Bibliography

Spooner, Catherine, 2004, Fashioning Gothic Bodices, University Press, Manchester

Simson, Otto Van, 1956, The Gothic Cathedral, Bollingen Foundation inc, New York

Branner, Robert, 1968, Gothic Architecture, Studio Vista Limited, Great Britain

Levitt, Sarah, 1986, Victorians Unbuttoned, George Allen & Unwin Ltd, London

Thorne, Gary, 2009, Technical Drawing For Stage Design, The Crowood Press Ltd, Wiltshire

Lavar, James, 1969, Costume And Fashion, Great Britain

Ribeiro, Aileen, Valerie Cumming, 1989,  The Visual History Of Costume

Conclusion

An investigation into narrative and genre has provided an insight into production, performance and transformation. The project has enabled me to realise and broaden my ideas within my chosen genre. At the beginning of the project I found the idea difficult to grasp, I went about changing the narrative altogether rather than translating the narrative through a different genre. In doing this I missed out on important time in which I should have been exploring the different possibilities of my genre.

I do feel that I need more practise when it comes to technical drawing. Although pleased with the outcome of the scenic model, I do feel more care should have been taken when creating the boxes. In places there are pieces of foam board a couple of millimetres out of place. A lot of care was taken to ensure this didn't happen but somehow it managed to slip past me. I think a necessary step for me would be to properly learn how to use computer programmes such as Auto CAD, as i think this would have benefited me.
Understanding genre and how it relates to a subject has helped me to engage with the design process and has given me insight towards the role of the set model.

Finishing Touches

I pulled apart some woollen fibers, and dipped them in grey watery paint to create cobwebs. I've placed some of the cobwebs around the set.

I have also included a 2d figure, just as a prompt to show where the actress might be during the scene.

Sightlines

Once all the scenery and props had been glued in to place, I cut out strips of black foam board to act as teasers and legs. I checked the view from the far left and far right seats and adjusted the legs so that the wings couldn't be seen from those seats.

View from far right seat.

View from far left seat.

I also made sure that the rigging wasn't exposed to the seats, by placing teasers at the top.

Backdrop

I wasn’t sure whether I even needed a backdrop for my set. The pieces of scenery, i.e. the walls and the staircase, basically created the representation of the room. The audience just had to imagine the rest. I’ve seen plays where the stage has a permanent setting, and the only thing that changes are the props that are brought on, usually by the actors. I went to see Great Expectations at the Stables Theatre in Hastings, and the set for that just had some scaffolding set up, which was used in every scene. There was no backdrop or Flooring. But it worked just as well as if there had been.

Link to photographs: http://web.mac.com/artypharty/Site_9/Great_Expectations.html#9

Looking at my set I know I won’t need flooring, the black of the theatre floor works quite well. If I did choose to have flooring I wouldn’t know what to have, without being given moiré time to think it through. There could be a minimum of two complete scene changes in my design, and the flooring would be quite contrasting for either one. For example, if I chose to have wood panelling for my flooring for the interior scenes, when it came to the outdoor scene, wood panelling would look rather strange, and vice versa.

For the backdrop I have painted a continuation of the room and included a chandelier on it.
Originally I had made it quite detailed, and included the stripes. However, when it was next to the other bits of scenery, I found that it distracted me and I ended up looking at the background instead. I also moved the chandelier further down the backdrop, because when I had put the teasers in the chandelier was hidden.

First Attempt

Second Attempt

The backdrop was glued to a piece of 6mm dowel to enable it to become interactive.

The staircase is too big to move on and off the stage, therefore it will be a permanent structure on the stage. For the outdoor scene later on, there would be another backdrop positioned in front of the staircase, so for that scene the actors would perform downstage. For other scenes props like the books can easily be moved on and off, and I have checked that both bookcase and the smaller decaying wall both can fit through the gap and be moved on or off if needed.

The Staircase

The staircase was the most complicated thing to create, (apart from the scenic model itself).
I made it as I went along, so it probably took longer to make than it should have.

The main structure was created from strips of foam board, and then glued together. Once I felt the stairs had reached a good enough height, I covered it in strips of mod rock to create texture and also to strengthen it.

 I then created the banister supports using 3mm dowel which I ended up attaching with mod rock, and used 6mm dowel for the banisters.

 I’d found a scrap piece of flannel like material which was perfect for the carpet leading down the stairs. I stained it to age it using watery brown paint and glued it onto the staircase.

 I used a dark brown for the stairs. I was pondering whether to use grey, to make them stone like, as it would look more gothic, however stone steps tend to be outside, or in cathedrals. So I opted for brown.

Using super sculpey I moulded rounded shapes to sit on top of the banister pillars for decoration. These were baked in the oven for 15 minutes on 130 degrees. Later they were painted and glued to banisters.

Lastly, I created another decaying wall to go behind the staircase and support it. It was made in the same way as the other decaying wall.

The walls have also been stained in parts with brown paint to give it that damp look. 

See bible sheet for the staircase.

Decaying Wall

The decaying wall was the next piece of scenery I made. The technique of creating a cracked wall really appealed to me, and would be useful in my set. Although Kapaline foam board would have been the ideal material to use, i had to make do with ordinary white foam board as i couldn't afford the Kapaline board.
I went to Wickes to get some fine surface filler as this really helped to achieve the texture on the pieces i'd done before.

I had bought some handmade paper, which i thought would be useful for the wallpaper. However I felt the cream colour was too plain. After giving it some thought, I painted stripes down the paper to act as a pattern. The stripes remind me of prison bars, which suggest imprisonment. The Queen could quite easily be seen as imprisoned in her own home, or even by her thoughts. The wallpaper is a reflection of her feelings. In fact quite a lot of the setting is a reflection of her feelings.

I then ripped at the wallpaper to make some of peel off. The surface filler underneath turned patchy when the paper was removed, which was an effect I wanted anyway, so luckily it happened to be produced naturally.

To add to the creepy, Gothic style I wanted to add in candlestick holders. In proper lighting they could create quite an ominous atmosphere.

Wire and 3mm dowel was used to create them. I also decided to use tissue paper for the flame.

Lastly, I made two triangle supports and attached them to the back of the wall to act as french braces.

Refer to Decaying Wall bible sheet for more detail.