Saturday, August 27, 2011
Set Phases to Stun!
TheatreFace: Two weeks ago Stephen Ellison asked, “You mention a 4 phase design approach, what are the phases?” in response to my post, “Houston, We Have a Problem: When Planning Fails.” I began using the “four-phases of design” approach to addressing technical design problems in theatre a few years ago, and have found it to be both scalable to projects of varying scope and adaptable to technical problems of various types, be they structures, mechanisms, control systems, or whatever. One of the advantages to this approach is that it provides ample space for collaborating with the rest of the artistic/production team on a design solution which finds the best balance of time/cost/scope, as opposed to other approaches, which tend to set up an antagonistic relationship between “those who dream it” and “those who make it happen.”
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
The change in allocation of resources based on the reuse of an object also brings up a bigger consideration for long term investments of time money and manpower. The storage of such objects specifically in smaller theatres can cause larger investments of time and money to accrue over the lifetime of such an object. Many small theatres do not have access to warehouses or off site storage options which can mean that the objects that become stock items need to be considered in a different light due to a lack of space. First one must look at where the item is to be stored. If that is in the shop how many man hours will be used to move the object if and when it gets in the way of another project. Another variable to look at is the intended lifetime of the object and with what frequency is the object going to be used through the intended lifetime? Also with high turnover in certain positions who will remember what the object is and how it is assembled? The considerations of an object, if it is intended to be used over time, increase due to changes in venue and other capital improvements to the existing venue such as changes to the rigging and structure that the object may tie into. Weighing the possible advantages and disadvantages of investing in stock scenery should take into account the significant problems arising for designers who have to work within the constraints of stock scenery items that structurally should not be modified multiple times. Large budget reusable items need careful consideration and not all variables can be accounted for when predicting the future. However, with careful planning and consideration the risk of long term reusable scenery can be greatly reduced.
Post a Comment