Tuesday, November 14, 2017
Working in the Theatre: In the Field - Environmental Design
YouTube: All set design is about creating a world, and at Serenbe Playhouse, it’s about creating a living world inside another living world, which is nature. In this premiere episode of Working in the Theatre: In the Field, we take a look inside the process of environmental design at this amazing site-specific theatre company.
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6 comments:
This concept of outdoor theater is not only incredibly cool, but the way they show and talk about design for that specific place is really thought provoking. The images so clearly show how this was a necessity, but they designed the shows so that being outside wasn't just what they wanted to do, but their production HAD to be outside. It just wouldn't work any other way. The impacts you can make with the audience - like heaving a real helicopter in Ms. Saigon or real horses in Oklahoma or putting hanging lanterns in a full-sized tree- just couldn't be done in a normal enclosed theatrical space, or if they were couldn't be done to nearly the same fantastic effect. I also liked how they described designing for the environment they were in. they don't just make outdoor sets, they make sets for the outdoors that work seamlessly with their specific locations to make it feel like they were always meant to be there. That is what good design does. you forget that it was designed because it was just meant to be, it's just how it is and how it always was and will be.
What a cool concept! Adam Koch is brilliant in capitalizing on what the audience enjoyed about Serenbe Playhouse initially. I think the aspect of having a play be outdoors creates a sort of immersive quality. Especially with Ms. Saigon - having the helicopter land in front of an astonished audience who felt the wind against their faces, it really brings the audience into the story in a way that a traditional stage does not. Every shot of the different productions that Serenbe Playhouse has put on season after season are beautiful. It take an inventive scenic designer with an incredible team to be willing to work in constantly changing locations with triple the amount of challenges outside. The mainstream theatrical world doesn't often recognize the battle we often face with the natural world and I think Serenbe Playhouse capitalizes on that.
I have actually seen and worked with some of the members of the Serenbe Play House. Their productions and use of their environments for site specific theatre has really inspired me and excited me for a new and exciting direction for small theatre companies. The idea of using outdoor areas and found spaces is really exiting to me as I feel if it is done properly can be used in order to create a more immersive and interesting environment for the audience. The abilities that site specific theatre is also able to give you in terms of effects is something that can't quiet be matched in a performance space. Like I know from seeing Ms. Saigon at Serenbe there were things other then the helicopter that made the environment feel more in place. Like the sound of frogs and crickets at sunset that would go after the actors lines finished. Even the horrible Georgia heat and humidity made it feel like you were into the play. I feel as theatres look for new spaces they start to look more into a new form site specific theatre will grow with the lower cost of facilities and all. I'm really excited to see where this form will go.
Well, this was not the video I expected. I thought environmental design would be about conservation and reusing and making theatre into an industry that does not just throw out its used supplies. This theatre seems to be the very opposite of that. If they never re-use a single space, think about all the infrastructure that they have to remake for every show. Instead of being environmentally friendly, they seem to be using the environment for its ambience, and discarding it after each show. I do not doubt that their productions are amazing. They seem to have tons of money to put into each show and having productions outside do make them more meaningful somehow, but at what cost? Do they leave their sets up so audience members can wander the property? Do they do any sort of conservation after a show closes to restore the property?
I love how this concept was born out of necessity. The relationship between creativity and necessity is always an interesting one because adding the pressure of having something be required to execute a task forces people not only come together faster, but it opens their mind to exploring every single solution, no matter how crazy, because they are willing to go to great lengths to achieve a goal. Pursuing theatre in found spaces is always a challenging task, but it is often executed well because being outside the box of a traditional theatrical space opens the mind of the creative team to explore solutions and designs that go further than what normally would be found in a traditional space. Not reusing the same space is an interesting and challenging thing within itself because the need for each space to have its own plan for everything from parking to seating, and that all comes before the set itself. That alone makes these projects bigger undertakings than many other theatrical productions.
This video is very interesting especially when Adam Koch, the set designer for Serenbe, says that the shows and locations of the productions are picked simultaneously. Usually theatre companies don’t have the luxury of doing this as they can’t get up and move every time they want to mount a show or they don’t have the budget to choose a venue to fit the production. I wonder does this make the acting bleed into the background or be overpowered by the outdoor location and how do the designers allow for the actor to shine through in such expansive spaces? Also, how does Serenbe company deal with the elements/natural lighting (are shows only performed at night or during the day/do they happen rain or shine)? I was very struck when Adam Koch said that the goal of these sets are to be immersive because when I think of the outside, I think large vast space that a set would easily get lost in. From the pictures, I can see how these sets could be immersive but I wonder as an audience member, how the elements play to the viewing experience/does the set feel immersive or rather dwarfed by the great outdoors?
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