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Chapter 11 – Image Makers: Designers (Scenery, Costumes, Makeup, Masks, Wigs, and Hair) Stage-designing should be addressed to [the] eye of the mind. There is an outer eye that observes, and there is an inner eye that sees. —Robert Edmond Jones Chapter Summary • Designers of theatrical sets, costumes, masks, puppets, hair, and wigs realize the production in visual terms. • They are visual artists who transform space and materials into an imaginative world for actors engaged in human action. The Scene Designer • Background: – Scenic artist (19th century): • Painted large scenic backdrops – Scene (or set) designer: • Rise of realism and naturalistic theatre created demand for more complex sets. • Sets required to look like what they represent. The Scene Designer Courtesy Arena Stage • Early 20th century innovators: – Adolphe Appia – Edward Gordon Craig • Reinterpreted function of set and set design: – Create mood – Open stage up for movement – Unify visual ideas • Moved beyond illusion of stage realism: – Stage can be expressive Ming Cho Lee’s Design for K2 Scene Design as Visual Storytelling • Designer as detective: – Uncovers visual clues that reveal inner life of play • Approaches: – Begins with script analysis: • Literary (theme, mood, setting, etc.) • Practical (entrances, exits, properties, etc.) – Creates sketches, models – Works with director to decide on look, details – Designer’s plans given to production manager, technical director, shop foreman Scene Designer Spotlight • Adolphe Appia (1862-1928): – Considered unity to be the basic goal of theatrical production – Disliked contradiction of three-dimensional actor and flat backdrop – Used ramps, steps, platforms to give depth – Role of lighting to fuse visual elements into whole Bruce Goldstein/Courtesy Guthrie Theatre The Costume Designer Patricia Zipprodt’s Costumes for Molière’s Don Juan • Costume: – All garments and accessories, wigs, makeup, and masks – Tells us about characters: • Social position, economic status, occupation, etc. • Relationship of characters to each other – Tells us about play: • Sets mood, establishes setting The Costume Designer • In past, costumes were handled by actor, manager • Costume designers emerged in last 80 years: – New stagecraft required detail-oriented specialists. • Typical responsibilities of costume designer: – Costume research – Sketching – Preparing costume plates – Assessing color choices – Choosing fabric The Costume Designer • Large costume houses: – Broadway Costume Rental, Inc. (Queens, N.Y.) – Western Costume Company (North Hollywood) – Warner Studios (Burbank, CA) – Malabar Ltd. (Toronto) • Rent and make costumes on demand • Costume Collection and Odds Costume Rental & Fur (New York City): – Rent to nonprofit organizations The Costume Designer: Process • Design conferences: – Forum for working out overall production plan • Costume construction: – Director approves designs. – Designer arranges for construction, purchase, or rental of costumes. – Director and designer examine costumes on actors (dress parade). • Dress rehearsal: – Costumes, makeup, and masks are worn onstage with full scenery and lights. Makeup • Enhances the actor and completes the costume • In theatre, compensates for audience distance • Helps reveal character: – Age – Background – Ethnicity – Heath – Personality – Environment Makeup • Ancient Greeks used white-lead makeup. • Modern makeup: – Foundation (prevents “washed out” look under lights) – Cake makeup (less greasy than oil-based) – Color shadings applied with pencils, brushes – Synthetic hair, glue, solvents, wax, hair whiteners Makeup • Straight makeup: – Highlights an actor’s features and coloring – Distinctness and visibility • Character (illustrative) makeup: – Transforms actor’s features to reveal age or attitude – Noses, wrinkles, eyelashes, jawlines, eye pouches, eyebrows, teeth, hair, beards, etc. • Fantasy makeup: – Responsibility of designer (as opposed to actor) Masks • Ancient masks: – Originally thought to have supernatural powers – Enlarged actor’s facial features – Expressed basic emotions (especially Greek masks) • Modern masks: – Masked actor creates different presence onstage. – Mask must be comfortable, strong, light, and molded to the contours of the actor’s face. Wigs and Hair Design: Process • Meeting between wig designer and costume designer: – Meeting with actor – Measurements taken • Discussion of color and practical considerations (e.g., hats, changes to hair during play) • Construction: – Base constructed of lace – Ventilated (strands of hair knotted in place) Core Concepts • All good theatrical design enhances the actor’s presence and supports the director’s interpretation of that world— developing, visualizing, illuminating, and enriching it.