WJEC/Eduqas GCSE Drama: Designing Drama

UNDERSTANDING DESIGN IN DRAMA AND THEATRE THEATRE DESIGN The focus of this book is design: the theatrical elements of set, costume, lighting and sound. Often known as stagecraft, design covers all the creative, non-performing aspects of staging a theatrical production for an audience. As a student of Drama, you might have experienced the thrill that comes from putting on a costume or feeling the lights come up on you at the beginning of a scene. While actors wearing simple black outfits can create powerful drama on their own, the integration of performance and theatrical design generally lifts the experience to another, higher, level. Working in design Theatre design has evolved over the centuries, and the roles of the designers are as necessary in today’s professional theatre as those of director and actor. If theatre design and the technical elements of lighting, sound, costume or set excite you – and you don’t mind the travelling that is often involved – careers in the backstage elements of theatre are certainly to be found. Many colleges, universities and drama schools have courses for designers and technicians that you could investigate to follow on from your Drama courses in school. In addition, the skills required for theatre lighting, costume, make-up and sound apply equally well to the music, television, film and festival industries. These are interesting careers with potentially more employment opportunities compared with acting for example. FOCUS • How design elements enhance theatre. • A brief guide to the design process. Fi Carrington, a freelance wardrobe supervisor and costume designer, says: I trained on a theatre costume design course and now do some teaching on a degree course. Most of the students don’t have too much difficulty getting freelance work in theatre, film and television. Theatre designers, directors and performers work together to create an artistic vision. Most often, this theatrical vision creates a harmonious world on the stage. The role of design in drama The role of a theatre designer involves working with a director and other designers to produce workable design ideas for a drama production. There is usually an element of research to be done in relation to the script and historical periods and contexts, for example. The designer and director will eventually agree final, budgeted designs and then begin the creation of these in terms of: • making costumes and sets • setting plans for rigging, operating and cueing lighting and sounds. Adaptations to these final designs might be needed as the performance grows closer and issues crop up during rehearsals. 10 Understanding Design in Drama and Theatre