Putting On A Play

Visual, Aural and Spatial Elements

1. First of all establish what type of stage and auditorium best suits the play
and explain why.
2. Then consider the importance of the visual dimension to the production
(most important would be set, lighting and costume). This will take you
into the directors vision of the play and the productions message/thematic
emphasis, performance style, genre etc.
Set: would it best be permanent or would you need scene changes? If it was
permanent what would be its advantages and how would it serve the whole play? If
you had scene changes how considerable would they need to be and why? Might
some scene changes merely involve adjustments to parts of a permanent set?
Might a minimalist set be best perhaps only making use of stage properties
(i.e. props)? Why?
How might scene changes be carried out? Would you rely on stage machinery or
stagehands or the actors themselves? Think of the effect a set can have on an
audience. It could be graphically realistic to reinforce the slice-of-life nature of the
play. It could be symbolic to help the audience focus on a particular theme in the
play. It could try to produce a particular atmosphere relevant to the play. It could
play around with perspective to support an expressionistic approach to the play.
And so on.
Here you could come up with a front elevation set drawing, a ground-plan, etc.
Lighting: Here you need to consider ways that lighting might support or stand in
for stage setting never forgetting the directors vision of the play and the
performance style that has arisen out of the vision. For instance, lighting is going
to be a lot less atmospheric perhaps totally unatmospheric in a #\Brechtian
product is likely to be a strong theatrical presence in an expressionistic production.
Here you could come up with impressionistic drawings or storyboarding that
would clearly convey lighting at key moments of the play. You could even come up
with a lighting plan.
Costume: Here you need to consider whether the directors vision of the play is
best served with costumes that are aligned with the set design (so that you have,
say, realistic historically accurate costumes within a painstakingly realistic set) or
not aligned with the set design (giving you, say, strange surreal costumes that will
inhabit a largely realistic set). And always give reasons for the decisions that you
arrive at, of course.
3. Then consider any additional spatial considerations. In 1 & 2 above you will
already have covered type of stage, auditorium and layout of set. Dont
forget, though, that sometimes the auditorium can be used by actors and in a
way even become part of the set, therefore. Also, crucially, the actors
themselves are the focus of any theatre space, and the choreography of key
moments (e.g. the end of Act 2 of The Visit) might be worth considering.
4. Finally, there are the aural effects to be considered. Here ask yourself if you
need any special sound effects and why. (Remember, you must always be
able to justify a decision made.) Would these effects just be coming from the
direction of the stage or might they envelope the auditorium as well? Why?
Might music be required? If so, when, what type exactly, and why? And
might the type of line delivery be relevant here? (Musical+unmusical).