SYLLABUS

THEA 3214W

SCENOGRAPHY

TR 9:30-10:45

INSTRUCTOR                                                                        OFFICE HOURS

Mr. Tommy Cox                                                                     

Martha Munro Building                                                 1-5 in the scene shop

770-836-4566                                                                         and by appointment. tcox@westga.edu                                                                       

 

REQUIRED TEXTS

 

THEATRICAL DESIGN AND PRODUCTION, J. Michael Gillette, Mayfield Publishing, 4th Ed.

SCENO-GRAPHIC TECHNIQUES, W. Oren Parker, Southern Illinois Univ. Press, 3rd ed.

 

 

REQUIRED MATERIALS

 

An 11"x 13" Drawing Pad

An architect's scale rule

A lead holder or mechanical pencil with 4H, 3H, 2H and H leads (you may also need a lead pointer if you are not using a mechanical pencil)

A set of Water Colors or Colored Pencils/Markers (you may partner with a classmate on this one)

A large sheet of white or black foam core for model making

Most if not all of the above materials may be purchased at the bookstore or your local office supply store.

 

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

 

NOTE: A “W” designation after a section number of a 3000- or 4000-level course signifies that the course is a Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) course. WAC accepts as a guiding principle the idea that writing is a valuable tool for learning and communication. Therefore, the writing components of a course so designated are designed to help you learn the material and communicate what you have learned. Students are required to take two “W” courses for an undergraduate degree in the College of Arts and Sciences.

 

This course will give the student an extension of the work done in Intro. To Design by further investigating the basic areas of Theatrical Design.  The course is open to students of all disciplines, but is generally geared to the Theatre major, as it generates an awareness and potential for further exploration of this area of the theatre. This is a Writing Across the Curriculum course, and as such, will include both Writing to Learn and Writing to Communicate exercises to aid in the student’s research.  Essentially, upon the successful completion of this course, the student will:

 

 

 

·                    Be aware of and be able to put to use the five basic elements of visual design,

·                    Increase their knowledge of drafting and modeling techniques gained in Stagecraft and Intro to Design.

·                    Understand and utilize the various research materials available to the designer, including visual and Internet research,

·                    Through practical design assignments, be able to realize their design through renderings, models and drawings, gaining first-hand experience in the areas of Scenic, Costume and Lighting design.

·                    Have an enhanced understanding of the importance of collaboration in the “Team Sport” that is Theatre.

 

 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

 

Each design area discussed in the course will require the following:

 

·                                                                    Scenery:        

                                    A Script Analysis - WTC

A Ground plan and center line section

A Colored Sketch and a White Model

 

·                                                                    Costumes:     

                                    Thumbnail Sketches

A Research Paper - WTC

A Costume Plot

Colored Renderings and a Photo Montage

 

·                                                                    Lighting:        

                                    A Lighting Collage

A Lighting Paper - WTC

A Scaled Light Plot

 

·        Final Project:  Depending on your assignment, you will have to submit some or all of the                               following:

 

                                                A Ground Plan

A Scenery Sketch or model

Colored Costume Thumbnails

A Lighting Paper, Scenic Design Concept Statement and a Costume Research Paper - WTC

 

*All Writing to Communicate Papers will only be accepted TYPED!  Double Spaced, 12 point font, with citations and resource sheet where applicable.

 

 

STUDENT ASSESSMENT

 

The Scenography student will be evaluated for a final grade based on the following criteria:

 

·                                                                                                                                                                    Scenery Preliminaries                                    75 points

·                                                                                                                                                                    Scenery Finals                                                100 points

·                                                                                                                                                                    Costume Preliminaries                                  75 points

·                                                                                                                                                                    Costume Finals                                              100 points

·                                                                                                                                                                    Lighting Preliminaries                                   75 points

·                                                                                                                                                                    Lighting Finals                                               100 points

·                                                                                                                                                                    Writing to learn projects/ design journal

                                                                                                 75 points

 

 

·        Final Project for Arts on the Quad                                  100 points

 

Total                           700 points possible.

 

 

Based on the total available points, the student’s grade will be determined by the following scale:

 

700-630 – A

629-560 – B

559-490 – C

489-420 – D

419 and below – F

 

Additional points may be earned from Mini-exams, which occur throughout the term.  These exams are unannounced and can only serve to help your grade in this class.

 

ATTENDANCE POLICY FOR THIS CLASS

 The student is expected to attend all scheduled class meetings. No assignments will be accepted after 5:00pm on the due date!

 

 

 

 

 

PRELIMINARY

COURSE OUTLINE

 

Introduction and Overview of course requirements--The Elements of Design G 70-71

 

1/8-- The Design Process G 19-68  WTL Assignment

 

1/13     Theatre Architecture: Then and Now / Assign Scenery Project.

 

1/15     -- Style and Composition G 68-79 Scenic Design Considerations G 105-119

 

1/20     -- Lettering, Title Blocks and Line Weights P 1-31 , and all materials

 

1/22     -- Drafting Ground Plans, Sections and Details P 45-56, and all materials

 

1/27     -- Drafting continues….

 

1/29     Drafting continues

 

2/3       Drafting concludes.

 

2/5       Preliminary Designs due for Scenery project.  Design Analysis Due

 

2/12     Color and the Theatre G 81-96

 

2/17     Stage Production Techniques G 190-238

 

2/19     Scenic Design Finals Due

 

2/24     Arts on the Quad production teams announced     

 

2/26     Costume design and Construction Techniques WTL assignment G 385-431 Assign Costume Design Project

 

3/2       Costume Design, continues… organizational paperwork for costume design

 

3/4       Preliminary Designs due for Costume project.  Period Research Paper Due.

 

3/11     Make-up design and application techniques G 432-450

 

3/16     Costume Design Finals Due

 

3/23     Spring Break

 

3/30     Preliminary Designs Due for Lighting project.  Design Concept Paper Due

 

4/6       Lighting Production G 333-374

 

4/8       The Light Plot and related paper work  WTL assignment in class.

 

4/13     The Image of Light G 298-310

 

4/15     Designs Due for Lighting project

 

4/20     Preliminary Designs due for Final Project               

 

4/29 at 8:00 am  Final Designs Due for Final Project

 

 

Arts on the Quad Collaboration Component

 

  • Each designer will be assigned a director from the directing course.

 

  • The director and design team will be responsible for holding design meetings in which the director will talk concept and the designers will come up with designs. The directors and designers should keep a diary of these design meetings in which s/he will take notes.

 

  • The director will be responsible for handing in a Concept Statement for an indoor production of their ten-minute play. This production would take place in the Black Box Theatre.

 

  • Along with the director’s concept statement, the designers will hand in copies of design sketches for their production Each member of the production team will be responsible for evaluating the collaborative effort of the other members of the group.

 

                         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arts on the Quad Collaboration Evaluation Sheet

 

1.          Name____________________________________________________________

 

2.         Production___________________________________________________

 

3.         Please allocate 100 points among the other members of your group

            (excluding yourself):

 

                        Names                                                                                     Points

 

________________________________                                            __________________

 

________________________________                                            __________________

 

________________________________                                            __________________

 

________________________________                                            __________________

 

________________________________                                            __________________

 

________________________________                                            __________________

 

4.         Did anyone make outstanding contributions to the group other   than you? Please give             a brief explanation.

 

________________________________________________________________________

 

________________________________________________________________________

 

________________________________________________________________________

 

5.         Did anyone not make responsible contributions to the group? Please give a brief             explanation.

 

________________________________________________________________________

 

________________________________________________________________________

 

________________________________________________________________________

Script  Analysis for Theatrical Designers

 

 

A Writing to Communicate Assignment

for Scenic, Lighting and Costume Designers

 

Please answer the following questions in narrative format.  Double space, 12 point font, with citations, Use script page references and bibliography, where appropriate.

 

 

1            Who is the playwright and why did he/she write the play?  This will require a bit of research on your part.  The work of a playwright is generally a reflection of their personal concerns and experiences.  Knowing something about the social, political, and personal experiences of the playwright will often tell the designer a great deal about the goals of the play.

 

2     What are the central issues of the play? I.E. Who – vs. – Whom and Why?  What are the                  conflicts, the central action of the play.  Create an action charts with plots and subplots of the play

 

3     Is the Conflict metaphoric?

 

4     Where is the play set and why is it set there? Note specific and general locations given by the

       playwright or through textural references spoken by a character.

 

5     When is the play set and why? Note any specific date or general period or even if there is a

       sense of timelessness.

 

6     Who are the characters? Note family ties, friendships, working relationships and socio-economic

       status of each character. Under what type of government do they live?  What are their religious

       beliefs?  What are their beliefs about ethical conduct, sex, marriage, family, etc.?

 

7     From what you can derive from the text, what has happened before the play begins?

       Why does it start where is does, and not earlier or later?

 

8     What is the function of each character in the play? Who is the protagonist, the antagonist?

       Are there any stereotypical or iconic characters?  Identify and describe any crowds.

 

9     What is the mode of dialogue?  Is it naturalistic, literary or poetic? Explain.

 

10    What is play’s theme?

 

11    What is the principle communication your production is trying to communicate to the

        audience?  Concept.

 

12    What portion of the communication are the design aspects of this production trying to

        communicate?

 

13    Are there major flaws in the play that need to be corrected and can design help with

        those corrections?  How?

 

14    Scenic Designers:  Note all references to specific scenic elements and set decorations, types

        and numbers of locations, and major physical activity that will influence the scenic design.

 

15    Costume Designers:  Note all references to specific costume pieces, body descriptions, age

       of each character, disguises used, change of physical appearance of any character in the play,

       and any major physical activity that will influence costume pieces.  Note possible quick changes.

 

16    Lighting Designers:  Note all references to specific times of day, weather, seasons of the year,

        etc. that will influence lighting conditions.  Note the mood of each scene and how this will effect               lighting choices.  Note lighting sources given by the scene designer, such as windows, chandeliers,

        lanterns, torches, etc.

 

17     Sound Designers:  Note all specific references to specific sound cues and music.  Note any

         physical activity that might necessitate sound reinforcement.  Note the environment and

         what type of sounds would be typically heard there.