Technical elements
Technical elements can enhance your production by creating mood and atmosphere. However, don’t rely too much on technical effects. The drama you have created should be the star. Before you continue, look at Theatre design to learn more about the technical elements you’ll need to consider.
Multimedia
Some productions use multimedia to add to the drama. If you’re creating a Theatre in education or Brechtian-style piece, you might consider using screen slides as placards to display information. A Physical theatre production could be enhanced by using filmed work.
Costume
This should be in keeping with the style of your work. If you’re inspired by Stanislavski and creating a very naturalistic production then the The clothes worn by an actor should reflect the time, place, society, culture and style of the production and the status, age and personality of the character. will be as authentic as possible to reflect this. If your work is more An attempt to enhance a scene using unnatural methods. or The opposite of a realistic representation is an abstract representation where a character or concept may be symbolised in a poetic rather than literal way. then simple or representational costume might be sufficient. Remember that elaborate costume changes take time and may break up the flow of your drama. A Brechtian play might involve changing on stage and using only a symbolic item to denote character. Whatever you decide it is usually better to keep things simple.
Props
Decide whether props are vital to your piece or if they could be mimed. Your decision will depend on the style of the work you devise. Do you have any symbolic props? Some of the most inventive dramas use one object to become many things.
Set
Decide whether you need a set and whether it should be realistic or representational / minimalistic. The theatre practitioner, Jerzy Grotowski firmly believed that an actor needs nothing on stage but themselves. All set and props are mimed, putting the craft of the actor at the heart of the theatrical experience. If you need to create multiple locations on your stage, consider how to do this without spoiling the drama with cumbersome set changes.
Performance checklist
In the two weeks prior to performance make sure that you have:
- Rehearsed in the space that you will be using for performance
- Tried out work in front of an audience and responded to feedback
- Used set and props that you will need in performance
- Checked audience sight lines for your chosen staging
- Practised in the costume you will wear
- Written Used to note when specific sound/lighting/special effects should be exacted on stage. for lighting and sound and briefed your operators who have had a technical rehearsal
- Prepared multimedia clips in the correct order and checked for technical issues
- Analysed your own work so far, deciding whether it meets your aims and intentions. If the narrative or message isn’t clear, this is the time to add to or improve work so you have devised a piece of drama you can be proud of.
Creating a performance from a stimulus
Improve your understanding by answering the question then checking your response against the sample answer.
Question
Look at the image and devise a simple A diagram used to represent ideas or information branching out from a central key word or idea. of how it could help you create a performance and write an outline of your initial idea.
The image provided as a stimulus was generic enough to enable us to come up with several possible ideas. We liked the idea of devising a modern-day fairy tale best so took the idea of Cinderella as a starting point. We gave it a modern twist so that happiness is not to be found in rescue by a ‘Prince Charming’ but by being the architect of one’s own happiness and future. Researching the theme of The endeavour towards social, political, sexual and economical equality for women in society. we uncovered some shocking modern statistics about how young women’s self-esteem is greatly governed by the views of others.
We were also inspired by the stage musical, Les Misérables and the character of Cosette which echoed our theme of hope. We created a story where a young girl feels unhappy and alone. On the verge of ending it all she is visited by Destiny, her fairy godmother, who shows her how much she matters and the importance of self-worth. Feminist statistics punctuated our work throughout, ensuring that it had a clear message. Identifying our target audience as teenage girls meant that we produced an engaging piece of Theatre in education with a serious message.
