas in more artistic ways.
6. Explored (individually) various set/scenic designs for stage by completing an assignment in Google Classroom.
SCENIC DESIGN EXPLORATION (Google Classroom Assignment)
1.) Go online and Google various scenic designs (for the stage). Find ones that "move" you when you see them. Do you find yourself being drawn to more literal designs or more figurative / metaphorical / representational / abstract / poetic designs? What do certain designs make you "feel"?
2.) Once you've found your "top 10" scenic design photos, put them in the Slideshow Assignment on Google Classroom (follow directions given on the second slide). If absent or quarantined, be sure to complete this assignment.
Advice from Price:
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To find "good"/interesting scenic design photos, just Google! Image search with key words like "set design", "scenic design", "lighting design", etc.
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If there's a show you're curious about or love, you could search by title of that show & "set/scenic design"
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Have fun exploring!
7. Continued (in design groups) your design RESEARCH and INSPIRATION search for any additional elements that could inform your final design concept and choices. (Add your research/inspiration to your Google Classroom assignment entitled Scenic Research (Musical Design Project) if/when new ideas emerge.
Day 2: Design CONCEPT
1. Watched: Behind the Emerald Curtain - (3:59)
Watched: Behind the Scenes of Wicked - Set Design (12:16)
If absent or quarantined, be sure to watch these videos and answer the questions below in your Google Classroom Reflection Journal.
Journal Title: Scenic Design (Wicked) (week 15 - day 2)
1.) The designer says that the STORY is about two sisters, but what was the MOOD/STYLE the designer was trying to create with his design?
2.) What RESEARCH did the designers do?
3.) What was the overall DESIGN CONCEPT, and in what visual elements of the show did that concept appear?
4.) What are some things that you found interesting, intriguing, or inspiring in these videos?
5.) Analyze / describe the STORY, MOOD/STYLE, and also the RESEARCH you've completed for your OWN musical.
2. Discussed: Inspiration is EVERYWHERE. Ms. Price shared examples of various random things in the world around her that "inspired" her for aspects of her own scenic designs for shows.
3. Watched a KP teaching video (Inspiration, Design Concept, Napkin Sketches) that shared the "next steps" of the scenic design process. If absent or quarantined, be sure to watch this video and answer questions below in your Google Classroom Reflection Journal.
Journal Title: Inspiration, Concept, Sketches (week 15 - day 2)
1.) Where can inspiration be "found"?
2.) List the things that "napkin sketches" of your design SHOULD include.
*Note: I made this video last year during the Covid shut-down, so it references (at the end) a different type of project than designing a set for a musical...but as you know, your class IS designing a musical set.
4. Read ONE: KP's DESIGN CONCEPTS in Once On This Island, Flowers for Algernon, The Crucible. If absent or quarantined, be sure to read one of the above "Design Concepts" and answer the questions below in your Google Classroom Reflection Journal.
Journal Title: Design Concept (week 15 - day 2)
1.) Which did you read, and what did you learn about a "Design (Director's) Concept"?
2.) What did you find interesting about the Design Concept for the show you read about? Be specific.
5. Discussed upcoming Design Meeting (with instructors), where you will be asked to share your research, inspiration, concepts, and ideas with KP and G/John. This is a graded meeting, however, the focus of the Design Meeting is on COLLABORATION...in order to come up with even stronger ideas for your design.
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To earn the best score on your Design Meeting, you need to show that you've read your entire script, and you/your team have gone through the process of design in class (this includes the quality/quantity of your research, as well as the way you've collaborated in order to find your inspiration and develop your show's design concept.
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Your Design Meeting Rubric is HERE.
6. Collaborated with your design group on...
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) RESEARCH / INSPIRATION for your design (add to Google Classroom
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) Your DESIGN CONCEPT
Note: Scripts and Soundtracks are provided below...
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Once on this Island (script) Setting: the French Antilles in the Caribbean Sea
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Hunchback of Notre Dame (script) (Setting: Paris, 1482)
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Fiddler on the Roof (script) Setting: a Jewish Settlement in Imperial Russia around 1905
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Footloose (script) (Setting: the fictitious town of 'Bomont' in the early 1980's)
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Little Shop of Horrors (script) Setting: Skid Row in New York; early 1960's
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Blood Brothers (script) Setting: 1960's England
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Secret Garden (Act I / Act II) Setting: 1901 British Occupied India > Yorkshire England; Mary Lennox is orphaned after her parents perish from cholera (India) and she is sent to live at her uncle Lord Archibald Craven's mansion in England