 Stage designers: activity and way of life
Added: 01/31/2006 |
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Stage design is a creation of outstanding scenery. Stage designers are people who design stage settings for productions (in cinema or theatre, for example). Their work includes designing the single scene dramas to complex sceneries. It goes without saying that stage designers are often involved in costume design as well. Nowadays, they are specially trained and have certain education to perform their activity.
Stage (or scenic) design has become a rather popular activity in different countries of the world. It's a common knowledge that stage designers have traditionally come from a great variety of artistic backgrounds. But nowadays they are trained as professionals and often have special degrees in stage design.
A stage designer is a position that requires collaboration with the theater director and other key members of the production stuff and create the certain environment for production and further communicating important details of the mentioned environment to the technical director, props master, charge artist, etc. On the other hand, stage designers are considered to be responsible for creating various scale models for the scenery, paint elevations, renderings, scale drawings, etc. The mentioned details are known as an integral part of stage designers' creation of theatrical scenery and communications with other production stuff.
It's worthy mentioning the peculiarities of European stage designers. Well, in Europe these people generally take more holistic approach to the theatrical design and are likely to be responsible not only for the stage design, but also for the costumes, sounds, lightening. That's why they are often referred to as scenographers or theater designers. As a matter of fact, both European and American stage designers are generally trained in scenography, performance and theatre design and obtain Bachelor of Arts degree.
So, one of the main obligations of stage designers is creating scale models of scenery and producing models for approval by the production director. These models are often used for demonstrating the setting or location of the stage. Thus, stage designers should be skilled in modeling or be able to employ assistants to make them.
One of the well-known peculiarities of stage designers is their work schedule. Working hours are often variable and may involve even weekend or evening hours, attending rehearsals and meetings. Stage designers are known to work in special studios during the whole day. However, their work often involves traveling to the film shooting or TV location.
Speaking about stage designers it's necessary to take into consideration skills and interests the person should have to succeed in stage design. So, to become a stage designer the person should enjoy paying particular attention to details and have an imaginative approach to work. It goes without saying that stage designers should be able to work as a part of artistic team and at the same time show interest in performing arts, ability to express him- or herself. What is really important for stage designers is having deep knowledge in historical periods and literature of different countries.
In conclusion I can't but say that stage design is a rather competitive sphere of modern life. For many people it's a job where flair, talent and reputation are considered to be the main factors determining promotion and success. Many theaters all over the world have their own productions and offer a lot of opportunities for both fledging and experienced stage designers. However, many stage designers are now self-employed and work on a freelance basis.
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