SET DESIGN: CRITTIQUE AND EVALUATION

History of design

Greek - Medival - Restoration

A Early stage sets for opera

Drotingholm theatre - 1776 The theatre and the original sets are still there and preserved and

6still working.

Audiences wanted the spectacle, trap doors, moving scenery, coming down from the top of
percenium, ect.

Set pieces were done by set painters not designers.

Donato Stopani, from italy and helped develop set design at the theatre.

B Realism

mid 19th centuary. Philosphy of naturalism.

How do we make things appear as real as possible?

Ibsen, Chekhov, Stanislavsky.

Set designers became more then scenic painters.

Idea of the forth wall comes here.

C Reaction to realism, Expressionism and symbolism.

Swiss- Alolphe Appia (1862-1928)

British- Gordon Craig (1872-1966) wrote "the art of the theatre", where he advocated that
theatre is an idependant art the yields actions words lines and rythym into an artistic whole,
therefore a dirrector is needed.

D Modern scenic design, post WW2

Jo Mielziner (1901-1976) - Designer streetcar named desire, death of a salesman. "If you
eliminate non essentials, then you have to make sure the things you ut in your set are good,
twice as good."

lighting began to evolve so lighting became much more important and involved.
Epic theatre, Brecht, actors didnt pretend to be anywhere other then a theatre. RENT last year,

E Into the 21st centuary

Canadian Robert Le Page, (1957- )

actor, designer, playwright, The anderson project

Bunny Christie