This week on Life in a Technical Theatre World, we’re looking at the design process, and all of the programs that help designers with the process.
Typically, the process will start months and months before any opening night or before a show has even been cast! The first thing that a company or a panel of directors will do is pick the show. Then the script will get analyzed very carefully by everyone involved. The director is looking for character choices, beat changes, and the overall theme of the show among many other things. The costume designer is taking his/her cues from the director, and trying to get an idea of time period or location. If you have a play set in a specific time period, then the costumes will have to fit that time period. The set designer reads the script, and if the playwright has given a specific setting, they go off of that. Some playwrights will give you paragraph and paragraphs of background, and others will give you nothing.
Specifically in the set design world, the first step is too figure out how you want it too look. Then you start to draw it out on paper, sketches of a sort. Once those have been approved by the director, the next step is to lay it all out in a program called Auto-CAD. The CAD stands for Computer Automated Design. This program is very difficult to learn, but once you do learn, you feel very proud of yourself. This program makes it easy for you to print out a plan for something like a wall with dimensions, so you can hand it to a carpenter to build. Once the set is laid out in Auto-CAD, it get’s transferred over to a program called SketchUp, which is a 3D modeling program so you can see the set as it will look when you build it. The designs are constantly changing because a myriad of problems can arise. One problem could be that you can’t build the set that is wanted on budget. Another could be that it’s just not possible in the time constraints. There are many things that have to be considered when building a set. You also have to make sure it’s structurally sound, so no actors are harmed.
Both of these programs are what we use here at HPU, I’m sure there are more programs out there that other theatres use as well.
Both of the pictures were made by me in my design class freshman year!
Check back next week for another post!
life in the technical theatre world 
Wow I didn’t realize deigning the set was so multifaceted! Its neat that there is a 2D and 3D design for the process. I bet Auto-CAD IS difficult to use… sounds tough but rewarding!
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My mom is a professional theatre actress and costume designer. Growing up backstage I have always been so impressed by the amount of hours that go into designing and producing a theatrical production. Although I loved reading your post because I have never thought about the virtual design process and how that can be an integral step in the overall set design process. Your designs are very impressive!
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I think it is so interesting that you know about so many facets of theater. I just figured it was a bunch of specialists who all came together to make plays happen. It is just so technical and I love how you know the history and process behind it all. Sounds like such a great environment to be part of and how cool is it that you get to make these great performances happen!
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