DRAM 310 Outline

THE KING'S UNIVERSITY

COURSE NUMBER:

DRAM 310

COURSE TITLE:

Stagecraft and Design

NAME OF INSTRUCTOR:

Daniel van Heyst, M. F. A.

CREDIT WEIGHT AND WEEKLY TIME DISTRIBUTION:

credits 3 (hrs lect 0 - hrs sem 0 - hrs lab 6)

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

An introduction to the technical aspects of theatre: scenery design, construction, and painting, lighting and sound, properties, costume, and stage management. Following basic instruction across the disciplines, students will undertake practical projects in one or more of the technical disciplines as part of a production company presenting the Winter full-length play in the production studio. Meets fine arts breadth requirements.

Prerequisites: 3 credits in Drama or consent of the instructor

COURSE MATERIALS:

No textbook purchase is required. The essential text is the playscript, Tartuffe; or The Imposter by Moliere, adapted by Brian Paisley and Ti Hallas.

Some particularly helpful textbooks are placed on the Reserve Shelf in the Simona Maskaant Library under the Drama section.

The following basic equipment is required of students:

safety goggles
work gloves for handling scenery, rigging, and lighting equipment
a bbq apron or similar cover-up for painting
a notebook
a three-ring binder (1.5” rings) for script and other show documents.

Students are also highly recommended to have utility knife with snap-off blades, a mechanical pencil .5mm HB lead.

MARK DISTRIBUTION IN PERCENT:


Overhead skills test	5%
Stage lighting skills test	5%
Audio skills test	5%
Costume skills test	5%
Properties and paint skills test	5%
Stage carpentry skills test	5%
Tartuffe production contract	45%
Reflection essay	5%
Play attendance and written response (2)	10%
Design/build project	10%

	100%

COURSE OUTLINE:

1. Tuesday Set. 5, 2-5pm: Syllabus distributed. Instructor’s technical theatre career chat. Basic tour of the drama facility. Play-script introduced.
2: Thursday Sept. 7, 2-5pm: Overhead boot-camp: basic ladder handling and lift operation, moveable stage drapes and acoustic wall operation. Skills test for 5% of final grade. View and discuss Tartuffe design maquette.
3. Tuesday Sept. 12, 2-5pm: Carpentry boot-camp. Chop saw, table saw, band-saw, press drill, and screw driver training. Construct frame for paint sampler. Skills test for 5% of course grade.
4. Thursday Sept. 14, 2-5pm Audio boot-camp: setup microphone, operate mixer/amp, download and play sound effect selection from web to laptop and play over house speakers. Play with theatre sound operations program QLab and/or Audacity sound editing program. Skills test for 5% of final grade.
5. Tuesday Sept. 19, 2-5pm: Costume boot-camp. Actor measurements, Machine and hand-sewing sampler for 5% of the final course grade. Thursday Sept 21, no class due to Interdisciplinary Studies
6. Tuesday Sept. 26, 2-3:30pm: Help to complete sewing sampler. 3:30-5pm: vanHeyst colloquium presentation in N101. Evening: Attend theatre performance. Shakespeare in Love, The Citadel Theatre. Set writing assignment.
7. Thursday Sept 28, 2-5pm: Stage properties and paint boot-camp. Staple canvas onto frame built Sept. 12, prime and paint with classic scenic painting techniques. Skills test for 5% of course grade.
8. Tuesday Oct. 3, 2-5pm: Written play response due 5% Lighting boot camp: hanging and focusing stage lights, running lighting board. Skills test 5% grade.
9. Thursday Oct. 5, 2-5pm: Assign production jobs for Tartuffe. Read play together.
10: Tuesday Oct. 10, 2-5pm: Continue work in all production areas. Paint begins on stock pieces. Rehearsal props due.
11. Thursday Oct. 12, 2-5pm: Continue work in all production areas. First fittings for costumes. Tuesday Oct. 17: no afternoon stagecraft class. vanHeyst in Calgary for Fire Exit Theatre. Stagecraft students to attend rehearsal of Tartuffe in evening.
12. Thursday Oct 19, 2-5pm: More fittings for costumes. Carpentry continues. Lighting techs. works with control system. Audio tech works with QLab. Painting on set.
13. Tuesday Oct 24, 2-5pm: Continue installing set. More costume fittings. Hang and focus stage lights in Front-of-house.
14. Thursday Oct 26: 2-5pm: Hang and focus onstage lights. Work continues in all production areas. More costume fittings.
15. Tuesday Oct. 31, 2-5pm Hang and focus stage lights. Raw sound cues due. Work continues in all production areas.
16. Tuesday Nov. 2: 2-5pm: Set recorded sound cues. Required personnel: Audio crew, Stage Manager with Director and vanHeyst. Work continues in all production areas.
17: Thursday Nov. 7: Set lighting cues. Prepare dressing rooms. Props complete deadline. No classes Thursday Nov. 9 Fall Break. Theatre available for tba tech work 9am-9pm on Thurs. Nov. 9, Fri. Nov. 10, Sat. Nov. 11.
19: Tuesday Nov. 14 2-5pm prepare for Q to Q. Evening 6-9:30pm: technical rehearsal/Q to Q with full cast and crew.
20. Wednesday Nov. 15: 6pm call for 7:30 tech dress and notes
21. Thursday Nov. 16 2-5pm Dress rehearsal with full cast and crew 6:30pm call for 7:30pm opening performance
22. Friday Nov. 17: 2pm call for 3:00pm matinee performance 6:30pm call for 7:30pm curtain: evening public performance
23. Saturday Nov. 18: 6:30pm call for 7:30 pm curtain
24. Sunday Nov. 19: 1pm call for 2pm matinee performance
25. Tuesday Nov. 21, 2-5pm: Costume and properties strike. Reflection essays written in class. Set final design/build project. Wednesday Nov. 22: afternoon Soap performance Drama 249 No class Thursday Nov. 23 Instructor available for design/build consults.
26. Tuesday Nov. 28: 2-5pm Instructor available for design/build consults. Evening: attend professional theatre performance: preview of Jabberwocky at Theatre Network
27. Thursday Nov. 30, 2-5pm: Work on design/build projects.
28: Tuesday Dec. 5: written response to theatre performance due at 2 pm for 5%. Work on design/build projects.
29: Thursday Dec. 7: 2-5pm: present design/build projects at 3pm. There is no final written examination in Drama 310

Required texts, assignments, and grade distributions may vary from one offering of this course to the next. Please consult the course instructor for up to date details.