Theatrical Scene Painting: A Lesson Guide

Part 2. Basic Lessons

71 Part 2 Basic Lessons All scenery must be textured or toned in some way to counteract the flattening effect and glare of stage lights. And while scenery should also provide visual interest, it must, as well, furnish information unobtrusively in regard to the locale, era, or economic level around which the play revolves. Though it is not this writer’s intention to expound on the purposes or requirements of scenery, the manner in which the scene painting is handled will make a definite statement either in support of or against the play’s framework. The scenic designer and the play’s director must as carefully as possible select and agree upon those visual elements that best support the action as envisaged by the playwright. Eventually, specifically in regard to coloration, implied texture, and revelation of form, finishing the life-size renderings of these visual elements will largely become the province and responsibility of the scene painter. And the painter’s job is not an easy one, sometimes befitting more the work of a magician: wood turns to stone, fabric becomes wood, and flat surfaces magically protrude or recede. The goal of part 2 is to illuminate the wizardry of scene painting and illustrate how the eye can be fooled when a two-dimensional surface turns into a three-dimensional illusion. 7. The Three-Dimensional Illusion and the Light Source The fundamental principle in creating a three-dimensional illusion is that a light source must illuminate the three-dimensional object or arrangement of varied surface planes. This light source, depending on its location and prox- ...