Scenic design
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scenic design (also known as stage design or set design or Production design) is the creation of theatrical scenery. Scenic designers have traditionally come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but nowadays, generally speaking, they are trained professionals, often with M.F.A. degrees in theatre arts.
The 'stage picture' is the 'look' or physical appearance of the stage for a play, whether in rehearsal or performance. It reflects the way that the stage is composed artistically in regard to props, actors, shapes and colours. The stage picture should express good principles of design and use of space. It should be visually appealing for the audience or should express the show concept. The stage picture is also crucial for the creation of atmosphere for the audience.
The scenic designer is responsible for collaborating with the theatre director and other members of the production design team to create an environment for the production and then communicating the details of this environment to the technical director,(production manager) charge artist and props master. Scenic designers are responsible for creating scale models of the scenery, renderings, paint elevations and scale construction drawings as part of their communication with other production staff.
In Europe and Australia-scenic designers take a more holistic approach to theatrical design and will often be responsible not only for scenic design but costume, lighting and sound and are referred to as theatre designers or scenographers or production designers.
The term 'stage picture' is not a legal term, however. The Dramatists Guild has come out and said, in no uncertain terms, that a director cannot own a copyright on an author's work.
Like their American cousins, European theatre designers and scenographers are generally trained with Bachelor of Arts degrees in theatre design, scenography or performance design.
Notable scenic designers include: Adolphe Appia, Boris Aronson, Howard Bay, Edward Gordon Craig, Barry Kay, Seán Kenny, Ralph Koltai, Ming Cho Lee, Santo Loquasto, Jo Mielziner, Franco Colavecchia, Jean-Pierre Ponelle, Josef Svoboda, Mark Thompson Peter Wexler, Franco Zeffirelli, and - most importantly for the history of art - Inigo Jones, Alexandre Benois and Léon Bakst.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Scenography - The Theatre Design Website Theatre Design / Scenography
- Society of British Theatre Designers Theatre Design
- What is Scenography Article illustrating the differences between US and European theatre design practices
- Stagelink Production and Set Designer Directory
- Josef Svoboda Article on www.scenography.co.uk
