What is set design?
In the past, set design was looked upon as the only aesthetic adornment to a production. During the last century this has all changed: the set designer must co-ordinate with the lighting designer and the costume designer to ensure that the visual aspects of the production coalesce into a great spectacle. The set should be an integral part of the production which both reflects and develops the director’s vision of the text being staged. “Unlike the easel painter in two dimensions or the sculptor in three dimensions, the theatre designer thinks in terms of the fourth dimension – not the stage picture but the stage moving picture.” (Peter Brook) How do you start? Theoretically you should read the play first, but what will tend to happen is that the director will talk to you about his/her ideas before you get a chance to read the script for yourself. Do not say yes to what the director says immediately! If the director/producer has appointed a set designer, it is absolutely vital that it i
