Set Design
with Chris Rovers
Agenda
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Intended Audience
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About Set Design / Terminology
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Reading a Script with an Eye to Sets
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Set Design Plus Plus
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Set Design – A Balancing Act
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Set Design with 3D Modeling
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Example Designs
Intended Audience
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Aimed primarily at low-budget community
theatre
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People interested in doing Set Design
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Directors, Stage Managers and actors
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Build crew
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Anybody else interested...
About Set Design
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A Set Designer is part of the Artistic Staff of
the production
May also be the tech director, lighting
director or other role – but may not be
A collaborative effort – working to make a
concrete design from the director's vision
and adding vision of your own
Must work with the costume designer, prop
designer, lighting designer, etc to create a
stage vision that works
Terminology
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Types of stages : Proscenium, Arena
(theatre-in-the-round), alley, thrust
Parts of a set : Flats, drapes, flies, risers,
platforms
Positions : Director, Stage Manager,
Designers, Technical Director, Props
Master, Stagehands, Cast, etc
Parts of a Set
Script Reading
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Script reading is different as a set designer
– you need to be very focused on the
physical
Make careful notes of everything the
characters touch, open, cross, look at, etc
Don't forget the emotional impacts, too –
sets can highlight or contrast with the
action
Example Script Section
From “Moonchildren”, by Michael Weller
Dick enters and shuts the door. Silence. Seconds later the
stage is light again, this time from an icebox that Dick
opened, which has an automatic light inside … The
kitchen can be dimly seen now. The icebox is ancient; a
box on legs with a barrel-shape cooler on top. On the
door, perhaps not yet visible, is written GOD IS COOL.
Hundreds of empty two quart milk bottles line the walls,
layer on layer with planks in between each level... The
floor is imitation cork vinyl tiles, alternating light and dark,
… but the floor is only half finished... The kitchen table is
round and set about with six unmatched chairs. Clutter.
Posters. A map of Europe on one wall...
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Read the script with a notepad, making
clear notes about entrances, exits,
furniture, levels – everything explicit in the
script
These notes are starting points, but the
idea is to prevent yourself from being
blindsided later – err on the side of noting
something
Consider the emotional impact of scenes
and consider whether there's something
scenic that could add
Consider the overall theme of the play
Set Design ++
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Sets can be simple or complicated – there's
nothing wrong with a basic black set, but
choosing one should be a choice
Consider adding levels – they can create
intimacies or create excitement and movement
Consider thrust, arena or alley stages
Consider using audience areas for part of the
play
Be willing to be audacious in design at this point!
There is time to tone back later
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Take these notes and add to them what you know of
the director's vision / the production's theme
Consider the theatre you will be doing this in – and
get dimensions for the stage!
Sketch rough designs for key scenes – I almost
always include Act One, Scene One, but also any
other critical moments
Take these sketches and your notes to the
Artistic/Design meeting, which should take place
early in a production's lifecycle, well before auditions
Consider multiple versions – a thrust version vs a
proscenium, for instance
The Balancing Act
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The artistic/design meeting should include the
director and as many designers as possible
Having sketches and designs early (and not being
attached to them) makes it easier for directors to
figure out what they want and express it – blank
slates can be difficult, but modifying an idea is easier
Remember your colours need to play nice with
costumes and lights
You need to work with props to figure out which
physical things will be owned by who
Remember, you are there to bring the director's
vision to life. Your ideas are important, but not the beall and end-all!
Be Flexible and Communicate
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Remember, the director will almost certainly
have different/more/fewer entrances and
exits than are written in the script
Get the Stage Manager a copy of the set
diagram ASAP
Keep in touch with the Stage Manager to
find out any blocking issues
More Balancing
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Not only is there “vision” to balance, but
there is reality to worry about too
Consider budget, safety and technical
feasibility before settling on a design
Difficult isn't reason enough to reject a
design – be willing to be challenging and
challenged, but safety is reason enough to
change directions
Safety Balancing
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Just because sets are temporary, doesn't mean they
can be unsafe – consider strength and stability of
things
Steps within a stairway should always be the same
height
Where possible, steps should have handrails
(especially backstage)
Be very aware of safety when hanging things (good
rule of the thumb – 10x as strong as it needs to be)
Make sure backstage will be safe with your design
Technical Feasibility
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If you aren't the one building it, make sure
you consult with the one who is before
finalizing a design
When designing, try to consider how
something could be built – it doesn't have
to be the way it will be built, but it is nice to
have an answer if someone asks
With ambitious designs, consider a second
opinion – use your resources
Budget Balancing
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Make the most out of existing resources – theatres
tend to have prebuilt flats, platforms and risers in set
sizes – strongly consider using those sizes where
possible
Know what other hardware is available to you without
buying
Start looking for borrowed furniture / etc early, but be
aware of what abuse it might take
Leverage second hand stores / the ReStore
extensively
Don't forget taxes and extras when budgeting –
ideally save 10% of the budget for unexpected
surprises
Balancing - Conclusion
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Your job is to come up with a design that is
safe, in budget and buildable, that also
fulfills the director's vision, works with the
lighting, set, props, stage movement and
costume design, as well as includes your
own creativity
Sounds a tall order, but mostly amounts to
common sense and communication – lots
of talking, with everyone!
Set Design with 3D Modeling
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Not all of us are gifted artists, so we can
leverage technology to help us get our
ideas across
Can export as images to use as floor plans
(use the top-down camera + dimensions)
Can create libraries of commonly used
components (flats, etc)
Google Sketchup – free, good, easy to use,
with good tutorials
Examples
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These are some examples of sets I've done
for KWLT and TenBareToes
I've tried to pick out some sets that are as
different from each other as possible
The Penelopiad, By Margaret Atwood,
Directed by Janelle Mifflin, KWLT 2010
Three Musketeers by Willis Hall, Directed By Anita Kilgour,
KWLT 2007
The Lion In Winter by James Goldman, directed by Douglas
Morton, KWLT 2005
Moonchildren by Michael Weller, Directed by Andrea Kerswell,
KWLT 2006
Moonchildren by Michael Weller, Directed by Andrea Kerswell,
KWLT 2006 (actual photo)
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, Directed by
Angela Yeates, KWLT 2008
Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare, Directed by Anita
Kilgour, TenBareToes 2010
Resources
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Books :
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“The Handbook of Set Design” by Colin Winslow
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“Technical Theatre for Non-Technical People” by
Drew Campbell (sounds like for non-techies, but
unless you've got a theatre degree, you'll learn
something)
Programs :
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My Sketchup Files :
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Google Sketchup - http://sketchup.google.com/
Email me - crovers@gmail.com
Mailing Lists :
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Stagecraft - http://stagecraft.theprices.net/