Setting the Stage

The stage: It is a vast open space of hardwood floor until a set is erected. Then the possibilities are endless. \nIn the past year, IU's Wells-Metz Theatre has been a Chicago back porch in "Proof," the surreal tree-lined landscape of "The Cherry Orchard" and the dark dreary cave of "Bat Boy." The set creates the world that a play's characters inhabit, and its creation is the culmination of work by a behind-the-scenes team. \nFred Duer, assistant professor of scenic design, said there are six steps to scenic design -- commitment, analysis and research incubation, selection, implementation and, finally, evaluation.\n"The biggest part of design is communication," Duer said. "Scenic design is a collaborative art form, and you have to enjoy that collaboration." \nDuer holds a Master in Fine Arts in production design and technology from Ohio University. Before coming to teach at IU, he worked in television for many years. He spent five years working on the set of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and also designed for "Saved By the Bell." \nDuer said that when working on a set design, one of the major challenges is getting other members of the production crew to understand your vision for the play. However, there are tools, ranging in technology from old-fashioned etchings to computer animated illustrations, available to help communicate ideas to the staff.\nDathan Powell, an MFA student in set design, echoed what Duer explained as the steps in scenic design. \n"You have to be flexible, able to adapt," Powell said. "It is a collaboration process of the entire design team -- costume, light, actors and the set designer."\nPowell said he tries to share his inspirations rather than dictate his ideas to others. He is aware that the set can impose on the production due to the movement limitations of the physical set. Powell uses some computer-based tools to help share his design ideas with the rest of the production crew. Programs such as AutoCAD, VectorWorks and SketchUP work together to provide a 3-D walk through the set design. Using computers also allows for changes to be made easily. \n"Computers do not replace other parts of the process, but add to my repertoire," Powell said.\nGordon Strain, another MFA student in set design, put an emphasis on the commitment needed to tackle set design. Strain also said it is important to spend some time away from the design during the process and then return to see if it still works. Time away from the set helps him to see it in a new light when he returns.\nSet design takes long hours with many obstacles to overcome in the construction process, Strain said.\n"I ask the question of, ultimately, why am I doing this? Is this a script that I always wanted to do? Or is it paying the bills?" Strain said.\nStrain said he spends long hours designing sets because he wants whatever production he is working on to be the best it can be. \n"It is an art, but you work with so many people. There are so many ideas that go into the final product," Strain said.\nFor Strain, this process has become a craft on how to translate his ideas to the group. He likes to work with models, ground plans and rendering -- the set as it would be in one particular scene. \n"The best, most effective way to communicate to the larger group is the model since it is what (the set will be), just smaller," Strain said.\nAfter the set is designed, building and construction can begin. Later, furniture is added.\n"That's what attracted me to scene design. I get to be a jack-of-all-trades. Part of it is building and construction, but the more artistic end," Powell said.\nAs a kid, Powell wanted to be an architect until his sophomore year in high school, when he got a lead part in a play. Suddenly he wanted to act. In 1999, Powell got his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the theater department of Illinois-Wesley in Bloomington, Ill. In the small program he acted, built props and took classes in other parts of theater production.\n"I don't have to have the math for true architecture. In scenic design, I just have to know how it needs to look," Powell said.\nPowell chose to come to IU because the program has students produce sets for two shows a year throughout the three-year program. The hands-on experience in set design and construction helps to build up a resume.\nSo far, Powell has worked on sets for fall 2003's "Alien from Cincinnati," spring 2004's "The Laramie Project," fall 2004's "Bat Boy -- A Musical" and the upcoming production of "Pal Joey -- A Musical" in spring 2005.\nStrain said he has always wanted to do scene design and had little interest in acting. He did his undergraduate work at a small school in Ithaca, N.Y., getting his BFA in theatrical production arts. Afterward Strain moved to Cincinnati, where he taught middle school and high school theater and drama. \n"I like regional theater because it has the most interesting productions. It is changing and not as commercial as Broadway," Strain said.\nStrain came to the IU program because the MFA gives him the skills needed to do professional theater.\nSo far Strain has helped in the creation of sets for fall 2003's "Jacques Brel: A Musical Review," spring 2004's "Proof" and fall 2004's "Dracula." He is currently working on the design for the spring 2005 production of "The Bacchae."\n"The plays done last year were not necessarily my style. They were more realistic than my style of expression," Strain said. "I am looking forward to doing 'The Bacchae' because even though the story is over 2,000 years old, it is still strong. There is the freedom to go in any direction."\nDuer was still working in professional theater when 9/11 occurred. After the event, he experienced a change in himself. He began to feel that his work and money were not enough. Duer said he wanted to do something with more meaning -- teach. Coming to IU this fall was coming to his dream job. Duer said he feels he is making an impact, and a difference in the lives of his students and audiences.\n"When theater can be there for a reason, it is more satisfying. Academia is also satisfying in the same way," Duer said.\n-- Contact staff writer Maurina Paradise at paradise@indiana.edu.