UNIT 4

ming cho lee

dean of American scene design. minimalist sets, created environments. Hair, crucible, etc.

types of theaters

found space, proscenium arch, thrust stage, vows, arena theaters, black box

challenges with arena theaters

sight lines

expressionism 

sees through characters mind, point of view and feelings

surrealism

characters subconscious emphasized, dream scape, far from reality

symbolism

represent environments essence, metaphor

basic design elements

line, dimension, balance, movement, harmony, color, texture

computer aided design (CAD)

rendering of set, includes floor plans and elevations 

limelight

spotlights ignited with lime. stones that would glow

dimmer

cues, exact levels of light design program 

motivated light

identifiable source of light. lamp, candle, sun

non motivated light

reinforces mood

lighting plots

detail where and what light

gels 

lighting effect made of gelatin, now made of plastic 

gobos

metal cutouts. light goes through

costume plates

rendering of costume designers

set props

things on set, like furniture

hand props 

things actors handle 

set decorations

props actors never touch

straight makeup

doesn’t change features, only enhances

character makeup

make actor look like character

jo miezner 

scenic designer in 1900s. reads play first and understands text fully 

William Ivey long

costume designer, ‘one red dress per show’

Jennifer tipton

light designer. no one pays attention to lighting but ill always be effected by it. believes lighting and music are closely related

what designer looks for

location, historical period, time of day/year, mechanical requirements, deadlines, budgets, resources 

proscenium arch theatre

defined by picture frame that audience looks through. most broadway houses. has a lip/apron, drop, fly system, and wings

lip/apron

area in front of the curtain

fly system

over stage to fly scenery in or out

wings

off stage space on sides of the stage

thrust

stage is thrust into the audience. 3 sides of audience. has a vomitory

vomitory

spew forward. entrances in the aisles

a vista

in sight, moving furniture on stage

hays theatre is a…

thrust

which has more seats: hays or bushman

hays 

arena theatre

audience on all sides with vows. casa mañana used to be but now a thrust stage. arena is a good way to spend less money on scenery 

black box theatre

flexible space, configuration can change, lots of decisions

found space

not traditional space for a show

theatrical styles

realism, selective realism, expressionism, surrealism, symbolism

line

2D representations of what will become 3D

dimension

how does it fill the set? flat? 3D?

balance

how things fit or don’t fit together

movement

visual and physical

harmony

is everything working together well?

color 

pallet, feeling, mood 

texture

how things look like they would feel

ways to come up with costumes for a show

build, buy, rent, pull

costume parade

designer sees what works under the lights and on the set

scenic design

thumbnail sketch → floor/ground plans → elevation → sections → models/white models → renderings

thumbnail sketch

small quick idea. get first ideas out and pick a direction

floor/ground plans

Birds Eye view of set

elevation

how set will look from audience

sections

side ways view of set. helps with angles and sight lines 

models/white models 

not everything painted. helps director and actors see how set will be 

renderings

fancy, complete, full color elevation. final draft before built

use of CAD (computer aided design)

faster and can help designers

lighting designer before 1840s

God, all shows were matinees

sound support 

microphones 

sound mixing

how loud are which mics when? balance between band and singers

rock musical

uses rock music of certain decades

revue

program of numbers pulled from same artist

variety show

unrelated numbers

Vaudville decends from….

burlesque, began in 1840s 

music

orchestrated melodies, written by composer

lyrics

sung words. written by lyricist

book

spoken words/dialogue. written by book writer/librettist

book musicals

well developed story/characters. ex. fiddler on the roof

dance musicals 

feature work of director/choreographer. ex. fosse 

jukebox musicals 

built around existing music. ex. mamma Mia 

operatic musicals

less dialogue, dramatic. ex les mis

Sondheim

one of best composers/lyricists

overture

madly of shows songs played as preview

ballad

slower love song 

comedy number

provides comedic relief

showstopper

big production number

reprise

repetition of song, sometimes with new lyrics

comic opera

comedic interludes during intermissions

ballad opera

mixed popular songs with spoken dialogue during colonial time 

minstrel show

shows based on white interpretation of Black life. usually comedic but racist. ex. the black crook 

bollywood

entertainment/cinema in India, Bombay and Hollywood

straight plays

plays without music

opera

drama set entirely to music

operetta 

light opera, has some dialogue 

musical comedy

dialogue interspersed with music

musical

has more serious plot/theme

creativity

a discovery about invention or transformation. can be something new or something that already exists

types of intelligence

linguistic, musical, logical, spatial, bodily kinesthetic, personal

techniques

procedures that have been proven to work repeatedly and acquired through training and practice

talent

natural ability, has nothing to do with you

Donald newlove

says playfulness is a quality of genius

10,000 hour rule

time spent practicing before success

convergent thinking

measure by IQ and problem solving/rational thinking 

divergent thinking

ability to generate ideas and perspectives

sir ken robinson

says creativity is more than just imagination

problem solving

identify problem, break it down, brainstorm solutions, test solution

extant

something that already exists

characteristics of creative people

curious, concentrate, find/make order, mentally agile, willing to accept failure

to become more creative…

consider environment, temper criticism, assess motivation, schedule, let mind wander, be alone, change life, work ethic

purpose of a song in a musical

advance the plot and reveal more character 

grand opera

peaked in 19th century, includes Wagner, Puccini, Mozart, Rossini, handle

comic opera

late 1800s, run by Gilbert and Sullivan, (HMS Pinafore, pirates of penzance, mikado)