Using shape, texture and transitions
Designers will also consider:
- shape
- staging configuration
- texture
- transition
- health and safety
Shape
The use of shape within set design can also convey ideas to the audience. For example, a forest set with lots of bare trees forming sharp and jagged shapes could help to create a more eerie atmosphere.
Staging configuration
The staging configuration, eg end-on stagingWhen the audience sit on one side of the stage only, facing it in the same direction. or in the round stagingWhen the audience are placed all around the outside of the performers' playing space. The stage area may be circular or square, with entrances and exits through the audience., impacts how the audience relates to the action on stage. A set designer will need to consider the theatre space they are designing for and how to create a set that is effective for that space.
Texture
The materials used within set design provide different textures that help to create the feel of a set. For example, a room with rustic, wooden-plank floorboards and flat blinds will feel very different to a room with soft, thick carpets and velvet curtains.
Transition
Transitions are the moments between scenes, and often during these transitions the scenery will move to suggest a new location. If several locations or time periods are to be represented on stage at the same time, a composite setA set representing more than one location or time period at the same time. will be required.
Health and safety
Set designers need to consider the health and safety of stagehandThe people responsible for moving set and props on and off of the stage., performers and the audience, to protect them from injury. They will need to ensure that all items of scenery are properly secured, and that their movement can be conducted safely.
