Theatre Spaces And Scenic

Design Richard Woods,

Georgia’s School Superintendent
“Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org

Set design model by Marcel Jambon 1895

04/01/2021
Richard Woods, Georgia’s School Superintendent | Georgia Department of Education | Educating Georgia’s Future
 Theatre Spaces Richard Woods,
Georgia’s School Superintendent
“Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org

• Proscenium or
picture-frame stage​
• Thrust stage​
• Arena stage
(theatre in-the-
round)​
• Created or found
spaces

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 1. Proscenium stage​ Richard Woods,
Georgia’s School Superintendent
“Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org

• House is frontal to stage, often raked​ • Used for spectacle​

• Introduced in the Italian Renaissance​ • Can be remote and formal​
• Box set with “fourth wall removed”​ • Japanese Kabuki stage​

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 2. Thrust stage​ Richard Woods,
Georgia’s School Superintendent
• Audience on three sides ​ “Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org

• Greek and Roman theatres

were thrust​
• Platform stages​
• Shakespeare’s Globe​
• Japanese Noh stage​

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 3. Arena stages​ Richard Woods,
Georgia’s School Superintendent
“Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org

• Audience on all sides, similar to boxing rings​

• Allows for most intimacy and economy​
• Medieval theatre in-the-round​
• Drawback: difficult to work in

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 4. Created or found spaces​ Richard Woods,
Georgia’s School Superintendent
“Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org

• Medieval theatre in churches​

• Renaissance: innyards, tennis courts​
• Today: avant-garde theatre, street theatre​

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 Other types of spaces​ Richard Woods,
Georgia’s School Superintendent
“Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org

• Multi-focus spaces​
• sometimes with multimedia​
• Experimental spaces (aka
black boxes)​

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 Scene Design Richard Woods,
Georgia’s School Superintendent
“Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org

Adolphe Appia 1862-1928

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 First rule of Design​ Richard Woods,
Georgia’s School Superintendent
“Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org

• The designers do not always

build the technical aspects but
they are responsible for the
safety of the performers. 
This is true for all elements of
design.  ​
• Safety and practicality are
the first elements of design. 
Artistic qualities, while the
most noticed aspect, are
secondary. 

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 Objectives of Scene Design​ Richard Woods,
Georgia’s School Superintendent
“Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org

• Set tone and style​

• Establish locale and period​
• Develop design concept​
• Provide a central image or metaphor​
• Coordinate with other production elements​
• Solve practical problems

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 Establishing tone or mood​ Richard Woods,
Georgia’s School Superintendent
“Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org

• Scenic design often sets the tone of a piece be establishing the style
of the play.​
• Style is the manner in which things are done.​
• Style can also mean a set of rules which distinguishes a distinct period
or type of play​
• One of the most important distinctions in style is realism or non realism​

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 Realism ​ Richard Woods,
Georgia’s School Superintendent
“Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org

• Realism in scenic design indicates an

attempt to represent life in a on stage in
the manner similar to how the audience
visually perceives the world in real life.
• Every thing in the production conforms
to our observations of the world
around us.​

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 Non Realism​
​
Richard Woods,
Georgia’s School Superintendent
“Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org

• Non realism uses symbols and

conventions to get at another
truth in life other than the one
we can readily observe.​
• Flashback scenes​
• Exaggerated set pieces.​
• Colors that represent the
mood of the play rather than
the actual environment.​

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 Design Concept​ Richard Woods,
Georgia’s School Superintendent
“Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org

• Much like the directorial concept the designer has a

central idea of how to go about the set design.​
• Design concept must be an amplification of
the directors central concept.  The design
concept must be related to the central image that
the director has chosen.​
• The Scenic designer, within that context, is the sole
artist for the set.  ​
• All elements of the set must be done on purpose. 
Each element contributes to the whole image. ​

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 Local or period​
​
Richard Woods,
Georgia’s School Superintendent
“Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org

• The location and period must not only convey the setting of the
time period and geographic location of the play but also the
relationship the characters have with the location and period.
• The Design Concept should be evident in conveying this
information.

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 Five Elements of Scene Design​ Richard Woods,
Georgia’s School Superintendent
“Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org

• Line​
• Mass​
• Composition​
• Texture​
• Color​

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 Physical aspects of Scenic Design​
Continued​
Richard Woods,
Georgia’s School Superintendent
“Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org

• Line variations affect the effect of the set​

• Mass- also contributes to the artistic quality of
the set.  ​
• Composition- the balance and
arrangement of elements​
• Color has many variations than can affect the
overall set.​

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 Terms​ Richard Woods,
Georgia’s School Superintendent
“Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org

• Tracks, used to slide scenery on and off

stage, and wagons, moveable flat platforms, are
early conventions of scenic design which cam after
the raked stage​
• Treadmills and turntables are also used, but they
came much later, Mid 1800’s.​
• Most theatres still require a heavy crew to
move scenery smoothly during production.  ​
• Big houses can program mechanical movement
to happen during the show.  ​

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 Flats​ Richard Woods,
Georgia’s School Superintendent
“Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org

• The Flat’s, background scenic pictures,

that were slid in the tracks of the early stage
are often flown in and out from the fly loft.​
• Often modern flats are not made of canvas, but
rather out of cheap wood, tv flats.​
• Cut out- Cheaply constructed elements
of scenery like rocks or stumps.​

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 Flats​ Richard Woods,
Georgia’s School Superintendent
“Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org

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 Steps in the Design Process​ Richard Woods,
Georgia’s School Superintendent
“Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org

• Reading of script​
• Design conference(s) with
director and with the other
designers​
• It is important that all
elements of
the production are on the
same page​

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 Thumbnails
Richard Woods,
Georgia’s School Superintendent
Tiny little sketches about ideas for the set.​ “Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org
(second design meeting)
​

Set design for Arsinoe by Sir James Thornhill, pen, ink and wash, England, 1705

Richard Woods, Georgia’s School Superintendent | Georgia Department of Education | Educating Georgia’s Future
 Renderings Richard Woods,
Georgia’s School Superintendent
“Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org

Full Color Drawings of the Proposed Finished

Set

Richard Woods, Georgia’s School Superintendent | Georgia Department of Education | Educating Georgia’s Future
 White Model​ Richard Woods,
Georgia’s School Superintendent
“Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org

• A white model is needed is a, to scale, model made

out of materials like matte board or balsa wood

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 Plans and blueprints go to Technical Director​
​
Richard Woods,
Georgia’s School Superintendent
“Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org

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 Sources and References Richard Woods,
Georgia’s School Superintendent
“Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org

• http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/0-9/19th-century-
theatre/
• https://www.graphicine.com/adolphe-appia-in-depth/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre_in_the_round
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colosseum
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proscenium
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrust_stage
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scenic_design#/media/File
:Marcel_Jambon_-_Giuseppe_Verdi_-_Otello_Act_I_se
t_design_model.jpg
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_box_theater
Richard Woods, Georgia’s School Superintendent | Georgia Department of Education | Educating Georgia’s Future