Technical Drawing for Stage Design

Gary Thorne

• Publisher: Crowood
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781785000669
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Theatre Stagecraft & Scenography

Technical Drawing for Stage Design explains the importance of drawing in the design process, revealing how the initial two-dimensional drawing is a crucial building block in creating the scale model that in turn will develop into the stage set - that will transport the audience into another world. Topics covered include: introducing the tools and equipment used by the designer; developing confidence in freehand sketching; drawing to aid the creative thought process, communicate design ideas and help with the construction process; scenic elements and the related terminology; the architecture of the theatre - and how to draw it. Aimed at drama students and teachers, technical drawing students, amateur dramatics groups and theatre workshop organisers, Technical Drawing for Stage Design offers an attractive and practical manual on the subject. Well illustrated with approximately 120 black and white images.

1 THE LANGUAGE OF TECHNICAL DRAWING

THREE TYPES OF DRAWING

Three types of drawing serve design. Each drawing type serves in a practical way to accomplish particular aims.

Drawing – ideas in a process of development

Drawing is a tool and as a tool it offers the potential to reveal. Drawing can represent, as ‘we draw to see what we observe’. Through representation a better understanding of what it is we observe can be made, as in the study to discover inherent truths. Drawing also supports putting shape to ideas; something imagined takes shape through drawing. Putting pen to paper facilitates visualizing the process of thinking something through. Ideas on the page once formed provoke or initiate a response in the viewer. In practical terms ideas presented invite or welcome comment and criticism. The act of drawing is in itself problem solving; for example, applying practical building geometry to formulate the surface development of a cone or pyramid (see pages 70–71).

Drawing – ideas as a presentation medium

A drawing facilitates communication: an idea in progress, a proposal formulated, or a calculated intention. As a drawing it may appear very much unresolved. Through being interpreted a drawing may initiate the process of construction; to initiate ‘bench drawings’ and later the ‘build’. A drawing therefore initiates both the discussion necessary to move production forward, and the production processes. A presentational drawing generally does not explain how realization is achievable; therefore drawings facilitate a feasibility study. Many ideas conveyed in a drawing deliver a desirable intention, where design ideas may outweigh actual practicalities. The ideas behind a drawing may promote something new or unique. A drawing may only present a proposal for possible interrelationships. Drawings that represent the intended form may not address the structural concerns that actually support form. Drawings may be developed freehand, as technical board drawings, or they may be computer-generated.

Drawing – ideas as a guide for construction

Technical drawings inform construction through a scaled representation of how a scenic element or prop should look to the eye once built. As there is typically a scaled model or prototype in 3D to accompany a drawing, the viewer has the opportunity to see the aesthetic intentions in both 2D and 3D. Whether the drawing is a preliminary or finished drawing it should convey scaled proportional relationships, defined by overall dimensions and internal intermediate dimensioning. Technical drawings are generally presented in the same scale as the scenic elements built within either a ‘sketch model’ or within a ‘presentational model’; the scale is typically 1:25. Technical drawings facilitate the making of the model. The model box with its set design is complemented by the ‘package’ of technical drawings. This package of technical drawings, which amounts to the full collection of drawings for a show, once delivered to the construction department informs them of calculated intentions. The precise nature of technical drawings facilitates production management, at the first stage, costing the build. Yet before construction can begin to build they must first interpret the package of drawings to convert them into ‘construction drawings’. This is something that the Head of Construction will process, and involves turning all the designer’s draughted information into drawings that define the actual materials to be used and the processes for construction. The result is the ‘construction drawings’, a set of technical drawings that communicate directly to those on the shop floor involved in the build. The development of construction drawings does involve and engage the designer, as all materials and methods to be used will have a knock-on effect. The aim of the designer’s presentational drawings is to guide construction through to a build, with designer drawings offering clear and precise intention. For design the enlargement from scale to real size should be of no surprise.

GRAPHIC REPRESENTATION

Technical drawing is a graphic language and it is characterized by fine line pencil or ink drawing, delivered in a mechanical way. As a form of language, communication is established through using applied methods, principles and techniques for representing objects technically. An object as drawn in orthographic projection appears represented two dimensionally (in 2D), and is perceived through presented ‘views’; the multiple views of an object in 2D enable the viewer to formulate a mental picture of the object in the mind as three-dimensional (in 3D) – see Chapter 8. Graphic layout includes depicting the front view, side view, top view, plan and rear view, all of which add up to the formation of a 3D impression. Production and construction teams are well experienced at reading the graphic language of technical drawings to formulate those mental pictures, which support them in anticipating a build and realizing that build.

The graphic nature of technical drawing in 2D facilitates constructing the scale model in 3D. A drawing showing the different views of a ‘dresser’ (see page 123) can be copied or dyeline printed, and the resulting copy can be pasted to card, and once fixed is then cut and assembled, much like a kit. Scale models are typically the centre of attention at production meetings. The drawings that accompany a model back up the accuracy of the model. Precision and clarity are essential elements in technical drawing.

FORM AND STRUCTURE

The designer considers form as the geometrical configuration of structure. Form presents itself with having structural concerns. To make an assessment of structure it is necessary, but not easy, to remove the form to reveal what is giving it shape. Designers often seek to discover the material form that works best to complement ideas related to the play text. Their interest may focus more on form than structure, with the aim that structural concerns do not play an active role visually. In contrast to this they may seek to discover a structure supportive of ideas in the play text. Either way, any discussion between design and construction which occurs over the design will require judgments to be made on material and the relevance of the proposed construction processes.

Research often leads on to studying structural form as witnessed in the natural world. Designers may, like engineers, be particularly interested in stress factors as found within natural formations, in understanding principles of how form is affected by structure. Nature may be a key resource for design, and through observation, inspiration may be found. Such an interest may invite the design to be more organic, or to be interested in tensions and compressions as discovered in the real world. The construction department ensures that adequate strengths be applied to the build through the production process. A key or primary aim will be to satisfy strict health and safety standards.

Set design also needs to consider expectations or demands that will take place during a performance. It will also embrace the demands made when design is in any way transported. With touring productions there is a unique demand upon the build, where the importance of materials and their capacities – along with relevance of construction processes – must be factored in. How scenic units are to dismantle or break apart into component parts suitable for transporting is of typical concern for design. The aesthetics of scenic breaks in a set need disguising in some form or other, as no designer wants visible break-lines. Financial or budget considerations help both the designer and construction choose one method of construction over another.

Form and structure: Definitions

Form (noun): a shape, outward aspect or shape of a body, the mode in which a thing exists or manifests itself.

Form (verb): to make or fashion into a shape or form, take a certain shape; be formed.

Structure (noun): a whole constructed unit, especially a building. The way in which a building is constructed, a set of interconnecting parts of any complex thing, a framework.

Structure (verb): give structure to; organize.

THE AIM OF TECHNICAL DRAWING

The technical drawing aims to depict with clarity and precision how the object will look. How an object is represented is typically through representation of its different views. Accompanying measurements detail height, width and depth. A drawing might clarify formal concerns for proportioning and dimensioning, while detailed drawings clarify component parts or internal relationships. Accompanying text will flag up intentions as further required, and may well inform construction on scenic art effects to be applied once built, and how actors or stage crew will handle the object. All of this informs construction of the practicalities of a design. The two key principles of technical drawing are clarity and precision.

The aim of technical drawing: Clarity

Know who needs the drawing.

Know the purpose of the drawing.

Know what it is they need to know.

Know how best to communicate the information.

Precision

Accurate drawings save time and money.

To cost a production effectively, all scenic elements must be included.

Each scenic element needs calculated measuring and dimensioning.

Views included within a drawing give all information required.

Drawings speak for themselves.

Accuracy is achieved through attention to detail.

THE BRIEF

Knowing the brief makes drawing up all the easier. Understanding why a particular view should be included informs construction of required information. Delays in production usually occur when error or discrepancies appear. To avoid error it is good practice to make revisions of drawings prior to handing them over. An interest in practical problem solving forges good working relationships with those on the shop floor. Observing processes of construction encourages knowledge transfer, in favour of a well-informed designer working to maintain constructive interrelationships. Knowledge of material and processes of construction leads to better forward planning at the drawing-up stage, where a sensibility for budgeting informs both design and its decision-making. Knowledge of the role and responsibility of the designer enables the delivery of clear and precise information, meeting expectations. Above all else, a technical drawing serves a purpose.

THE ROLE OF DESIGNER AND DRAUGHTSMAN

The role of designer and draughtsman is to provide leadership. Good leadership includes an aptitude for creative and practical decision making. Evidence of leadership is found in how effectively the processing of design relates to presentational proposals. The production process is therefore supported by well-defined practical problem solving in 2D and in 3D. Thereafter the skill of teamwork and negotiation becomes all-important. Production management expects the competent designer to drive intention forward. The designer or draughtsman is expected to be both creative and technically aware. As design embraces creative risk-taking, flexibility is paramount. Production management initiates risk assessment for the design. Aspects of health and safety carry on right through the production period on a daily basis. Once actors arrive on-stage for the technical period there are guidelines for health and safety to be implemented. Where design becomes technically engaging for an actor, it is not unusual for the actor to be cal...