Design (DESG-GT)

Scenic Design III builds on the foundation of a design process established in Scenic Design II.In Scenic Design III we will focus on completion of ideas. We will work on 1 project (Thesis) forthe semester. The course is very text based. Each week we will dive deeper into the text andfocus intently on the scene by scene structure. You will present model work & drafting tosupport your ideas weekly. Critiques will move around the room based on scenes rather thanan individual person so everyone’s work will need to be up and ready to go at the top of class at1pm. ½” model work is preferred. Drafting can be ¼” or ½”. All models need to be lit, lightingoptions discussed in class. All models need scale figures and at least 1 row of audience seats.Group discussion is the basis for this class. Be prepared to speak about the text, your work andother’s work weekly. No cell phone usage during class. We will have 2-10 min breaks.

In Production Design II you will create a Production Design for a screenplay of your ownchoosing. (You must work from a complete shooting script in English, and your choice of filmmust be approved before the semester begins.) Your thesis project is no more -- or less --important than any of the projects you will have completed to date. The intention is for you tobuild on the momentum generated during the first semester: to become ever more conscious ofthe ways in which “the personal” informs “the visual,” and to gain more confidence (as astoryteller) by designing a Story which is grounded in your own interests.

The goal of Costume Design III is to ​wrestle with story​. Over the past two years, you havepracticed a variety of techniques as part of developing your personal process for designing.Now you are ready to take a ​text-based design (of your choosing) ​from the beginning to theend! In order to do so, this class will focus on ​story, myth, structure​,​​and, above all,dramaturgy​. As individuals, and as a group, we will work to discover how each designer canbest crack a story to get to its heartbeat. Each of you will find a very different, very personal butequally exciting path. You will be encouraged not to begin by focusing on costumes or sets oreven research. Instead, as a group and as individuals, we will begin by dealing with theuniversal myths at the heart of your text​, with exacting character details, and with the ​beginning​, middle​, and ​end of the story.

This class will deal with the complete process of lighting design, how to continue to givelight significance in context. Projects and class trajectory will be tailored to eachstudent’s needs and goals. Individual creativity will be encouraged within an environmentof shared experience. Questions of meaning, structure, process and intent will beinvestigated. What light can and cannot communicate will be examined in detail. Muchimportance will be placed on process and product, both intellectual and practical. Majoremphasis will be placed on genuine life procedures and practice, in a real-world context.Each student’s individual voice will be nurtured and considered. Individual expression will be our goal.