Set design question

Question 1

Step 1:

Answer 1

State the location and 2 other functions / meanings the set can fulfil / communicate within the episode (period, context, character, mood, theme)

Question 2

Step 2:

Answer 2

Outline how the plays style will be significant in your design decisions, especially fitting with Treadwell’s demand of ‘quick changingness’ and set ‘full of character’. (expressionistic style with moments of naturalism, transitions between objectivity and subjectivity)

Question 3

Step 3:

Answer 3

Generic set design paragraph

Question 4

Generic set paragraph- sentence 1 and 2

Answer 4

I would use a thrust stage in an intimate auditorium. This ability to vary the proxemic intensity of the action to the audience will maximise the expressionism of the play with more overtly subjective moments (the subway journey to work in episode 1, monologues, etc) being enacted on the thrust.

Question 5

Generic set paragraph- sentence 3

Answer 5

A hydraulic level of about a foot would run across the back of the stage to exaggerate power dynamics and provide variety.

Question 6

Generic set paragraph- sentence 4

Answer 6

A variety of scenic devices will be used to achieve ‘quick changingness’ that Treadwell demands (trucks, flats from flies, cyclorama, etc).

Question 7

Generic set paragraph- sentence 5 and 6

Answer 7

A gauze curtain can be pulled across, isolating the thrust. This will reconfigure a largely open space quickly and with style.

Question 8

Step 4:

Answer 8

SKETCH THE SET layout as a ground-plan for the episode. About 1/3 of the page with detailed annotations

Question 9

Step 5:

Answer 9

Outline 3 elements of the set as it appears at the start of the extract:
What? How? Why?

Question 10

Step 6:

Answer 10

Choose a moment where the set is used significantly in the extract. Either:
- Character interacting with the set
- Reconfiguration of the set
What? How? Why?

Question 11

Step 7:

Answer 11

How you would use a similar scenic device / use of set elsewhere in the play to achieve quick-changingness / impact question has specified.