Samantha

"I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious" - Albert Einstein

Category: Stagecraft S2 (page 1 of 2)

Designer’s Concept Statement

Front elevation

bird’s eye view 

View from an angle

Extra picture 1

Extra picture 2

My model is a representation of an inside world of a person who suffers from scoptophobia. I wanted to show the different components of the world; by exploring the different examples of my phobia, I found out all the things that the person might fear. The eyes are hanging in front of the backdrop, some are closer to the character as if they are going to pop out, and some are further but the character could still feel their attention. I create this effect in my model by using different layers, sizes, and colors for the eys. At the center of the backdrop, is a huge eye staring straightly at the character in the display case, as well as the audience. And in the middle of the eye, there is a reflection of the character. The character is curled, feeling uncomfortable and scared. I imagine my stage to be a proscenium, but with a slightly different shape of the stage. Flats are placed beside the legs of the stage to create a sense that the eyes are surrounding the character.

The inspiration for my model is taken from an imaginary museum, where objects are placed in display cases, and when I start thinking about the display cases, I really wonder how does it feel to stand inside them. At center stage, we can see a display case, and every person who stands in that case, even someone who does not have scoptophobia, can be uncomfortable. The display case represents attention from other people because the objects in the museum are always started at, and oftentimes there are judgments and criticisms, and the only thing that protects the character from those things is the thin layer of transparent glass. It portrays the feeling of anxiousness, frustration, and unable to breathe. There is also shattered glass all over the stage floor and cracks on the display case, this symbolizes that the little protection that the character is feeling (being inside the display case) is all broken and the character is fully exposed to other people.

Looking at the model, I intend to create an atmosphere of uncomfortableness and attention. When I was exploring my mood board, I found out dark colors are very prominent. In my model, the color choice, black, communicates the idea that there is nothing but the eyes, which portrays the fear that the person is feeling. The shattered glass all around the floor and the cracks on the walls and the ground also give my audience a feeling of melancholy, as if the whole world shown in this model can break very easily.

Scenic Design Practice: Sketching Space

birds’ eye view

 

Final design

Stage design-Rough Sketch

Scoptophobia-the fear of being stared at
The eyes on the wall symbolize attention, judgment, and criticism, which are all the fears that a person who suffers from scoptophobia.
In the center of the stage, stands a display case. The cabinet is made out of glass, it represents the feeling of being displayed and being looked through. The barriers around the display case show the rejection of people and attention. I created a semicircle stage where the person is surrounded by the eyes. I think this helps the audience to feel and imagine the anxiety standing in the middle of all the attention.

Mood Board – Scopophobia

The fear of being stared at. It varies in severity from person to person. Some people are afraid only when a stranger stares for a long period of time, while others fear even passing eye contact with a friend.

Scoptophobia.pdf

colorful, but strange

symbols: eyes-attention, judgment, criticism boxes: represents the person, wanting to hide himself transparent boxes: being see through

Scenic design vocabulary

Scenic DesignThe aspect of a production that gives a sense of ‘space” or location. Can be realistic or symbolic. Aids in creating ‘atmosphere’.

Mood boardA poster that contains imagery that will help focus the design or conceptual weight of a piece of theater

Thumbnail Sketchquick sketch or drawing that becomes the starting point for a design

Stage configurationthe layout of a stage in the theater you are producing the play

Groundplan/’birds eye view‘ – the top-down look of the design gives you an idea of WHERE things are on stage

Elevationthe FRONT look of a design gives you an idea of what you will see when you are looking at the stage

Flat A scenic piece that is used to build doorways and walls. Light, flexible, and can be built to order

Sight Linesthe view of an audience onto the stage. Sightlines are taken from many different seats to see what they see.

Masking flatflats or curtains designed to ‘hide’ the elements of the stage we don’t want the audience to see

 

Abstract the Arts of Design, Es Devlin Scenic Design

Inquiry:

To be successful, be open and come up with fresh ideas, and think out of the box. The thoughts can be strange or weird, but they must mean something to me.

Ingredients:

  1. Space
  2. Light: Light does not only mean light from a light source but things like mirrors and glass/paint under the light can also be the ingredient “light”
  3. Darkness
  4. Scale
  5. Time

Communicating:

She thinks that when you are on the top,  you are higher than everybody–this is the “power”. On the other hand, you are also lonely, and once you fall you are the one who hurts the most, this is the “vulnerability” of the throne. So she used very high boxes, which represent the throne, for the two artists to stand on.

 

Scenic Painting Part 1

Theatre Tour Experience

This picture shows a thrust stage. It is very interesting because the audience can sit around the stage, which is a very creative way to let the audience interact more with the actors. The different angles provide the audience with different perspectives. The thrust stage also provides the actors more space to perform; it creates a very unique shape of the stage.

This picture is of the booth in the MS/HS theatre. The booth controls the lighting, sound effects, and music with different types of equipment. Directers are able to see the stage very clearly through the booth.

This picture shows the cyclorama, a white sheet of fabric used as a background, helps create a clean background, so that the scene looks like a moving picture. There are also other background boards that can be placed in front of the cyclorama. The height of the theatre is very high so that the background board and the cyclorama can be fully raised up.

This is the dimmer room, the dimmers inside the room control all the power of the lights, every piece of lighting connects to one dimmer in the shelves.  The MS/HS theatre is an older theatre; the brightness of the lights can only be controlled by the dimmer room. If the power of the dimmer room connected to the lights is weaker, the lights are dimmer.

This picture shows most parts of the stage. I really like this picture because you can see how the stage is organized. The upper part of the photo shows the main stage, where actors are visible to the audience. The lower part shows parts of the backstage. The legs can help actors to hide behind it. There are also many lightings from two side of the stage.

Intro to Costume design

“The clothes make the man”

Costumes refer to anything worn by the actors on stage-shoes, makeup, clothes… It is a very important part in scenic design.
Factors of costume design:
  1. Age—-People dress depending on their age range, child vs old people
  1. Gender—-Male & Female, it’s a good basis
  1. Social Status—-Economic? High? Low?
  1. Occupation—-Occupation can tell people what job the people do, doctors, workers
  1. Geographic location—-Cultures,
  1. Occasion or activity—-Pe vs award ceremony, determines what we wear
  1. Time of the day—-Pajamas: just woke up, going to bed
  1. Seasons and weather—-Shorts or jackets?
  1. Historical period—-Which historical period did this character live in
  1. Psychological factors—-Feelings, emotions, and personalities impact what you wear (this sometimes overrides all factors)
These 10 factors are all ideas we consider every day choosing our costume, as well as the character on stage. What will fit with the character? Costume designers must be able to research if the character lived in different periods.
Fantasy costumes: very creative, uses different symbols to show the character
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