Intro to Scenic Design: Theatre Level 1

Session Design by Reanna Cook

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Content Standards
● Secondary Theatre Respond Standard 7:
Identify and explain why artistic choices are made in a drama/theatre work.
● Secondary Theatre Create Standard 2:
Read and analyze a play for its technical requirements, identifying points in the
script that require the addition of a technical element.

Essential Questions
● What can analysis of the visual aspects of a production tell us about the intent of the
director for the production?
● How can we use the elements of design to shape our audience’s experience?

Enduring Understandings
● Students will understand that the elements of design can influence the audience’s mood,
and their perception of the themes within a drama work.

Key Knowledges
● Students will know that line, an element of design, can be defined as “the path of a dot,
point etc. through space and that always has more length than thickness. A line is the
starting place for most visual artistic creations. It is also the path your eye follows when
you examine an image”.
● Students will know that shape, an element of design, can be defined as “a two
dimensional enclosed area”.
● Students will know that value, an element of design, can be defined as “the brightness or
darkness of a shade”.
● Students will know that space, an element of design, can be defined as “the area within,
around, above, or below an object or objects. The area that something takes up in relation
to the area around that thing.”
● Students will know that color, an element of design, can be defined as “our eye’s
perception of reflected, or absorbed waves of light”.
● Students will know that texture, an element of design, can be defined as “the quality of
the surface of an object”.
● Students will know that form, an element of design, can be defined as “a three
dimensional enclosed area”.

Skills
● Students will be able to identify the elements of design in images.
 ● Students will be able to interpret how the elements of design are used in an image to
affect the mood, and energy of the observers of that image.
● Students will be able to identify the scenic requirements of a script.
● Students will be able to create a rendering of a scenic design through artwork such as
drawing or painting, digitally, or by creating a 3D model.
● Students will be able to justify the use of the elements of design in their set renderings.

ASSESSMENTS
Performance Tasks
● Students will develop a scenic design, and justification for The Arkansaw Bear by
Aurand Harris either through drawing, digitally, or by creating a 3D model. They will
present their design to the class in order to show that they can create a rendering, and
justify the use of the elements of design in their renderings. Their presentation will be
graded on the Scenic Design (Arkansaw Bear) Rubric.

Other Assessments
● Students will complete Scenic Design Vocabulary Worksheet (attached) in order to
demonstrate that they can identify the scenic requirements of a script, to notate the
definitions of the elements of scenic design, and to interpret how those elements are used
to affect the mood and energy of the audience.

LEARNING PLAN
Day 1: As a framing/hook activity, students would be shown various images of artwork,
photography, and scenic designs and asked to discuss the following questions:
How does this image make you feel?
What do you notice first about this image?
If this still image became a movie or play, what story do you think would unfold?
Following the discussion, students would be introduced to the idea that scenic design not
only affects the setting of the story, but also the mood and energy of the audience. They will then
be introduced to the elements of design, the vocabulary words, without their definitions, so that
the students can activate any background knowledge they have from art, history, or mathematics
classes. In groups, the students will work together to write their own definition for each term.
Afterward, the facilitator would give a presentation, including visual examples of each element,
the definition, and how they can apply each of the elements to a design to change the impact it
has on the audience.
The facilitator will then revisit the images from the start of class, and ask students to
respond to the following questions:
How does this image make you feel?
What is the line in this image? How does that affect the feeling of the image?
What is the shape in this image? How does that affect the feeling of the image?
What is the value in this image? How does that affect the feeling of the image?
 What is the space in this image? How does that affect the feeling of the image?
What is the color in this image? How does that affect the feeling of the image?
What is the texture in this image? How does that affect the feeling of the image?
What is the shape in this image? How does that affect the feeling of the image?
Lastly, on this day, inform students that they will be reading the play The Arkansaw Bear,
and developing a rendering of a set design. The facilitator should show them examples of a
drawn set design, a digital set design, and a 3D model. They will present their renderings to the
class, and should prepare a 2-3-paragraph justification of their design choices. They should
inform the students that the purpose of the activity is for them to create a design that meets the
needs of the script, and uses the elements of design to enhance the themes and moods found
within the play. Collect their Scenic Design Vocabulary Worksheets.

Day 2: This day begins with a vocal warm up. Afterwards, students are given a copy of
the script, and are handed back their Scenic Design Vocabulary Worksheets. They are divided
into groups of 10 students. They read the play round-robin style, or by assigning one person in
each of their groups a character.
NOTE: One student in each group should also read the stage directions.
As they read, the students should notate any evidence of the scenic requirements of the
play on their worksheet. It should be stated beforehand that the evidence may be explicitly or
implicitly stated. Once the students have completed the reading, provide materials for them to
begin working on their renderings. These materials could include paper, colored pencils,
markers, paint and brushes, SketchUp or other digital rendering softwares, cardboard boxes,
toothpicks, craft sticks, fabric, and more.

Day 3: On this day, students should continue to work on their renderings and
justifications.

Day 4: On this day, students should take about 2 minutes each to present their renderings
and justifications.

NOTE: This lesson could also be completed on the subject of costume design, the
renderings of which could be artwork, digital art, a costume gallery via Pinterest, or a physical
presentation (coming dressed as a character).

Scenic Design Vocabulary Worksheet

 Student Name:

Word Board Definition My Definition Image

The 7 aspects affecting the visual The visual building

Elements impact of an image blocks of a stage
of Design picture that changes
how we feel about
what we see

line

shape

value

space

color
texture

shape

What are the scenic requirements for The Arkansaw Bear? If you need more space, feel free
to use, and attach a separate sheet of paper.
Scenic Requirement Page # Evidence

What moods or themes of the play do you want to reflect in your scenic design? How do
you plan to go about it?
 Justification
On day one, I have students develop their own definitions of what each of the elements of
design might be in order to ensure that “[t]he word is described in everyday language rather than
dictionary-speak” (Buehl, 207), however, I do provide a discipline specific definition for each
work because “frequently, the academic language [students] hear in a classroom and the social
language they are engaged with outside of school are incongruous” (Robb, 117). The activity in
which the students engage with images and describe them using the vocabulary words is an
activity that “effectively reinforce[s] students experimenting with putting targeted words in play”
(Buehl, 208). In the selection of my vocabulary, I followed each of the Five Principles of Quality
Vocabulary Instruction, including “promot[ing] word consciousness” and “choos[ing] a limited
number of thematically related vocabulary words that are essential for engaging in core concepts
in [my] discipline” (Vocabulary Instruction, September 28). A vital part of this lesson is
providing students the opportunity to apply the concepts and vocabulary they have learned in
their renderings and justifications.

Resources

Buehl, Doug. Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning. Fourth ed., Stenhouse
Publishers, 2017.

Harris, Aurand. Arkansaw Bear. Anchorage Press, 1980.

Robb, Elizabeth, et al. “Vocabulary Theatre: A Peer-Teaching Approach for Academic

Vocabulary Acquisition.” Journal of Education and Training Studies, Jan. 2014,
redfame.com/journal/index.php/jets/article/view/247/222.

Wilson Lopez, Amy. “Vocabulary Instruction.” 28 Sept. 2020.