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Your work as a set designer will inevitably intersect with that of many other skilled theatre professionals.
Your final model box should be a perfect representation of your design ideas. You should spend as much time as you can adding as much detail and colour to it as possible, and make sure you include everything you need to effectively tell your story.
The final scale model box is especially important as it is used by the stage builders to work out exactly the dimensions and scale at which they need to build the final life-sized set.
When the model box is ready, you’ll have a model showing. This is where the different stakeholders and key personnel working on the production come and view the model, and you will have to explain your ideas and answer questions about your design choices. This is why your final model box is so important – it needs to be just as you want it to be. In the following video Madeleine Young, Assistant Production Manager at The Old Vic, talks us through a finished model box for George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion.
Scenic artists are really key to your work as a designer. They’re responsible for painting all the elements of the set, so you need to have good channels of communication in order to explain the various specifications of your design.
In addition to your model box, you will need to provide detailed technical plans of any complicated pieces of set to the stage builders. These teams of carpenters and electricians will work to bring your set to life. Make sure to ask questions and understand what information they will need from you ahead of the stage build process.
You will need to work closely with the lighting designer on your show, or whoever is responsible for lighting at the venue you are working in. Here, it’s essential for you to both work from the script and for you to explain the kind of mood you want to create in each scene, as well as any practical elements of the set that involve lighting (lamps, lanterns, etc.). Lighting can have a huge impact on how your set reads to the audience, so make sure you have a clear idea of the lighting scheme you want and how it should enhance your set design. Here are some further ideas on how to bring your model box to life with lighting effects.
The company stage manager will be dealing with all the cast and crew on your show, ensuring their safety and comfort. It’s important to make sure any special needs of your performers are taken into consideration, and that you can adapt your design concept to accommodate the health and safety requirements of your performers and crew.
Scenic Artists
Scenic artists are really key to your work as a designer. They’re responsible for painting all the elements of the set, so you need to have good channels of communication in order to explain the various specifications of your design.
carpenters & electricians
In addition to your model box, you will need to provide detailed technical plans of any complicated pieces of set to the stage builders. These teams of carpenters and electricians will work to bring your set to life. Make sure to ask questions and understand what information they will need from you ahead of the stage build process.
lighting designers
You will need to work closely with the lighting designer on your show, or whoever is responsible for lighting at the venue you are working in. Here, it’s essential for you to both work from the script and for you to explain the kind of mood you want to create in each scene, as well as any practical elements of the set that involve lighting (lamps, lanterns, etc.). Lighting can have a huge impact on how your set reads to the audience, so make sure you have a clear idea of the lighting scheme you want and how it should enhance your set design. Here are some further ideas on how to bring your model box to life with lighting effects.
company stage manager
The company stage manager will be dealing with all the cast and crew on your show, ensuring their safety and comfort. It’s important to make sure any special needs of your performers are taken into consideration, and that you can adapt your design concept to accommodate the health and safety requirements of your performers and crew.
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