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Stagecraft Week 15  
(May 8-12, 2023)

Important terms/concepts/info are in RED.

Google Classroom assignments are in BLUE.

Ms. Price provides ALL learning for absent students in a self-directed formatIf absent, read & understand/complete each of the day's activities below. 

You are EXPECTED to keep up with what's going on in class.

Day 1:  Your Script's LOCATIONS

1.  Reviewed the process of scenic design.  (Read Script > Interpret Script > Research/Inspiration, etc.)

2.) Finished reading/highlighting scripts.

3.) Discussed the various locations in musical scripts, and the need to understand how each needs to function if designing a set.

4.) Students listed their show's "flow" by listing the order of scene locations in their scripts.  (Complete TAB 1 "Scenes/Locales" in Google Classroom - Assignment title:  Locations in Your Musical (Scenic Design Project).  This assignment is simply listing all the different locations in your musical - follow all directions  at the top of Tab 1. 

*Examples are given by Ms. Price for The Little Mermaid in Tab 3 & 4.  If absent, you MUST complete this assignment before next class so that you don't fall further behind in the process.

5.) Students chose back-to-back scenes from their musical that they would like to design sets for (and indicated those scene choices in the Google Classroom assignment described above)

Day 2:  Script INTERPRETATION

1.  Students interpreted their own scripts by discussing answers to teacher-led questions (designed to get to the "heart" of the show) ...

  1. Whose "story" is it?  Who "wins"?  Who "loses"?

  2. What is the HEART of the show?

  3. What do you want the FEEL of the show to be?

  4. Is there a STYLE that feels right?  (based on the time period, music, characters, or setting?

  5. Summarize YOUR interpretation of your script into one statement that can be a guiding force when designing your set.

    • Examples:​​

      • “This Girl Laughs…” is an imaginative & magical modern fairy tale about finding yourself while finding home.

      • Flowers for Algernon is a journey in the maze of changing mind - and the ethics of altering a person’s mind.

      • Once on this Island is a collective tale about “two different world” that collide in order to show that love is more powerful than death.

      • The Crucible is a cautionary tale that highlights the deconstruction and unraveling of a society pitted against eachother.

2.) Ms. Price shared HER interpretation process for a show formerly produced at OHS - and how it led to her design choices for the show. (from script to interpretation to research to inspiration to the ideas that created the look of the show & the set)

3.) Students completed an assignment in Google Classroom to guide them through their own interpretation choices.  (Assignment title: Interpreting a Musical Script)

Day 3:  Design RESEARCH/INSPIRATION

1.) Students listed the NEEDS for their 2 chosen scenes by transferring the highlighted information from their script into  TAB 2 "Needs of the Script" in Google Classroom - Assignment title:  Locations in Your Musical (Scenic Design Project).  This assignment is simply listing all the scenic needs for your two chosen scenes (as well as from other scenes where those 2 locations appear in the show)  - be sure to follow all directions  at the top of Tab 2, which explains this assignment in detail.*

*Examples are given by Ms. Price for The Little Mermaid in Tab 3 & 4.  If absent, you MUST complete this assignment before next class so that you don't fall further behind in the process.

Day 4:  Design RESEARCH/INSPIRATION

***If you haven't yet finished transferring your HIGHLIGHTED scenic information FROM your script TO your Google Classroom Assignment (Locations in Your Musical -  Tab 2:  "Needs of the Script") for your two chosen scenes, you MUST complete that on your own time.  Follow directions at the top of Tab 2 for further explanation.***

1. Ms. Price gave an example (along with images) of how HER interpretation of the fall play script led to the scenic design of the show.  For example...

  • What she researched (the various looks of cottages in the woods, for example)

  • Where she found inspiration (specific inspiration images that felt "magical" or "surreal")

  • The style she arrived at (fairy tale-esque)

  • Her perceived heart of the show (finding self while finding home)

  • The feeling she wanted the play to have (playful & imaginative - sometimes magical & surreal)

2.  Ms. Price showed how a director/designer's INTERPRETATION of a script and her/his DESIGN CONCEPT can greatly change the overall look of the show.  (She showed 14 different scenic design examples - from other theaters who have produced our fall play...illustrating how what  on stage for each different production was vastly different in look/style/feel - and yet they all told the same story/script.)

3.  Discussed:   Research vs. Inspiration

Research is what you LEARN from wanting to know more about various aspects found in the script

Inspiration is what you FIND through your research process (or in everyday life) that sparks your OWN creativity/ideas for aspects of your show

*Research is the FIRST STEP in "coming up with ideas".

4. Watched a teaching video about  RESEARCH/INSPIRATION  (if absent, watch HERE - start @ 2:25

5.  Began research in order to find INSPIRATION for your own scenic designs (Collect research/inspiration to your Google Classroom assignment entitled Scenic Research (Musical Design Project)  - follow directions on the 2nd slide!

  • Remember, EVERYONE does their OWN research/inspiration hunts - even if you're working with a partner or group.  Personal inspiration is NOT a group activity (although you can come together as a group to discuss what you found).  

  • Ms. Price shared some of what she researched for this year's musical (The Little Mermaid):  

    • Time period & location of original Little Mermaid fairy tales

    • Sea creatures

    • ships of the time period

    • Triton / Poseidon mythology & imagery

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