Theatre Arts Class
Production Design Unit
Name
To gain experience in various production areas, each student will choose a play or musical to
read and complete projects ranging from set design to publicity techniques. Throughout this
unit, students will complete teacher-selected elements as well as student-selected elements.
Required Elements:
Students will complete each of the following aspects:
 Write a play report over the play or musical you’ve selected.
 Write a press release for a performance of your chosen play
 Complete a poster design
 Complete a floor plan of the set (if there are multiple scenes, you only need to
complete one floor plan). The floor plan must be ¼” Scale.
 Create a costume design for one character
 Create a makeup design for one character
 Project of your choice --- see options below
Project Choices
Students will to choose one of the following for this unit.
 Build a model of your set design
 Draw a set rendering of your design
 Create a program layout
 Create a property plot
 Create three additional costume / make-up designs for more characters
 Develop a publicity campaign for your production.
 Perform a monologue or scene from the show (if you perform for another
person’s show, you can count it as extra credit!)
 Create a commercial advertising your show. (could be radio or tv)
 Create a Website for your production
 Choose two characters from the show and write a Character Biography for each.
 Your choice --- must be approved by the instructor!
(you can do additional projects from this list for extra credit)
To conclude this project – students will give an oral presentation to the class explaining the
play and each design element.
Another option --- you can work with a partner on this project if you wish ----- however, if
you do, then the requirements increase as follows:
 BOTH STUDENTS ARE INVOLVED IN ALL ASPECTS OF THE UNIT
 Complete a second floor plan IF there are multiple scenes in the show
 Each student creates a costume design for one character
 Each student creates a make-up design for one character
 Choose an additional “Project” to complete
AS YOU WORK ON EACH PHASE OF THIS UNIT ---- PLEASE CHECK WITH ME TO MAKE
SURE YOU ARE COMPLETING ALL THE REQUIREMENTS CORRECTLY. IF YOU HAVE
QUESTIONS AT ANY TIME --- JUST ASK!
Theatre Arts
Production Design Unit
Due Dates
Name
Date
Monday, April 15
Assignment
Begin unit –
search for play/musical
Tues/Wed, Apr. 16/17
Play chosen
Thurs/Fri, Apr. 18/19
Reading play
Monday, Apr. 22
Reading play / Work time
Tues/Wed, Apr. 23/24
Play Report Due
Thurs/Fri, Apr. 25/26
Press Release Due
Monday, Apr. 29
Costume/Makeup Design Due
Tues/Wed, Apr. 30/May 1
Poster Due
Thurs/Fri, May 2/3
Floor Plan Due
Monday, May 6
Project Due
Tues/Wed, May 7/8
Presentations (Seniors first)
Thurs/Fri, May 9/10
Presentations
Notes to Remember --
Completed
PRODUCTION DESIGN DESCRIPTIONS
***REQUIRED ELEMENTS***
THE PLAY REPORT – After reading the play, complete the play report form that is on the class
website. You may either print out the form to fill it out or you can copy it and paste it onto a
word document and type it.
PRESS RELEASE – This is information concerning the play and performance that is sent to the
media for them to use for newspaper articles or radio announcements. When writing this,
think of it as though you’re the one writing the article for the paper – you want to grab the
attention of your reader and get them interested in coming to see the show! The press release
should include performance information (place, dates, time, ticket prices, etc…) and a brief
description of the story and characters. Other information to include – director, designer,
cast members, etc…. This is a fictional performance so you can be creative with this
information!
POSTER DESIGN – The poster can be printed on letter size paper (8 ½” X 11”). Make this
look as neat as possible – even in color if you wish. You may choose the design that might
come with the show, or you might do your own. Of course, include all performance
information on the poster.
 Who is producing the play (example – Salina South)
 Title
 Playwright (musicals – Book, Lyrics, Music, etc…)
 Dates, time, location, ticket prices
 Licensing company (“Produced by special arrangement with…”) The script should
have the licensing company name on it – or you can go to www.findaplay.com to do a
search for the company.
FLOOR PLAN – Create a floor plan of one scene of your play.
This must be done to scale – ¼ inch or ½ inch. (1/4 of an inch = 1 foot, etc.) You can also
use SketchUp for this if you want (or any other program). You can create this floor plan on
blank paper or ask for a floor plan of our stage. I also can provide you with our stage on
SketchUp if you prefer to use that. I can provide you with examples of other floor plans and
loan you templates to use as well.
COSTUME DESIGN – You will design a costume for one character in your play. A form is
provided on the website for you to use. You’ll need to complete the information on the form
along with the design. Be sure the design is in color (not just pencil sketches). You may
want to include scraps of fabric with your design. (You are not required to use the template
– feel free to do your own sketch if you prefer!)
MAKEUP DESIGN – You will design makeup for characters from your play. A form is
provided on the website for you to use. You’ll need to complete the information on the form
along with the design. Be sure the design is in color not just pencil sketches. (You are not
required to use the template – feel free to do your own sketch if you prefer!)
PROJECT CHOICES -MODEL – create a model of the set for your play. This model should also be made to scale.
You should use cardboard or foam board for the model.
SET RENDERING – this is a drawing of the set as it would look from the audience’s point of
view. This would also need to be done to scale (as much as possible) – and in color. This is
basically an illustration of your set. The rendering can be done with colored pencils or on
the computer.
PLAYBILL LAYOUT – On a poster board, each page of the playbill would be presented. Items
you might choose to include – opening page, cast, crews, bios, ads, director’s note, etc… (All
items must be original – not ones which we have used in our programs.) The playbill should
be a minimum of 4 pages.
PROPERTY PLOT – a very detailed and organized plot of all props involved in the production.
Included in this plot would be a list of diagram of where props are preset, which character
uses them, which side of the stage they must be stored on before they’re brought onstage,
etc… Forms can be provided to aid with this plot.
PUBLICITY STRATEGIES OR TECHNIQUES – This would mainly be a written project
describing various publicity strategies for the production. Depending on the strategies, some
artwork might be needed as well. This could include ads for newspaper, radio spots… Any
creative ways to draw an audience! Also include a timeline of when certain things would
need to happen (for example – how many weeks prior to performance should an ad be
placed in the paper).
PERFORMANCE – As with all projects, please check with me for approval before beginning to
work on this. I would need to approve the scene you’ve chosen. For monologues, the time
limit should probably be around 2 minutes – duet scenes (or multiple character scenes)
would need to be around 5 minutes.
COMMERCIAL – Record a commercial (either radio or TV) advertising the production. The
commercial should be either 30 seconds or 1 minute in length. Please turn in a typed script
of the commercial as well. (The commercial could include an excerpt of the show and must
include performance info.)
WEBSITE – Create a website for your theatre’s production of your show. The page can
include links – but must include performance information. Can also include a logo of the
show, cast names and bios, etc…
CHARACTER BIOGRAPHY - a first person account of the character’s life from that character’s
perspective. (It’s really a character autobiography.) A character biography should be based
on information in the script, but it should also represent the imagination of the actor, who
has created extra details wherever information in the script is insufficient. The character
biography should focus on what happens to your character before the first curtain. The
character biography could also consider the various possibilities of what might happen to the
character after the play concludes.
YOUR CHOICE – I’m sure there are production elements I haven’t included that you might be
interested in – perhaps creating the costume you designed – maybe actually hanging the
lights or building some portion of the set – maybe even some research into the time period of
your show – or on the writers or original director. If you brainstorm a little, you might come
up with something you like better!
Just remember to get it approved first!
***OTHER STUFF***
The presentation is part of your grade as well.
REMEMBER TO USE YOUR CLASSTIME WISELY AND EFFICIENTLY!