Some good ideas so far for covering "stagecraft" without limiting it to hands-on construction.
Back in grad school I taught an undergrad class in tech theatre that covered a lot of different topics and was all done in the classroom: the theatre itself, parts of the stage, permanent "scenery" (teasers, tormentors, legs, borders, cycs, etc.), the grid, "hemp house" vs. counterweight systems, the fire curtain, fire extinguishers, various types of scenery (flats, platforms, stairs, wagons, etc.), and so on. Nothing on lights or costumes as these were covered in other classes.
Now and then we did a "field trip" to one of our stages to see things in person, or to the shop for a demo on power tools or scenic painting. I also set up a demo with the campus fire department, where they came over, started a small fire, and showed the kids how to put it out. Actual set and prop work (as well as hands-on lighting and costume work) was treated as a lab, which was a requirement for the class. This was done under the supervision of our shop staff and grad students.
Our "standard" tech theatre textbook was
Scene Design and Stage Lighting by Parker and Smith, and we basically went through the book in order. Each student was required to have his/her own copy, and the syllabus handed out on the first day of class covered all the assigned readings. They also had occasional pop quizzes.
One of my favorite "quizzes" was to ask the students to find and identify every fire extinguisher in the theatre department -- and I convinced them that cheating by comparing notes was defeating the purpose. There were a bunch, and one of them had been placed, by some genius, behind a fire door that was normally held open by an electromagnet.
BTW, as far as bringing in parents or people with carpentry experience to help lead the construction: be careful. I've run into that, and the problem is that they often don't understand how scenery is built and tend to want to build everything like a permanent structure, which makes it heavy, hard to handle, and expensive, not to mention difficult to strike afterwards. If the students are learning about theatre, then they should be learning how proper scenery is built.
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George F. Ledo
Set designer
www.setdesignandtech.wordpress.comwww.georgefledo.nethttp://astore.amazon.com/sdtbookstore-20------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 07-22-2018 08:41
From: Julia Wharton
Subject: Stagecraft help!
Would your admin approve you bringing in a 'guest professional' to lead several construction sessions? Maybe you know a theatre techie or you might have a parent who has lots of construction experience. It's exciting for students to have guests along their learning path and you could learn from that person, too. But I agree that you should probably discuss this challenge with your admin so they are on board with your solutions to the situation.
You can also do - as already suggested - lots of other work first: a big overview of why tech theatre matters and the whole interesting process of determining function (what do the lights or costumes, etc. need to do) and applying creative interpretation - which is basically script analysis for tech and design; Theatre space terminology and safety; Then begin with less dangerous design/build processes like costumes or props or make-up, giving the students the chance to demonstrate they can follow the rules, look out for themselves and the equipment. Unless you need the stagecraft class to actually build your production set(s), there's no need to dive into construction first thing. If this is a year long course, you could do lights (all that electricity can be just as dangerous as power tools!) and sets second semester.
And meanwhile, you make sure and get yourself some more building/power tool training before you are in charge of that unit. Ideally, you'd get someone to come work with you a few hours each week in your shop, with your tools - there might even be another teacher on staff who is a construction wiz - and build a couple basic projects that you can then do with the students (like a platform and a flat). A first year stagecraft student doesn't need to be let loose to build an entire set! And remember, there's lots of fun stuff to be done with painting (effects like bricks, wood, marble, etc.).
Good luck!
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Julia Wharton
Theatre Director/Educator
Original Message:
Sent: 07-21-2018 01:01
From: Tiffany Garner
Subject: Stagecraft help!
Hello there!
I'm about to start my first year teaching, and I'm thrilled! I get to create and run my own program and have an incredible amount of support from my school.
BUT.
I have been given a stagecraft class. Now, I was expecting to be co-teaching it with someone who would focus on the construction side of things, and that my own focus would be on the design. Unfortunately, that is not the case, so I am also going to be expected to teach construction.
The problem with this is that I took one class in set construction during my undergrad, and while I am decently confident in my personal ability to build simple sets, teaching it to students and making sure everyone keeps their fingers along the way? Not so much.
Has anyone here found themselves in a similar situation? What advice and suggestions do you have for me for designing the curriculum to my own strengths while also giving students a good opportunity to learn the construction side of things?
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Tiffany Garner
American Leadership Academy Gilbert Arizona
tgarner@alaschools.org
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