INTRODUCTION
Creating appropriate environments for theatrical productions is a very ancient art. However, it was during the Italian Renaissance that scenography assumed the status of a profession. Since the Roman times, scene design has been an adjunct of architecture and painting. During the Renaissance, renowned painters and architects such as Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Sabastino Serlio (1475-1554), Nicola Sabbattini (1507-1573), and Aristotle de San Gallo (1481-1551), among many others gave scene design and construction enviable position in theatrical practice.
In spite of the concept of “the poor theatre” championed by Jerzy Grotowski, and the notion of the “empty space” envisioned by the American director, Peter Brook, which are frequently misinterpreted and misrepresented, contemporary theatre practice in its tendency towards realism, lays great emphasis on scenography as a means of enhancing meaning, clarifying emotions and moods, as well as depicting background of dramatic action.
In this unit, attempt will be made to explain the concept of scene design and construction, the nature and functions of scenery in productions, stage geography and the functions of the acting areas, as well as the factors that influence the practice of scene design and construction.
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3.1 The Concept of Scene Design
Scene design is defined by Domba Asomba as “the art of conceptualizing, planning or conceiving suitable dramatic environment to house a dramatic action” (6). Asomba further remarks that dramatic environment denotes “the totality of all the pieces of scenery including stage properties that culminate in defining the locality of the action” (6). From the fore-going, it is clear that scene design is an abstract effort. In design, one operates in the realm of dream and vision. Scene design involves thinking out the form and dimensions called up by the human imagination, and setting such ideas down on paper in form of a drawing or floor plan. At the level of scene design, we operate at the level of impression not actuality.
The setting of a play can be conceived in two broad ways. It can be conceived as two-dimensional, or as a three-dimensional solid object. It, however, can be projected by light. But we are not interested here in projected scenery. In the words of Domba Asomba, “a two-dimensional scenic unit is characterized by two perceptible dimensions, height and breadth.” He further states that in most cases, two-dimensional scenic unit “is unframed and soft due to the fact that it is made of fabric and allowed to drape or hang loosely on designed positions” (114). Examples of two-dimensional set include curtain, flat, and cyclorama.
On the other hand, a three-dimensional set unit is fundamentally characterized by three perceptible dimensions, length, breadth, (thickness) and height, and it is in “solid form” (133) Asomba expresses the view that this type of scenery is “designed and constructed as weight-bearing structure” (133). They carry the weight of the actors and actresses. Examples are chairs, tables, rostrums, benches, ramps, etc.
Scenery can either be representational or symbolic. According to Bowskill, “the aim of representational setting is to create the appearance of external actualities”, while the aim of symbolic setting is “to fire the imagination of the audience and suggest the presence of external actualities” (133).
SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1
What do you understand by scene design?
3.2 Factors That Influence Scene Design
Scene design is a dependent art. It, therefore, can hardly exist on its own. It is influenced by a good number of factors. Firstly, according to Albright et al, “scene design is an interpretative art”, because “a master plan-the script already exists” (234). A good design must meet the specific demands of the script. This is what Albright et al have in mind when they posit that “the best design gives visual substance to the same emotions and ideas as are revealed in the course of the performance” (234-5).
Another factor that influences design is the director’s concept and interpretation of the play. The designer must suit his ground plan or design to the director’s interpretation if unity of effect is to be guaranteed.
Scene design is also largely influenced by the nature of the stage on which the performance is to be given. It is quite preposterous, for example, to design a very elaborate scenery for a very narrow stage. So design is limited by the size of the stage and even the auditorium and the entire theatre architecture.
SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2
Discuss one factor that influences scene design.
3.3 Functions of Scenery
Although it is very much possible to do a performance “without the design element adduced to it” (Oni, 2005:76) it is eminently palpable that the design elements play interpretative and aesthetic functions in theatrical productions.
Aesthetically, scenery adds colour and grandeur to performances. It is on record that during the Italian Renaissance, many people attended
productions merely to enjoy the wonders of perspective painting.
According to Oscar G. Brockett and Franklyn Hildy, “it is not difficult to appreciate the fascination that perspective drawing had on the
Renaissance mind, for it seemed almost magical in its ability to
manipulate illusion”(129). By the eighteenth century, the Baroque style with its interest and tendency towards “grandeur, richness, movement and monumentality” (125) turned the living stage into “Alice in wonder land”.
Furthermore, scenery enhances believability. It helps the audience in its willing suspension of disbelief. Adepeju Layiwola explains this very well when he writes that scenery helps “the audience transcends the realm of illusion and begin to react as though the whole performance were real” (105).
Again, scenery helps to highlight human conditions. Through appropriate scenery, characters’ given circumstances, moods and temperament can be deciphered.
Symbolic setting encourages imaginative exploration. From what the audience sees, it can make an excursion into the unknown, in order to be able to gain knowledge of the subtext or the implicit meaning of the play.
Scenery can be a means of gaining knowledge of human history and cultural movements. It can tell us about aesthetic habit of different cultures and periods.
SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 3
List and explain two functions of scenery.
3.4 Qualities of a Good Designer
Although there is now an increasing tendency towards Realism or stage, it is not possible to achieve complete Realism on stage. What is possible is Selective Realism. As a result of this, a good scene designer must possess superb imaginative ability. This will assist him in making judicious selection of ideas that can be of help in interpreting the scenic environment of the play appropriately.
A good scene designer must be versatile in his knowledge of spatial art techniques. This is imperative because the designer’s language is not literary, but the “language of lines, mass, colour and dimension” (Asomba, 2000:14). This implies that the designer should knowhow to measure, draw and paint, etc.
Scenery plays supportive role in a dramatic production. It is, therefore, important that at the level of conception, the designer should be “thoroughly informed by the aesthetic and technical needs of the drama and its theatre, otherwise, it would lose its dependence and relativity” (8). What Asomba implies here is that the designer should from the period of conception, ensures that the setting helps to enhance the overall meaning of the play, and not to call attention to itself. In fact, he clarifies this when he observes that the constituents part of the scenery “are expected to be expressive of the action, and collectively or individually assist in advancing it in time and space” (9).
3.5 Means of Expressing Scene Design
We have already noted that the scene designer is a dreamer, a visioner. How then does he let others share his dream or vision? Asomba is of the express opinion that the scene designer “effects communication through varied mechanical drawings such as ground plans, elevations and detailed drawings of particularly complex and intricate structures in the setting” (15-16).
The designer’s concept of the dramatic environment can be expressed in three major ways: ground plan, perspective painting and three- dimensional model.
GROUND PLAN
The groundplan also referred to as the floor plan is an architectural way of depicting the arrangement of scenery on stage. It is “a comprehensive view of the stage perceived as if the compositional elements are each horizontally sliced into two, exposing their respective interior arrangements” (16). A groundplan is the design of the scenery as can be seen from above. A groundplan may be preceded by a sketch, but professionally, it is usually done to scale, taking the actual size and shape of the stage into cognisance. In ground plan, “positions of all items of scenery, props, doors, entrances, exits, as well as indications of height, sizes of steps and ramps, etc., as required by the particular productions are shown” (16). In groundplan, what the designer does is to attempt to economically share the available stage space to the many scenes (especially the major scenes) conceived by the playwright and the director.
PERSPECTIVE PAINTING
This is a method of using colours to paint the picture of the setting as it would appear when completed. Although “the details of sketch provide adequate guide to the construction and assemblage of the elements of the environment to the technicians “(Asomba, 19), it is inherent with some problems. Firstly, it is time consuming. Secondly, it does not indicate height and sizes of scenic units.
MODEL
Model is a three-dimensional solid structure indicating how the stage will look like when fully constructed. It is the stage in its miniature form. It is highly useful in explaining complex design. It shows all the items of the scenery, including the positions of lighting instruments. Although model is time consuming, it is the most unambiguous way of communicating the implications of design to the building crew. Asomba explained the advantages of a good model to include:
. A good model conveys a clearer picture of the proposed setting.
. It is a convenient single approach to communicating a designer’s
vision to members of a production team, particularly to some of them that are not sufficiently literate in the language of two-dimensional sketches.
. A good model exposes some constructional problems hitherto unenvisaged in conception.
. A good model helps the director in assessing the effectiveness of his kinaesthetic directions.
. Also, when students create models, they learn the practical process of scene craft.
ELEVATIONS
Ideally, the scene designer should follow his ground plan and perspective up with elevation drawings. Elevations are vertical views of scenic units. Elevations can show the front, top and side views of pieces of scenery. They are informative because they equip the technicians with the shape; size and in fact, all the dimensions of set pieces. According to Albright et al, Scene design is a spatial art, and as such, “the same principles of scale, balance and proportion which make the works or architecture, sculpture and painting pleasing to the eyes apply with equal value to the composition of the scene” (225). Apropos of this, Asomba notes that elevation drawings do not only “indicate the height and overall width of separate set piece”, they “more accurately represent the compositional arrangements” of all the set pieces “and arrangements” of all the set pieces “and their relationship in respect of proportion and distance from one another” (18).
SIGHTLINES
Sightlines can be better described than defined. How does the audience see the scenery from the auditorium? Are there portions of the set that are not visible to the audience? Answers to these questions will give us an idea of what sightlines means. A good designer ensures that he does not limit what the audience can see on stage. If some or any part of the scenery are hidden from the view of some members of the audience, it means that any dramatic action enacted there cannot be seen by such audience. Sightlines are lines of visibility.
How to guarantee proper sightlines is one of the major tasks of the designer. It is possible to ensure adequate sightlines if the designer knows the dimensions and shape of the stage his design will be realized on, and if such stage is not poorly constructed like most stages in Nigeria. However, in a nicely constructed stage, the designer ensures accurate sightlines through “sightline checks”. To carry out sight line check, a straight line is extended from the extremes of the last auditorium seats to whichever part of the stage with doubtful visibility. If the persons seated at those points can see that portion well, then adequate sightline is guaranteed, but when contrary is the case, necessary adjustment can then be made on the set.
SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 4
What is a model?
3.6 Stage Geography
For purposes of effective dramatic communication, the acting area is usually divided into imaginary parts like the lines of the equator. The composite form of these various parts of the acting areas is what is referred to as the stage geography. Basically we have nine parts. They include upstage right, left and Centre; Centre stage right, left and Centre, and Down stage right, left and centre. The down stage areas denote the acting areas very close to the audience, while the centre stage areas are those acting areas between the up stage and down stage regions.
Heffner et al cite Alexander Dean as positing that “these stage areas could each be differentiated in terms of strength”, and that each has “a distinct mood value” (289). For examples, the upstage areas are used for the enactment of remote actions and for the featuring of less important characters. Downstage areas are areas of dominance and authority. Powerful actions and characters are featured here. The centre stage is also an area of dominance. It is essentially used for greater focus and emphasis. A director, for example, can spoil “focus by upstaging the actor who is supposed to be the centre of interest” (286). Centre stage area is, therefore, the centre of attraction.
SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 5
What do you understand by stage geography?
3.7 Scene Construction
Scene construction deals with the actualization of the dream or vision of the designer in concrete terms. It is the process of building all the different set units and putting them together to form the dramatic environment. It is the translation of the language of lines into tangible objects.
At the head of the construction team is the technical director. In educational theatres, the designer sometimes doubles as the technical director. The technical director begins his work by “analyzing the designer’s plans, acquiring necessary materials that are needed to realize the design, preparing the work schedule by grouping it into series of project thus making a master schedule to guide construction” (Asomba, 2000:103). The building crew should possess sufficient skill in carpentry, or must be guided by a master carpenter.
Although the art of scene construction resembles industrial construction, the materials used in scene building differ from those used in industrial construction in terms of strength. Theatre is a temporal art. This temporal nature of the theatre, to a very large extent, dictates the kind of materials employed in constructing theatrical environment. In recognition of this fact, Asomba observes for example, that “the theatrical wall is designed and built for temporal habitation by characters in a dramatic action while the real house is for permanent occupation” (107). Bearing this in mind, the technical director or his agent should not go for very strong materials but for fragile ones. However, such materials should be “sufficiently solid and firm to withstand and absorb the often rough handlings and movements always associated with theatre productions and performances, and most importantly sustain the life span of the production” (106). In support of this idea, Albright et al state that “the permanence of drama, like the permanence of music, occupies a comparatively brief time, and although the script of a drama may be performed many times, each performance is a complete work of art” (226). In making flats, table, windows and doors, etc., white woods are recommended as against hard ones. Joinery should be done in such a way as to guarantee easy dismantling of set pieces. In painting, emulsion should be used instead of gross.
SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 6
How does theatrical scene construction differ from industrial construction?
4.0 CONCLUSION
In this unit, we explained the concept of scene design and construction, highlighting its role in theatrical productions. We maintained that in spite of the ideas of ‘the poor theatre’ and “empty space”, scenery plays interpretative and aesthetic functions in performances.
5.0 SUMMARY
In this unit, we specifically examined the concept of scene design; factors that influence scene design; functions of scenery; qualities of a good designer; means of expressing design; stage geography; and the idea of scene construction. We noted that the temporal nature of the theatre affects the choice of construction materials.
6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT
What is a groundplan?
7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS
Albright, H.D., William P. Halstead and Lee Mitchell (1968). Principles of Theatre Arts. 2nd Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Asomba, Domba (1000). Scene Design: Art and Craft. Ibadan: Caltop Publications.
Bowskill, Derek (1979). Acting and Stagecraft Made Simple. London: W. H. Allen.
Brockett, Oscar G. and Franklyn Hildy (1999) History of the Theatre Eighth Edition. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Heffner, Hubert C., Samuel Selden and Hunton D. Sellman (1967). Modern Theatre Practice: A Handbook of Play Production. New York: Appleton-Century-Croft.
Layiwola, Adepeju (2005). “Depicting Illusion as Reality: The Role of a Visual Designer in Sustaining Theatre Practice in Nigeria”
Nigerian Theatre Journal Vol.8, No.1.
Oni, Duro (2005). “Towards the Development of Theatre Practice in Nigeria: The Design/Technology Dimension.” Nigerian Theatre Journal. Vol. 8, No. 1.
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