World Scenography 1975-1990 documents lighting, set and costume design

The book covers set, lighting and costume design for all forms of performance, from theatre and dance to opera and spectacle. Encompassing material from hundreds of contributors, it highlights some 430 significant works from more than five dozen countries.

Co-editors Peter McKinnon, professor of stage design and production in the Department of Theatre, Faculty of Fine Arts at 91��ɫ, and Eric Fielding, professor emeritus of scenic design at Brigham Young University, Utah, led an international team of researchers and associate editors for the project.

The editors point out that the publication is neither encyclopedic nor a collection of "greatest hits".  The intent, they say, is to showcase, contextualize and document for posterity “designs that mattered, that made a difference”: seminal designs that had a major impact on the development of the art form, its practice and reception.

Groundbreaking productions cited in World Scenography 1975-1990 include the political puppetry of the American Anti-Bicentennial Pageant at the University of California (1975); English director Peter Brook’s Mahabharata (1985), which was staged in quarries in France and Australia, as well as in theatres in the US and Spain; and the opening ceremony for the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand.

Notable designers featured include Tony and Drama Desk Award-winner Maria Bjornson of France/UK (Phantom of the Opera, 1988); German designer Achim Freyer, winner of the Prague Quadrennial lifetime achievement award (Woyzeck, 1989; The Magic Flute, 1982); Sun-Hi Shin of Korea (A Bicycle, 1983; An Encounter, 1990); Canadian designer André Caron (Cirque Réinventé, 1987,  for Cirque du Soleil); veteran Broadway designer Robin Wagner (A Chorus Line, 1976; On The Twentieth Century, 1978; Dreamgirls, 1981); and 91��ɫ theatre  Professors Teresa Przybylski and Phillip Silver.

World Scenography 1975-1990 is the first publication in a projected three-part series. It builds on the foundation established by Stage Design Throughout the World, a four-volume series edited by René Hainaux that concluded in 1975. McKinnon and Fielding are already planning volumes two and three of World Scenography, to span 1990-2005 and 2005-2015, respectively. When complete, the World Scenography series will be the largest, most comprehensive scholarly work on theatrical design ever created.

McKinnon notes that the motivation and passion behind this epic endeavour is the transitory nature of design for live performance. “Theatre design work is as ephemeral as the work of the actor,” he says. “Once the show is over, it disappears. If we don’t photograph, catalogue and preserve our design work, we run the risk of losing it forever.”

The editors of World Scenography are themselves leading contributors to the field.

Peter McKinnon

McKinnon has served as lighting designer for some 450 shows, principally dance and opera, across Canada and internationally, and has produced shows off- and on-Broadway and in Edinburgh, Scotland. A past president of the Associated Designers of Canada, he was an organizer of the Canadian exhibit at the 2007 Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space. His editorial credits include the international lexicon Theatre Words�����Ի� One Show, One Audience, One Single Space by Jean-Guy Lecat.

Fielding has designed scenery and/or lighting for more than 250 productions for stage, film, television and special events. He designed the gold medal-winning American exhibit at the 1991 Prague Quadrennial and created the World Stage Design exhibition, directing its premiere showing in Toronto in 2005. He is a 30-year member of United Scenic Artists 829, a Fellow and former vice-president of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology, and former editor of the journal Theatre Design &Technology (TD&T).

World Scenography 1975-1990 is designed by Randal Boutilier (BFA '00), an alumnus of 91��ɫ’s Visual Arts Program. The series, to be published both in print and online, is an official project of the International Organization of Scenographers, Theatre Architects and Technicians (OISTAT). Both McKinnon and Fielding are long-serving executive members of OISTAT, a UNESCO-recognized organization that draws together theatre production professionals from around the world. The long list of international supporters of the World Scenography project includes the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

McKinnon and Fielding will be in attendance at a reception marking the Canadian launch of the publication on Thursday, April 5, 7 to 10pm at TheatreBooks, 11 St. Thomas Street, Toronto.

For more information, visit the World Scenography series website.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

The post Book showcases stage 'designs that mattered' appeared first on Research & Innovation.

The 91��ɫ fine arts professors co-founded to present drama, dance and opera in novel, multidisciplinary projects performed in one-of-a-kind venues, such as nightclubs and other ‘found’ spaces. This more intimate experience, that Mackwood and Dobie refer to as “lounge opera”, encourages audiences to sit on carpets, pillows, chairs, or couches. Their productions use music and movement to provide an emotional and spiritual experience expressive of the human condition. Their unique aesthetics attract new and diverse audiences. 

Although Out of The Box Productions is always interdisciplinary, the freedom of performance fusion can be problematic. Mackwood, a professor of production and design in 91��ɫ's Dance Department,  admits that funding is a constant issue. Multidisciplinary work often does not fit into any one category of performing art.

“Committees have a hard time classifying us, hence our name,” quips Mackwood. “But having said that, both the Ontario Arts Council and Canada Council have granted much appreciated development funding for Bugzzz.”

On the other hand, artistic tension is the kind of conflict Mackwood welcomes. He explains how everyday artistic visions vary to create a healthy tension in which everyone has a voice – evidence of a creative team hard at work. 

aims to challenge the notion of progress, particularly our uncritical obsession with technology. The project proceeds as if human civilization has self-destructed because of our over consumption of resources. Only insects remain and it is they who take an archeological look at the value of civilization through art, specifically through Giacomo Puccini’s opera, Tosca.����

Mackwood enthusiastically admits: “I’ve always wanted to do a play inhabited by insects.”  

Bugzzz will be an exciting musical, movement, and design challenge. 

As co-creator, Dobie, a movement professor in 91��ɫ's Theatre Department, will be the dramaturge and co-produce, direct and choreograph the production. She will interpret how different insects move, implementing core proprioceptive training (CPT). CPT develops one’s awareness of direction, orientation in space, and the extent and rate of limb movement based on information relayed from sensory receptors in the joints, tendons and muscles.

The staging for Bugzzz is also contemporary in its rejection of Brecht’s principle of defamiliarization (or verfremdungseffekt) in favour of recent mirror neuron theories that emphasize the human capacity for emotionally empathetic response. 

Thomas Sandberg is on board to work as Bugzzz’s composer. One of his creative challenges is to imagine an insect interpretation of the original Tosca score. He must compose the piece using found objects, imagining what bugs might use for musical instruments. 

Mackwood will write, co-produce and create the lighting design. By working with the approach of sustainable “design on demand”, which involves all members of the production for the creative process, Mackwood is able to explore choices in colour, texture and imagery instantly, on the spot. This approach to lighting design allows for more flexibility and efficient collaboration between directors, choreographers and designers, while also being ecologically friendly. 

Mackwood’s interest in “green” or sustainable theatre practice was sparked by James McKernan, with whom he worked on Sound in Silence (2008). Noting the lack of money allocated to sets in dance, Mackwood recognized a desire in the industry for materials that could be recycled such as lights, projections and soft goods. Green initiatives, however, need to produce superior quality results if they are to offer an alternative to current production practices.

Mackwood experimented with LED lights with great success during the remounting of Opera Erotique (2010). LEDs use one third the power and produce less heat than conventional lights, providing savings on electricity and air conditioning, while making it more comfortable for the performers. The LED lights are also almost always built with red, green and blue optics for full colour mixing. 

Professor Don Sinclair joins the Bugzzz team as the sound and interactive projections designer. Sinclair will map performers’ bodies on stage using 3-D motion capture technology to create a mesh outline. From the 3-D model, Sinclair can manipulate exact projections of colour, image and light onto performers’ bodies, permitting them to be illuminated without background spill.����

The software developed by Sinclair will advance the field of interactive technology in theatre performance. Undergraduate and graduate students in 91��ɫ’s dance and theatre programs will have access to the technology in a new course, The Interactive Stage: Developing Digital Design Tools for Live Performances. 

A.C. Lighting Inc. and managing director J.F. Canuel are uniting once again with Mackwood as industry partners for Bugzzz. A.C. Lighting previously worked on the LED remounting of Opera Erotique, providing outstanding support with equipment, technicians and Canuel’s participation in the round table discussion on opening night. The partnership with A.C. Lighting will provide Mackwood with a team of engineers and researchers to assist in the development of LED costumes and sets. In turn, by observing first hand artists’ design needs, A.C. Lighting gains useful information for the continued evolution of LED technology.

Knowing the value of a good story, Mackwood will soon shift his attention away from the design components and towards script development. 91��ɫ’s Faculty of Fine Arts has offered the use of studio space and a multimedia lab for rehearsals and creative development, for which Mackwood expresses his gratitude: “I have not had any issues – the staff and facilities are all world class."

Bugzzz will premiere June 2012 in Toronto, with the possibility of another performance in Vancouver and an international production in Copenhagen the following year. 

Written by Crystal Basaez, Faculty of Fine Arts research assistant, and reprinted from the summer issue of the Faculty of Fine Arts Research Newsletter

Republished courtesy of YFile – 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

The post 91��ɫ dance and theatre professors begin work on 'Bugzzz' appeared first on Research & Innovation.