Drafting for the Theatre

17. A Case Study of How Design Drawings Are Created

210 17.1 Introduction In order to describe the range of drawings typically required to graphically communicate a scenic design, this chapter leads the reader through the critical steps necessary to prepare the two-dimensional drawings needed to articulate a design. The project featured is Dennis Dorn’s design for Fire in the Basement, produced at the University of Wisconsin– Madison (fig. 17.1). This chapter will describe the preparation of working (design) drawings, while shop (construction) drawings are detailed in chapter 18. Our intention is that both chapters serve as simple, but thorough, illustrations of the steps typically used to create these graphic specifications. All the drawings in this section are CAD drawings, drawn in ½″ = 1′-0″ scale, with some exceptions. Particular attention is given to the development of required views, sheet layout, line weights, dimensions, and notation, making every effort to create drawings similar in look to traditional hand drafting. Whether CAD-generated or hand-drafted, theatrical drafting should place a high value on drawing organization, completeness, and appearance. Figure 17.2 shows the categories of drawings that will be covered and their suggested abbreviations . While the list is not exhaustive, the most common drawings are represented. 17.2 Base Drawings The shape of most sets is determined by the venue in which they are to be placed. To establish design parameters, most theatres have base drawings, usually a ground plan and one or two center line sections, that define the volume of the venue. Figures 17.3 and 17.4 show 17. A Case Study of How Design Drawings Are Created 17.1 Sketch of Fire in the Basement. Dennis Dorn, scene designer 211 17.2 Categories of design drawings and drafting 17.3 Hemsley Theatre base ground plan 212 the ground plan and a longitudinal section of the multiform room in which Fire was performed . Good quality base drawings show all the important architectural features of a room, including stage configuration (if fixed), egress openings, overhead obstructions, wall receptacles (power, audio, video, lighting), and permanent fire extinguisher locations, along with other features. While the base drawing of a proscenium stage has a defined center line and plaster line, a multiform space frequently uses two center lines from which to establish other points of measurement. 17.3 The Designer’s Roughs: Ground Plan, Elevation Sketch, and CL Section(s) The design process for most designers begins by developing, among others, two hand-drawn sketches: a ground plan (GP) and a front view, the latter often being some freehand-drawn combination of a perspective and a front elevation view (FT. ELEV.). Most often the perspective sketch is the first developed, as this illustration provides both designer (design team) and director the visual information that best informs the overall shapes and relationships of proposed scenic elements. However, in practice, there is no preferred order. Any drawing created during this phase should be considered merely conceptual; drawing precision is not critical. The importance of precision increases as design work is refined. Regardless, the emphasis of this discussion is not design, but rather the drafting of the design. As was the case with Fire in the Basement, a ¼″ scale model that approximated the dimensions and painting of the desired end product was created prior to beginning any formal drafting. This is the same pattern followed by most professional designers. Once the model is accepted, the task of preparing the working drawings necessary to bid and fabricate the project can be turned over to assistants (figs. 17.5 and 17.6) who take their information directly off the model. As mentioned, venue base-drawings usually contain some datum lines, but as was the case with Fire, the placement of the set actually required additional or alternate reference markers. The center line is typically a constant, regardless of the venue, but the plaster line is commonly replaced by a datum line similar to the set line. A set line allows the set to have its own reference point rather than using measurements relative to the architecture of a space. The center line section (CL section) is a third sketch that could be developed, although all too often designers leave it to the last, if they do it at all. While it is not uncommon to do two sections, one looking SR (stage-right) and the other SL (stage-left), if only one is drawn, the chosen view should be the one...