Although for this unit, students will not be required to create a computer presentation of their set design, it would be interesting and applicable to invite a guest designer to share some of their computer work with the students.
The objective of this lesson, then, would be for students to be exposed to and become aware of the various modes of set design.
Materials Needed
guest artist
Lesson Directions
*Ideally, this class would take place as a field experience in which students would go to a professional theatre and meet with the head scenic designer there. She/he would show them how he drafts his set designs on a computer program to have a very accurate representation of the set that needed to be built. She/he would then show them the sketches, renderings, models, and computer presentations of the set design for the current show. The students would then be allowed into the theatre to view the actual, fully mounted design.
This sort of a field trip would be a great experience! I might think of combining it with lighting design, costume design, and sound design. Then, it would be a bit meatier trip.
The alternative to taking the field trip is simply to invite the professional into the classroom that day and give the same presentation, just without the benefit of seeing the work space, the tools, and the actual finished product of the set design.
Assessment
Students will be graded on their attendance and attentiveness for this class.
