Projection Design for Theatre and Live Performance

Principles of Media Design

Alison C. Dobbins

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781000450910
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Medios de comunicación y artes escénicas
• Subtopic: Arte y escenografía teatral

Projection Design for Theatre and Live Performance explores the design and creation process of projections from a non-technical perspective, examining the principles of media for the stage in a manner that is accessible for both beginning designers and advanced designers dabbling in projections for the first time.

This introductory text covers concepts and tools for designing, techniques to help readers tap into their creativity, and the core skills required of this field: problem solving, project management, and effective communication. Focusing exclusively on design and creativity, this book encourages individuals to leap into the creative design process before facing any perceived hurdles of learning everything technical about media delivery systems, cueing systems, projectors, cables, computer graphics, animation, and video production. Projection Design for Theatre and Live Performance is a reminder that, from the invention of photography to the enormous variety of electronic media that exist today, the ways projection designers can enhance a theatrical production are limitless.

Written in an accessible style, this book is a valuable resource for students of Projection Design as well as emerging professionals. Its focus on design and creativity will restore the confidence of individuals who may have been daunted by technical hurdles and will encourage the creativity of those who may have been disappointed with their efforts in this field of design in the past.

1
DISCOVERY

DOI: 10.4324/9781003137207-2

The goal of the discovery process is discovery. The path through this process depends on the nature of the project. Are you working on projections for a dance piece? Will you be working to devise a performance? Are you working off of a script? If so, what is there to unearth in this script? What interests you about this project? For many productions, projection design may seem optional. But it’s the element that can bring the unifying magic to the theatre experience.

As a projection designer you will need to grapple with the following questions:

1. Why projections for this project?
2. How might projections be used in this production?

Projection design begins with the script, the concept, or the central idea of the production. Some scripts are written with projections in mind and have specific projection suggestions. Some scripts have an obvious need for projections to solve problems or clarify points for the audience. Some scripts need projections because of a new vision or approach by a director. Not all scripts or all shows need projections and not all performances start with a text. If you are working on devised, dance, or art performances, treat the central idea, concept and choreographer as the script. Ask the same questions of your collaborators that you would ask of a written play text. This chapter focuses on the ways and reasons projections might bring the needed magic to a specific production.

Mining the Script

It is vital for the projection designer to explore the script and find their own uses and ideas for projections in a production. The brainstorming process is iterative, aimed at digging up small ideas and seeing where they lead. The visual metaphor that I use for this process is similar to exploring a cave or creating a maze. The materials are there in the script and in your lived experience. You are connecting the two as you bring your artistic intuition to this production. To fully engage in this process, you will need to set aside any preconceived notions or requirements about quickly finding the big idea. This process is about seeing what is there and what your mind does with that information.

In Mina Loy’s futurist script Cittàbapini, the stage directions specify a city that eats and spits out the main character while twisting in on itself. There is an obvious possible use of projections as a method to create this sequence.

The designer can use these descriptions as inspiration and a starting point for testing assumptions and investigating questions. In the Cittàbapini example: Who is the city? What is the city in relation to the man? Are the projections the city? These questions start a cycle of unfolding metaphor and meaning.

During the discovery process, the designer is attempting to identify as many possible avenues of exploration as possible, not to hone in on one design idea. You will end up reading the script many times. In each reading, get a feel for the characters, the story, the metaphors, and the emotional context of the scenes while jotting down your ideas or doodling any images that spring to mind. Highlight any of the following that you notice.

Figure 1.1Two Plays by Mina Loy originally published in Rogue Magazine June 1915 Credit: Reproduced courtesy of Roger Conover on behalf of the Estate of Mina Loy

• Are projections written into the script?
• Does the script contain theatrical constraints that can be solved with projections?
• Does the script contain concepts or meanings that projections can communicate to the audience?

This brainstormed collection of ideas is for you alone, and no one else will see it.

After you go through the script once, try going through it again from a completely different angle. Have you made assumptions about character motivation, thematic meaning, or delivery? What if you try assuming that the opposite is true?

Some visual ideas are hard or impossible to translate into words, so include doodles, sketches, and squiggles. Give yourself permission to make a complete mess of the script and capture as many ideas as you can in any form as they come to you. None of the ideas need to be connected at this point. You are mining the copper that you will craft into shape later in this chapter.

Figure 1.2 Example of the projection notes for Cittàbapini. Notice that some of the ideas conflict, and that the notes are in the form of words, metaphor, scribbles and doodles

Go through the discovery process with the folktale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

• What happens?
• Where does it happen?
• When does it happen?
• Who are the characters?
• Whose story is this?
• What is the emotional context?
• What are the themes in this story?
• How can projections be used?

DON’T self-edit.

DON’T dwell – jot down an idea and move on.

DON’T wait for a BIG idea. Write down/sketch/doodle all the small ideas.

Working with the Director, the Choreographer, and the Artist

Designers do not work in a vacuum and often will work with concepts introduced by the director, choreographer, or artist. There are many productions where there is no script and the concept, theme, or ideas are the only source of inspiration. It is important to consider these ideas, especially as they relate to why projections are being used in the production. It is equally important to do your own thinking and not rely on the director or choreographer to analyze the concept or dictate the use of projections. A strong designer brings ideas to the table and does not wait for others to do the thinking for them.

Deciding What to Keep

Evaluate your notes not in terms of quality, but for ideas you wish to explore further in the next phases of design. Try to avoid concepts like “good idea” or “bad idea.” These value judgments are often based on an unattainable definition of quality that can be neither articulated nor achieved. Instead, sift through your ideas with questions like:

• Am I interested in this idea? Does this feel fun, exciting, or engaging to me?
• Does this idea align with the goals of the script or production (if known)?
• Does this idea have room to play? Is it open and versatile, or closed and narrow? Will it take a paragraph for the audience to understand, or is it accessible on many levels?

It is best to avoid ideas that make you tired or give you feelings of frustration, anxiety, or unworthiness. You generated a plethora of ideas when exploring the script, and you can pull those ideas out again if any of your initial concepts become unworkable. One tool is to look for a unifying way that projections might be used in the production.

Collecting Ideas: What Design Element Aligns with Projections?

Does your list of projection whys and hows lean more towards setting the time and place of the scenes? Or are the projections more about creating magic and movement? Alternatively, the projections might act and interact with the actors onstage. It is sometimes helpful to identify the predominant way that your ideas tilted in the note-taking phase to help frame the rest of your design.

• Scenic – location, time, indication of change
• Lighting – mood, movement, abstract impressions
• Character – giving information about or interaction with actors onstage

The Scenic Approach

Figure 1.3 Christine Elliott and Lukas Jacob in the World Premiere of Out of Orbit by Jennifer Maisel at the Williamston Theatre, Williamston, MI. Director: Frannie Shepherd-Bates, Scenic Designer: Jeremy Hopgood, Projection Designer: Alison Dobbins, Lighting Designer: Heather Brown, Costume Designer: Holly Iler, Props Designer: Stefanie Din Credit: Photo by Chris Purchis

If projections are best used to communicate time and place to the audience, then you will explore projections as scenic design. In this approach, projections will morph and add to the existing scenic design to create different locations or times of day, and to add movement. This is not meant to constrain the ways that projections are used. It is a method for re-evaluating and collecting centralizing ideas.

Figure 1.4 Darah Donaher and Casaundra Freeman in the World Premiere of 900 Miles to International Falls by Annie Martin at the Williamston Theatre. Director: Tony Caselli, Projections Designer: Alison Dobbins, Scenic Designer: Bartley H. Bauer, Lighting Designer: Reid G. Johnson, Costume Designer: Karen Kangas-Preston, Props Designer: Michelle Raymond Credit: Photo by Chris Purchis

In Figure 1.3, the projections reflected the inner landscape of the main character. This design approach brought together the abstract and functional aspects of the projections.

In Figure 1.4, the multiple locations in this post-apocalyptic play are illustrated through projections. Brainstorming about projections as scenery helped to frame data such as the scope and scale of the projections.

The Lighting Approach

If projections are mostly being used to light the performance space, change the mood, and create abstract or movement-based emotions, then you will explore projections as lighting design. In this approach, projections will focus on color, shape, and movement and will add to the existing lighting design. In the example above, the projections bring movement and energy to the scene, working in harmony with the rock ’n’ roll concert lighting.

Figure 1.5 Jacob Covert and Max Sanders in American Idiot by Green Day at Michigan State University Theatre, East Lansing, MI. Director: Bradley Willcuts, Projections Designer: Alison Dobbins, Lighting Designer: Heather Brown, Costume Designer: Karen Kangas-Preston Credit: Photo by Brian deVries

The Character Approach

If projections are mostly being used to mirror, reflect, or prompt actions onstage, then you will explore projections as a character. In this approach, projections act and interact with the actors on stage to tell the story. Projections functioning as character could include a shadow projection, a character videoconferencing into a scene, or it could involve social media.

Figure 1.6 The World Premiere of The Geranium on the Windowsill Just Died but Teacher You Went Right On book and lyrics by Michael Lluberes, Music by Jared M. Dembowski, based on the book ...