Scene Design

Course Details

Course Number: 4363 Section Number: 01

Spring 2013

Location: Fain Fine Arts Center

Classroom Number: B120

Days & Times:

10:00am M - W - F

Course Attachments

Textbooks

MSU Faculty Member

Don Henschel Jr.
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Course Objectives

Objectives:

To understand the place of scenic design in the composite art of theatre.
To reinforce the skills of sketching, mechanical drafting, computer-aided drafting and watercolor rendering.
To analyze a script in scenic terms, completing scenic designs for several productions. The final project will include all working drawings necessary to fabricate.
To develop a beginning design portfolio one might show a prospective employer or graduate school.

Course Expectations

The Plan:

We will be exploring the art and craft of Scenic Design in this course. We will examine it as an element of the composite art of theatre. While scene design shares the elements of line, form, mass, value, and color with other easel, architectural, and sculptural arts, much is different. The stage designer is never faced with a blank canvas. Usually he has a script, a playing space, a budget, time restrictions, labor constraints, and a group of collaborative artists including a director to help channel his efforts.

There will be little lecture in this course. Most classes will be spent drafting, painting, and/or model building. Consequently, you'll need to attend, have your supplies and equipment, and be working. If you don't have your equipment and/or supplies and are not working – you'll be asked to leave and counted absent for the day. The question should never be, "What do I have to do?" It should be, "Oh goodness! How much time do I have left?"

A good deal of reading and work is required outside of the class hours. We will begin with the principles of design and the functions of scene design, move through problem solving and into four design projects. Around mid-semester, we well each report on one of the designers in the text, going well beyond the text-provided material. Perhaps a powerpoint presentation would be in order.

The projects consist of:

1. Oedipus the King – Sophocles – Single formal set. For this project we will study the script, research and collect imagery from the time period, creating a 3/8" scale ground plan and a 1/8" scale model, placing the show on our main stage.

2. The Playboy of the Western World – Synge – Single box interior for which we will create a 3/8" scale ground plan and a ½" scale model, again placing it on our stage.

3. Your Choice – Multiscene show. CAD drawings, complete to build and renderings for each scene.

Each of these designs will be included in showings in the foyer of the

Fine Arts Building. Each sketch or model will need to be complete, labeled, and presentable. This collection could well comprise your table at URTA auditions! The first will include a concept statement, and a 1/8" scale model. The next two do not demand a model. The final project will include sketches and/or model(s) and thorough draftings necessary to build and paint in addition to those items listed above.

Grading Standards

Grading:

Three or four grades will be earned for each of the three major projects, at 20% per project. Missing a deadline merits no credit. Could we hold a curtain to finish a set? No! Additionally there will be several quizzes on the chapters in the text, for 20% and a final comprehensive exam earning the last 20%.

Final Exam5/7/2013 1:00

Submission Format Policy

Scene Design Equipment and Materials

Essentials:

T-Square

Adjustable triangle

30/60 triangle – 18" (or large as can be found)

Architect's scale rule (be careful – not metric!)

Bow compass (school version will suffice)

Drafting pencils (#4, H, 2H are good to start)

Sketching pencils (#2 and softer)

Soft white or pink eraser

Erasing shield (with row of holes is best)

Dry cleaning pad or shaker (can be shared)

Drafting brush (can be shared)

Drafting or masking tape or dots (can be shared)

Set of French curves

Sketchbook

Drafting paper – I'll provide plotter, but not 81/2 x 11 printer paper.

Watercolors, Guache, or acrylics

Color slant

Brushes #6 or #8 round for a start

White school glue - Hobby Lobby's "Tacky glue" is good and cheap.

Exacto knife and lots of blades

Cold press illustration board

Since you'll need most of this equipment most days, I'd strongly suggest you clear and claim a locker in the scenic studio and put a padlock on it. People will borrow your stuff and they don't always get it back. Avoid all the weeping and gnashing of teeth!

Other handy items:

Adjustable curve

Templates of almost everything but especially

Circles, Ellipses, Squares, Furniture,

Electric pencil sharpener

Electric eraser

Beam compass

Tube – drafting carrier

Old books – on drafting, architecture, furniture, interiors, exteriors,

Note: You may not submit a paper for a grade in this class that already has been (or will be) submitted for a grade in another course, unless you obtain the explicit written permission of me and the other instructor involved in advance.

Plagiarism Policy Plagiarism is the use of someone else's thoughts, words, ideas, or lines of argument in your own work without appropriate documentation (a parenthetical citation at the end and a listing in "Works Cited")-whether you use that material in a quote, paraphrase, or summary. It is a theft of intellectual property and will not be tolerated, whether intentional or not.

Student Honor Creed

As an MSU Student, I pledge not to lie, cheat, steal, or help anyone else do so."

As students at MSU, we recognize that any great society must be composed of empowered, responsible citizens. We also recognize universities play an important role in helping mold these responsible citizens. We believe students themselves play an important part in developing responsible citizenship by maintaining a community where integrity and honorable character are the norm, not the exception. Thus, We, the Students of Midwestern State University, resolve to uphold the honor of the University by affirming our commitment to complete academic honesty. We resolve not only to be honest but also to hold our peers accountable for complete honesty in all university matters. We consider it dishonest to ask for, give, or receive help in examinations or quizzes, to use any unauthorized material in examinations, or to present, as one's own, work or ideas which are not entirely one's own. We recognize that any instructor has the right to expect that all student work is honest, original work. We accept and acknowledge that responsibility for lying, cheating, stealing, plagiarism, and other forms of academic dishonesty fundamentally rests within each individual student. We expect of ourselves academic integrity, personal professionalism, and ethical character. We appreciate steps taken by University officials to protect the honor of the University against any who would disgrace the MSU student body by violating the spirit of this creed. Written and adopted by the 2002-2003 MSU Student Senate.

Students with Disabilities The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact the Disability Support Services in Room 168 of the Clark Student Center, 397-4140.

Safe Zones Statement The professor considers this classroom to be a place where you will be treated with respect as a human being - regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, political beliefs, age, or ability. Additionally, diversity of thought is appreciated and encouraged, provided you can agree to disagree. It is the professor's expectation that ALL students consider the classroom a safe environment.

Contacting your Instructor All instructors in the Department have voicemail in their offices and MWSU e-mail addresses. Make sure you add your instructor's phone number and e-mail address to both email and cell phone lists of contacts.

Other Policies

This is the plan and, while things may come up necessitating changes, we'll try to stick with it and get you out of here with four decent projects in your design portfolio. This is the work that may well gain you entrance to a graduate program or into an employment situation. A student appearing before the Readmission Committee, trying to get back into school early after a suspension said he, "couldn't wait to get through with this stuff and on with his life." Well, this is your life! It's challenging. It's work. If done well, it's incredibly satisfying, and it doesn't get much better until someone is paying you a sizable chunk of money for it.

"A stage designer is, in a very real sense, a jack-of-all-trades. They can make blueprints and murals and patterns and light plots. He can design fireplaces and bodices and bridges and wigs. She understands architecture, but is not an architect,... he or she can paint a portrait, but is not a painter: creates costumes,

but is not a couturier. Although we are able to call upon any or all of these varied gifts at will, we are not concerned with any one of them to the exclusion of the

others, nor interested in any one of them for its own sake. These talents are only the tools of our trade... the designer in the theatre is "an artist of occasions." R.E. Jones.

Writing Proficiency Requirement All students seeking a Bachelor's degree from Midwestern State University must satisfy a writing proficiency requirement once they've 1) passed English 1113 and English 1123 and 2) earned 60 hours. You may meet this requirement by passing either the Writing Proficiency Exam or English 2113. Please keep in mind that, once you've earned over 90 hours, you lose the opportunity to take the $25 exam and have no option but to enroll in the three-credit hour course. If you have any questions about the exam, visit the Writing Proficiency Office website at http://academics.mwsu.edu/wpr, or call 397-4131.