WHAT IS THEATRICAL DESIGN?

Chapter One The Art of Theatrical Design

by Kaoime E. Malloy
WHAT IS THEATRICAL DESIGN?
Theatrical design is the art of creating and composing the visual and aural elements that
shape a performance space. It encompasses the development of scenery, costumes,
lighting, sound, and multimedia effects to create pictures onstage. These elements
combine to create an environment in which the action of the play can take place and
where the audience can experience the performance. Design brings the world of the play
to life.
Theatrical design is different from many other art forms in that it is a collaborative art.
Design does not exist in a vacuum. No one theatre artist works independently to create a
performance. Instead, a production is brought into existence through the combined
efforts of many skilled and specialized artists working together, sharing a common
conceptual approach. Unlike a novel, a play does not exist solely to be read; it is meant
to be performed and its greatness and wonder can only truly be accessed in this manner
A play requires actors to embody each of the characters, to take on their personalities
and behaviors and make them real for the audience as the story is told. Through the
characters, the audience is able to make an emotional connection with the events, ideas,
and themes of the play. The design anchors them in the world of the play,
communicating information about that world to the audience that supports the dramatic
action and draws them in, engaging them with the performance on a sensory level.
WHAT DO DESIGNERS DO?
A theatrical designer is an artist who creates and organizes one or more aspects of the
aural and visual components of a theatrical production. Some designers specialize in
one area of designscenery, costumes, lighting, sound, multimedia/ projections, or hair
and makeupwhile others work in multiple areas. Regardless of their area of
specialization, each designer is working towards the same goal: the successful
realization of the playwright's vision on the stage. In order to do this work a designer
needs to possess a wide range of skills. They need to
be able to read and analyze a script effectively, not only to note the details that are
relevant to their individual design area, but also to understand the story, identify key
themes, plot details, and important actions, and to follow character development. They
must be familiar with theatre history and literature and understand how they inform both
the performance and visual style of a play. They must be familiar with the history of
dress, art, and decor and be able to do appropriate research to inform and inspire their
work. They must be imaginative and inventive, able to find inspiration and use it to
develop creative conceptual approaches to the visual interpretation of the playwright's
work They have to be resourceful, innovative, and problem-solvers. Designers choose
the visual and audio elements that go into the stage picture carefully, in order to shape,
influence, and guide the audience's impression of the world of the play. Because theatre
is a collaborative endeavor, designers must be good communicators in order to express
their ideas and to work effectively with their colleagues. They must be organized and
able to manage their time efficiently so that they can meet work deadlines. In order to
communicate their design ideas to the director they must be able to draw and render
with sufficient skill, whether through traditional or digital methods. Increasingly, designers
are being asked to have a working knowledge of various computer software programs

that are applicable to their design specialty, as design and technology become more
closely linked. They need to have an understanding of the human form in threedimensional space as well as the advantages and challenges inherent in different
theatrical configurations. Drafting, painting, construction, sewing, pattern making and
draping, and mathematics are also skills that are needed to varying degrees. Above all,
designers need to be observers of the world. Like all artists, designers take in
information from the world around them and use it to inspire and inform their work. They
respond to and take note of the way other artists have used the visual elements of
composition in their practice. Designers are avid visitors of museums, connoisseurs of
the arts in all forms: fashion, painting, furniture, architecture, textiles, photography,
literature, music, dance, theatre, and more. They are students of history and culture,
curious about the influences that have shaped us as people, as individuals, and in
communities the world oven Paying attention to both function and aesthetics, designers
look to the world around them for the information and vision that inspires them to reveal
and understand the action of a play in a visual form, making it accessible to an audience.
THE DESIGN AREAS
The scenic designer is responsible for the composition of the stage environment that
the actors inhabit and for selecting all of the elements that make up the set, including
platforms, levels, walls, and all structures whether they appear organic or manmade.
Furniture, light fixtures, curtains, pillows, and interior decor are also part of their
responsibility. Their work encompasses the design and selection all of the properties for
the show, from items carried by the actors such as letters, books, dishes, and luggage
to large articles like chests of gold, food, blackboards, or any other item required to
facilitate the action. The set may be as simple as a bare stage or a complicated
extravaganza with multiple locations, automated scene changes, and spectacular
special effects. Both spaces require careful thought, design, planning, and creative
choices. The space that is created by the scene designer is more than a representation
of the playwright's imagination. It is more than a house or a room, a palace or a park;
more than the literal place it represents. It is a space that will shape and is in turned
shaped by the actions of the actors that will inhabit it. It is responsive to the needs of the
action in a way that an ordinary location is not. In short, it is designed to serve the needs
of the play. It will help to establish location, time period, time of day, the tone and stylistic
approach to the production, and communicate information about the characters that live
in the space. It will present an overall design concept, image, or metaphor that supports
the content of the play. The set must also be unified with the other design elements and
address all the practical considerations involved with how the space will be used by the
actors.
The costume designer is responsible for the visual realization of the characters. They
interpret the playwright's words, using them to analyze each character and transpose
that understanding into clothing that reveals their identity to the audience. Costume is an
important tool that enriches and supports the actor's performance. Using the language of
clothing to create a visual narrative, the costume designer seeks to produce evocative
costumes that evolve over the course of the play to mirror the progression of the
character. The choices made by the costume designer also reflect the overall conceptual
approach to the production and, like the scenery, contribute to the mood and
tmaosphere of the performance. Color, pattern, texture, and weight of fabrics can all
contribute to the director's approach. Clothing reveals important information about each
character. Social status, occupation, location, and time of year can easily be

communicated through what an individual chooses to wear. Careful selection of fabrics,

accessories, color, and level of wear and cleanliness can give insight into a character's
mood, health, age, state of mind, and personality, h-low a garment is worn gives as
much insight into character as what is being worn. A well-fitted dress made of light and
diaphanous fabrics might speak to the vibrancy and happiness of a young ingenue
falling in love for the first time, while an ill-fitting one made of dark, heavy fabrics might
weave the tale of a widow mourning her husband's death and losing weight from the
burden other grief. A handsomely tailored suit can speak volumes about the man who
wears it; but spill a few drops of blood on the lapels and his tie, or let a straight razor
peek out from his pocket and the outfit takes on an entirely different meaning. Costumes
can also be used to show the relationships between characters, subtly underscoring the
connection between families, lovers, coworkers, classmates, or members of the same
community, Choosing similar colors, textures, or silhouettes can create a sense of group
identity, unifying a chorus of dancers or a crowd of bystanders, ensuring they are a part
of the world of the play and that the audience can understand who they are.
The lighting designer is responsible for illuminating the stage space so that the actors
and the environment may be seen. They are in charge of all forms of light on the stage.
They select the number of instruments and their types. They set their intensity, location
and angle, determining how the light that is being cast will strike the stage. They choose
how to alter the appearance of the light cast on the stage, changing the color, the
texture, and the pattern. They ensure that practical light fixtures that are part of the set
will turn on and off as needed. The lighting designer composes the cues and determines
how long each will last, setting the duration of light on the stage picture. Part of this task
is choosing what to reveal with light and what to conceal. Light focuses the audience's
attention, drawing it to the important parts of the action and upping their emotional
investment. Light has an incredible potential to create a sense of mood and atmosphere
through the use of color, value, and selective lighting. By using all of the tools at their
disposal, a lighting designer is able to paint the stage with light, modeling the scenery
and the actors to enhance their three dimensional form for greater visibility and to create
compelling pictures that pull all the visual design elements together into a unified picture.
The sound designer is responsible for the design of all of the audio components for a
production. Their work is varied, ranging from simple reinforcement of sound, allowing
the actors and any musicians to be heard more clearly and succinctly, with a balanced
composition of sound to the creation of a complete sound design that complements and
enhances the production.
Sound design can include the careful selection of preshow, [intermission, and post-show
music, to help set the mood and atmosphere, introducing the audience to the world of
the [ play and maintaining continuity throughout their experience of the performance. It
may also include any incidental music or underscoring to support the dramatic action.
Sometimes, a sound designer might even compose all of the music for a production,
tailoring it specifically for that play.
A sound designer is also responsible for all of the sound effects the script requires,
whether they occur offstage or onstage or from motivated sources. Ringing telephones,
doorbells, lightning, breaking glass, or elaborate sound compositions containing multiple
effects may be used to create the desired result. Ambient sound may be incorporated as
part of the design to help establish the location, time of day, the season, and to support
the style and conceptual approach of the production. Although the sound designer is a
relatively recent addition to the design team, more and more directors are realizing the

potential of sound design and what it can contribute to a production in the hands of a
creative designer.
The projections designer (also known as the multimedia designer) is an even more
recent position in theatrical design. The projection designer is responsible for the design
and creation of all images, moving and still, that will be projected onto the stage or into
the theatrical space. There are multiple uses for projections in a production. They can be
used for simple purposes, such as adding narrative announcements at the beginning of
scenes to act as title cards or to add uncomplicated images to various scenes,
complementing the action and illustrating it in a lively and engaging way. Or projections
can be used to enhance the stage picture, providing
high-resolution digital images that can be projected onto the surface of the scenery to
alter its shape, change locations quickly, or even to take the place of scenery entirely.
They can be projected throughout the auditorium to immerse the audience in the
production environment or focused onto small surfaces carried by an actor as they move
across the stage.
Cameras placed strategically throughout the playing space can present multiple views of
the action, projecting them onto the set to become part of the performance that actors
can interact with. Projections have the potential to establish location and style, enhance
the mood and atmosphere, reveal important story elements, aid the d^matic action, add
in a new
penance element, and support the overall design concept of the production. It is a new
and exerting area of design.
THEATRICAL SPACES AND THEIR IMPACT
ON DESIGN
One of the most important factors designers need to keep in mind when doing their work
is the type of theatre being used for the production. The configuration of the theatrical
space has a significant impact on all aspects of the production, shaping the
performance. Costume details that can easily be seen in an intimate arena theatre will
be lost in a large proscenium space.
Light instrument positions that serve a proscenium theatre well may shine the light
directly in the audience's eyes in a thrust space. Scenery designed for a proscenium
theatre will block the sightlines of the audience in an arena theatre. A found space
requires careful consideration regarding the placement of the audience and the acting
space, whereas the audience location in most other theatre spaces is usually preset.
The type of space is important because a theatre is not just a place to view a
performance. It is a place that supports the exchange of emotion between the actor and
the audience and facilitates the communal experience of the performance between the
audience members. There is no ideal shape or size for a performance space and no one
configuration is better
than another. Each type of theatre has advantages that can be used to the designers'
benefit and limitations which might require that adjustments be made as part of the
production
process.

Proscenium Theatre

A proscenium theatre is the type of theatre we are most familiar with because it was the
most common type of stage space in the eighteenth through the twentieth centuries in
the
Western word. In this configuration, the stage is situated at one end of the building,
separated from the audience by the proscenium wall, a large rectangular opening that
frames the stage. This type of theatre was developed to focus the attention of the
audience through the opening of the proscenium, accentuating the perspective effects
created by the painted scenery of the period. The playing space behind the proscenium
may be deep or relatively shallow and is framed on either side by a set of wings that
provide offstage space. Some of these theatres also have an apron or forestage situated
in front of the arch, offering another playing area, and scenery may extend into this
space from the main part of the stage. In modern proscenium theatres the apron may
also be capable of lowering to the auditorium floor or beyond, doubling as an orchestra
pit for musicals and concerts. This type of theatre usually has a fly loft above the stage,
which allows for scenic elements to be flown in and out of the stage space. The seating
area may be set up in any one of a number of configurations, often with orchestra
seating on the auditorium floor, seating galleries on both sides and one or more floors of
audience seating. The combination of the fly space and wings allows for a wide variety
of scenic and lighting effects in a proscenium theatre and the stage itself might also offer
additional options such as trapdoor? and hydraulic systems that can be used to raise
and lower the stage floor to add special dramatic effects and facilitate elaborate scene
changes. Proscenium theatres often seat a large number of people, putting a fair amount
of distance between the actors and the audience. Costumes, scenery, and makeup need
to be bolder and broader in order to carry over the distance to communicate effectively
to the audience, However, there is an obvious advantage created by the proscenium
arch, which serves to focus the audience's attention on the action it frames.

Arena Theatre

An arena theatre, also referred to as theatre in the round, is a theatre where the
audience entirely surrounds the performance space or acting area. Like a thrust space,
actor's enter and exit through a series of aisles or vom Stories that situated off the
playing space. An arena theatre offers several advantages, including an increased
intimacy between the actors and the audience and a wide range of entrances and exits.
But it also offers challenges related to blocking, lighting, scenery, and sightlines.
Because the audience is seated around the entire
playing space, scenery cannot substantially block their view of the action and lights must
be carefully focused so that they do not shine in their eyes or light the seating area,
inadvertently
drawing focus, hanging scenic elements above the stage may be important to establish
the environment, but might also add additional challenges to the lighting designer.
Blocking must
take into account the fact that the audience becomes part of the composition. Costumes
in intimate theatres can require more detail and realism, especially with historical
garments,
because the audience is very close to the actors. Makeup can be especially challenging,
as any ageing or special effects require film-level quality to be believable. As with a
thrust space, the sound designer has multiple locations for sound sources and can
create an entire environment with their design, but must carefully balance the sound
output to ensure quality.

Thrust Theatre

In a thrust theatre, three-quarter round, the stage extends out into the audience and the
seating surrounds the playing area on three sides. Sometimes the thmst may be
enclosed by a
proscenium arch at the back of the stage, but this space is often shallow and the
audience's view into the space is limited. Actor can enter and exit from behind the
proscenium or through aisles or vomitories that are situated off the playing space and
extend out through the audience.
A thrust theatre essentially offers a combination of a proscenium stage and an arena
stage. This configuration allows for increased intimacy with the audience, giving them
the opportunity to focus on greater details in costumes and the set. However, the playing
space only provides one wall for vertical scenic elements along with the stage floor. All
scenery in the stage space itself needs to maintain clear sightlines for the audience and
must be designed carefully. Blocking is more difficult than on a proscenium stage, as the
playing space offers multiple views that the director has to take into consideration and
the spectators can be seen as well as the actors.
Consequently, focus can become an issue. Lighting designers face the challenge of
maintaining focus on the acting area without spilling light onto the audience, drawing
attention away from the action or inadvertently shining light into their eyes. Sound
designers have the potential to surround the audience with sound from multiple
directions, but careful balance is required to ensure that everyone can hear equally.
End Stage
An end stage is a theatre in which the audience and the acting area occupy the same
architectural space. Generally, the audience is seated in front of the playing space, but it
is also possible to arrange the seating in other configurations to allow for a different
stage space, such as thrust. The back wall of the stage may be framed with a
proscenium arch allowing for a curtain and access to a small backstage area. This type
of theatre allows for flexible scenic elements that can take advantage of flexible stage
configurations. Theatres in this format are usually small, allowing for a close connection
between the actors and the audience, but may prove challenging for lighting positions
and actor entrances and exits.

Black Box Theatre

A black box theatre is a flexible space made to provide multiple stage configurations.
The space may not always be black, but it is shaped like a large, unembellished cube,
hence the name. Seating in a black box theatre is by necessity moveable and unfixed,
allowing the director and designers to set up any stage arrangement they desire,
adjusting the seating as required. The possibilities are almost limitless. Technical
galleries may also be provided in the stage architecture, offering additional lighting
positions. The main advantage of a black box space is its flexibility and it offers few

limitations.

Courtyard Theatre

A courtyard theatre combines the qualities of several different theatre types, and is
modeled after a traditional Elizabethan stage. Seating is provided in elevated galleries
that surround a central area, which may or may not have fixed seating. The entire
audience area faces a proscenium stage. The central space is often flexible, allowing it
to be used in a variety of configurations, including thrust, flat floor, and end stage.
Courtyard theatres are not always rectangular. The Hall Two stage at the Gateshead is a
ten-sided courtyard theatre. The flexibility of this type of theatre provides designers and
directors with multiple options when it comes to the layout of the space and the elevated
seating ensures that sightlines in the central playing area are less problematic.
Entrances and exits can be made through the proscenium arch or vomitories in the
audience space. Lighting positions are varied and malleable and the level of intimacy
can be adjusted by reconfiguring the space. Use of the proscenium as the main acting
area creates more distance between the audience and the actors and sightlines on the
extreme side seating on the galleries may be challenging for the scenic designer. All in
courtyard theatre is an interesting theatrical space that lots of possibilities.
Found Space
A found space is a nontheatrical building or location that is adapted and used for a
performance. A found space can literally be anywhere, indoors or out. Some possibilities
of found spaces include the foyer of an office building, an old grocery store, a park,
churches, a warehouse, a street comer, or the steps outside a museum. Found spaces
may sometimes be altered to suit the needs of a particular production, adding specific
architectural elements to meet the needs of
the individual production. Designers working in these types of theatrical spaces can face
all the challenges of traditional theatres as well as others, including creating scenery
around static building features, lighting around structural elements, and impaired
sightlines created by unusual spaces. But a found space may offer unique advantages
not available in a traditional
theatre, such as unusual backgrounds and textures, interesting atmosphere,
environmental sounds, and other elements that are complementary to the production.
Environmental Theatre
An environmental theatre is a theatrical space that has been completely transformed to
create a unique environment for the performance. Often, the architecture of the space is
a key element in the production. In an environmental theatre, the acting and audience
spaces may be intermixed, sometimes with no provided seating. Performances are
immersive, with shifting or multiple focuses and the physical space is an important
production element, blurring the line between audience, performer, and space. Many
productions are site specific. A good example of this is Punchdrunk's Sleep No More, a
film noir, interactive retelling of Macbeth performed in three abandoned New York City
warehouses, where the audience is asked to don Venetian carnival masks and move
from room to room, following the characters they choose and exploring
the environment as the play progresses. Environmental theatres serve up the
opportunity to create complete, lush environments that completely immerse the audience
in the world of the
play, challenging the boundaries of theatre and redefining them within the context of the
performance. Like all art forms, theatre contains content. In the case of theatre, content
takes the form of a dramatic script. Dramatic literature contains structure and format and
can be divided into different genres and styles. Our understanding of plays, as with all
art fonns, is based on the content of the work and the context, both of the play itself and

the persona! context we bring to it. The following chapters will examine these important
concepts and their importance for design.

THE LANGUAGE OF DESIGN AND

THEATRICAL SPACE

Arena theatre:

A theatre where the audience entirely surrounds the performance

space. Aiso known as theatre in the round.

Black box
theatre:

A flexible theatre space made to provide multiple stage

configurations.

Costume
designer:

The artist that is responsible for the visual realization of the

characters through clothing.

Courtyard
theatre:

A theatre space that combines the

qualities of several different theatre types, modeled after a
traditional Elizabethan stage.

End stage:

A theatre in which the audience and the acting area occupy the
same architectural space.

Environmental
theatre:

A theatrical space that

has been completely transformed to create a unique environment
for the performance.

Found space:

A nontheatrica! building or location that is adapted and used for a

performance.

Lighting
designer:

The artist that is responsible for illuminating the stage space so that
the actors and the environment may be seen.

Projections
designer:

The artist that is responsible for the design and creation of all
images, moving and stili, that will be projected onto the stage or
into the theatrical space. Also known as the multimedia designer.

Proscenium
theatre:

A theatre space whose main feature is an arch that frames the

stage near the front.

Sound designer:

The artist that is responsible for the design of ati of the audio
components for a production.

Theatrical
design:

The art of creating and composing

the visual and aural elements that shape a performance
space.

Theatrical
designer:

An artist who creates and organizes one or more aspects of the

aural and visual components of a theatrical production.

Thrust theatre:

A theatre space where the stage extends out into the audience and
the seating surrounds the playing area on three sides.

Vomitories:

Aisles that extend from the stage through the seating area of a
theatre that can be used as entrances
and exits.