The Cambridge Introduction to Scenography

Abstract

Scenography – the manipulation and orchestration of the performance environment – is an increasingly popular and key area in performance studies. This book introduces the reader to the purpose, identity and scope of scenography and its theories and concepts. Settings and structures, light, projected images, sound, costumes and props are considered in relation to performing bodies, text, space and the role of the audience. Concentrating on scenographic developments in the twentieth century, the Introduction examines how these continue to evolve in the twenty-first century. Scenographic principles are clearly explained through practical examples and their theoretical context. Although acknowledging the many different ways in which design shapes the creation of scenography, the book is not exclusively concerned with the role of the theatre designer. In order to map out the wider territory and potential of scenography, the theories of pioneering scenographers are discussed alongside the work of directors, writers and visual artists.

The Effect of Left-Right Reversal on Film: Watching Kurosawa Reversed

“…Although usage of this term differs amongst authors, our use is in line with the following definitions of scenography: “the manipulation and orchestration of the performance environment. The means by which this is pursued are typically through architectonic structures, light, projected images, sound, costume and performance objects or props” (McKinney and Butterworth 2009 , page 4) and “the creation of the stage space” (Howard 2002 , page xix).…”

From Candle Light to Contemporary Lighting Systems: How Lighting Technology Shapes Scenographic Practices

“…Consequently, the set designer became a close partner of the director, stepping out from his studio to rehearsal rooms, discussing the contents of the play and developing the holistic visual score. 8 Nevertheless, previous conventions persisted in mainstream practices. As late as 1902 the Finnish National eatre purchased painted backdrops -so called type-coulisses -from the atelier Grabow in Stockholm, and they were used alongside of other sets until the 1930s.…”

Robert Lepage’s Scenographic Dramaturgy: The Aesthetic Signature at Work

“…Such transformative scenography can be viewed in a range of contemporary productions, from the Wooster Group's evocative employment of shifting platforms and large video screens to suggest the complex memory-making process in Vieux Carré to Robert Wilson's lighting, which instantly frames actors posing in photographic tableaux and reconfigures stage space in Brecht's The Threepenny Opera. The term 'metamorphous scenography' is particularly relevant for Lepage's shifting sets as it aligns his work with Craig's 'architectonic' scenography, a technique first named by Denis Bablet in response to the English director's kinetic sets (McKinney and Butterworth, 2009). Craig rejected illusionistic scenery in favour of a minimalist, symbolist aesthetic, featuring moving walls and shifting platforms-literally fluid architecture; his scenography underwent these architectural transitions to evoke new configurations and, as combined with evocative lighting inspired by Appia, suggested the mood and atmosphere driving his interpretation of individual scenes featured in his extant text productions (McKinney and Butterworth, 2009).…”

“…The Rake's Progress offers low-tech variations on how Lepage's transformative scenography can 'extend and illuminate' aspects of the original text' (Pamela Howard qtd. in McKinney and Butterworth, 2009). When Tom abandons his true love (literally Anne Trulove) and Texas homeland to conquer Hollywood, Lepage uses scenic metaphors to frame Tom's judgment as faulty and disaster-bound.…”