Where do directors and set designers get their ideas so that the set they build creates the mood and atmosphere the director wants for a production? From the script! Introduce theater high schoolers to the script analysis techniques used in the scenic design process with a lesson plan that models how the process works.

Concepts

character analysis, literary analysis, sets, plays, dramatic plays, dramatizations

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Additional Tags

visual and performing arts

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Instructional Ideas

• Post images of sets around the classroom labeled with the name of the play

Classroom Considerations

• Requires considerable prep time to select and copy the scenes from the five plays: Sabrina Fair, The Diary of Anne Frank, Barefoot in the Park, The Importance of Being Earnest, and The Mousetrap
• Instructors also must create or obtain the audio recordings of two of Poe's poems
• The first in a 10-lesson unit on set design
• Designed for technical theater students with prior understanding of stage space, equipment, tools, and production management

Pros

• The step-by-step plan includes questions that focus attention on how much information can be gleaned from a close reading of the text

Cons

• None

Common Core

RL.9-10.1 RL.9-10.2 RL.9-10.3 RL.11-12.1 RL.11-12.2 RL.11-12.3