THEATRE THEATRE TECHNOLOGIESTECHNOLOGIES

Lighting

Intensity

Colour, e.g. cool blue,

slate blue, Pale, violet,

golden, amber, rose tint, light straw,

e.t.c

Special Effects

Atmosphere

Influence on pace

Time

Establishment of conventions

Isolating areas

Different coloured gels have different effects

Lighting can make the audience focus on different parts of the

stage

Coloured lighting and spots can also be used to pull the

audiences’ focus

Lighting Activity

• Think of a show you have seen recently. How were lights used to create special effects?

Costume

Texture: silky,velvet,

fur, rough, satin,

wool e.t.c

How it showsrelationships

with other characters

Period/era e.g. ancient,

modern, Elizabethan,

Victorian, 1950s e.t.c

Movementimplications

Status implications

Colour Symbolism

e.g. White: innocenceRed: passion

Purple: royalty

Appropriate to setting and production concept

The montage below shows some actors in costume. What do their costumes tell you about their characters?

MAKE-UP• In many ways make-up is similar to costume, it

helps us to see the period in which the drama is set and gives us information about the character such as their age and status.

• Stage make-up is expensive and needs to be applied well. As distance between the audience and actors has decreased, the amount of make-up used has lessened. Make-up is like a mask. The further away you are from the mask, the more definition needed to convey the characteristics.

Make-up ActivityConsider the following characters. How would

you assist their creation using make-up? Use

diagrams. Justify your choices.

1. An old witch

2. An aging politician

3. An animal

SET

Performance space in relation to audience

Symbolic

Set Dressing

Atmosphere

Minimalist or elaborate detail

Colour links to make-up, costume, lighting, etc.

Period/era

Stage ImagesLevels and focus sightlines

Plot and text demands

Realistic

Representational

Stylised

Set ActivityImagine you had two wooden boxes and a

crate. Using the three boxes sketch/describe

how you would create the following settings:

1. A mountain

2. An office

3. A rugby pitch

Properties

• Props are the objects carried by the actor (known as personal props) or the objects added to a set (known as stage props).

• Props are used to support the action and to give the audience more information about the character. They fall into three categories:

1. Realistic Props – These look like the real thing. They are often expensive and difficult to find. If you are using realism your props should be realistic.

Properties continued

2. Stylised props – these represent the real thing. They are often used in school productions because they are cheaper and sometimes safer (e.g. plastic replica guns, knives and swords).

3. Mimed props – these are the cheapest ones to use! There is also no danger that someone will pick them up and put them somewhere else. Both professional and amateur theatre use mimed props, and if done well they allow the audience to believe they exist. If you are miming, you must be aware of the imagined weight and size of the prop you are using. You must be aware of where the imaginary prop is at all times.

Props Activity

In pairs mime using three different

props to each other.

1. List the props you mimed.

2. Which ones were the easiest to guess? Why?

3. What would be challenging about using mimed props in a performance?

Sound

Establish setting

Live/recorded sound

Onstage/offstage sound

Visible/invisible source of

sound

Irony and foreshadowing

Specific sounds/music

Plot demands

CharacterAtmosphere

Sound Activity

Think of a play/movie you have

seen this year that used music/

sound.

1. How was it created?

2. Why was it used?

3. What effect did the music/sound have on you?

Other theatre technologies…

We have looked at lighting, costume,

properties, make-up, set design and

sounds but there are other theatre

technologies. Can you name any?

THEATRE TECHNOLOGY TASK

Study the photograph. Look closely to see how technologies have been used for effect. Choose ONE technology from the list:• Costume• Lighting• Set Design1. Describe the ways in which the technology chosen has been used to

create an effect. Give specific details from the photograph to support your answer.

2. Describe how sound could be used in combination with any of the technologies listed to create an effect. Give specific details from the photograph to support your answer.