THR 161 - Design for the Theatre

1 course unit

An introduction to ‘total design’ for the stage using a text-based approach to generate and test ideas as the core of creating a design. With the actors as the central focus of concentric rings of aesthetic choices, analysis would include a study in each successive circle: costume design - the fluid layer moving with the actor; stage properties - the objects the actor immediately uses; scenery - the contained world of the play; lighting design - the revelation of the physical world; and sound design - the most unconscious mood-maker onstage. The course will introduce the beginning stage designer to the creative process of making “art” onstage that is forged through a strong visual production concept.
Meets general academic requirement A and effective Fall 2013 AR.