Edexcel GCSE Drama: Designing Drama

Find out the exact size of the area you are designing for. Then you can work out a realistic size for the scenery you are placing in it. Let’s say that your stage area for an end-on configuration is: 5 metres wide by 4 metres deep. • You have allowed 1 metre behind the run of flats at the back so that the doors can open outwards. This means the acting area will be 5 metres wide and 3 metres deep. • The two outer flats at the back are going to be 1.5 metres wide. The centre one will be 2 metres wide to include the opening doors. • You are going to make your free-standing flats 1 metre wide (2 metres high works well). • The rug is 2 metres square, laid at an angle. • A net/voile curtain does not appear on the sketch, but will be added to the ground plan. Ground plans A ground plan is a bird’s eye view. If you are looking straight down you would see width and depth, but not height. It should represent the performance space, ‘including entrances and exits, audience positioning and stage furniture (as appropriate)’. The information and sketch on the previous page can be transformed into a ground plan at 1:20 scale, below. Use an ordinary metal rule to create a 1:20 scale: 5cm on the plan represents 100cm (1 metre) on the stage. Simple annotations and a key help to make details clear. DESIGN TIP Keep a tape measure handy! LOOK HERE See page 215 for advice on including levels in your design. DESIGN TIP Some theatre designers use a scale of 1:25. Choose a scale that is most suitable to you. 21 Chapter 1 Practical Guide to Set Design