Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 2001 - 15

Henry IV, Part I-Hal's place (Act I) and Falstaff's room at the Boar's Head Tavern (Act III). These sketches by the author were developed from
"visual notes" taken during a pre-production retreat with the director, Stephen Unwin. (English Touring Theatre, 1996)

Masaccio frescoes that can be seen in the
Brancacci chapel in Florence. He was the first
social realist painter, and portrayed young
Italian men defiantly arguing with officials, tax
collectors and elder citizens. Their frustration
at their repression is evident from their posture and facial expressions. We captured that
emotion in the exaggerated masks and figures
we designed, made and performed with. This
visual cross-referencing was the key to unlocking our own interpretation of these plays.
In Henry IV, Part II Shakespeare reflects
through Warwick, "There is a history in all
men's lives." I began to study the play's characters in depth. I invented their histories to
get to know them as people, I became more
and more fluent at describing the space
scenographically, working from the actor outwards. Together, the director and myself (for
the work was united and indivisible) created
over fifty drawings, charting like air traffic
controllers the expansion and contraction of
the scenes, through the movement of actors,
that made the space speak.
In this way, the stage scenario was written, and all was in harmony. Then at a preproduction meeting, I said quite idly and
causally, "Oh, by the way, this time credit me
in the programming as scenographer, not as
"designed by" because scenographer describes more precisely the way I work." There
was a stunned silence. Everyone looked uncomfortably at each other. I was surprised.
Was this a contentious issue? I wondered what
the problem was. "What would happen," said
the general manager, "if everyone wanted to
be called a scenographer?-we just would not
be able to cope." "I am sure there won't be
enough room on the programme," said the
marketing manager, "and we can't afford any
14

S U M M E R

2 0 0 1

TD & T

more pages-our budget is stretched as it is."
The technical director thought it sounded as
though a scenographer might be working too
much with the director and would not do the
technical drawings properly. My friend and
colleague the director was a bit abashed and
embarrassed, feeling caught in a trap. He
thought scenographer sounded un-English,
perhaps rather French or German, and implied a "folie de grandeur." And then, one
person, the director of education, asked, "but
what is scenography?" I suddenly realized
how important a name is.
Scenography describes a holistic approach to making theatre from the visual perspective. It derives from the Greek
sceno-grafika, and translates in common understanding as "the writing of the stage
space"-l'ecriture scenique. It is an international theatre word. It is not stenography, or
sexography, or a spelling mistake. As the word
is becoming more and more familiar in countries where it has not been in common use, so
it becomes locally interpreted. At the same time,
scenography and scenographers are taking a
different path from theatre designers (often
now mistaken for those who design theatres)
and are at times crossing the demarcation
lines between direction and design, becoming
joint creators of the mïse en scène.
The acceptance of the word scenography,
or scenographer, is no more than an attitude
of mind. It begins by including it in the program and printed material so that it becomes
a normal and accurate description of an activity. Out of sight is always out of mind.
To be called a scenographer means more
than decorating a background for actors to
perform in front of. It demands a parity between creators who have individual roles, re-

sponsibilities and talents. The prerequisite for
going forward in this new century of theatremaking starts with all the different disciplines
involved in creating a production having a better
understanding of each other's work processes
and achievements. I once heard a well-known
technical director muttering to himself as he
walked down a corridor, "...if it wasn't for
the actors, and the director, and the designers, I could get this show on the road with no
trouble at all..." Those days are surely gone.
The scenographer also has to work
harder to understand the needs of the performers, who are, in the end, the primary visual element one has to work with. What the
performers wear is both a signifier of the plot
or story, and an extension of the stage picture.
The actors are the scenography, and therefore
to separate "sets" from "costumes" is, in scenographic terms, a contradiction. However, in
order for the scenographer to be part of the
mïse en scène there has to be a structure that
enables him or her to be in rehearsals as a
partner to the director, so that the literary
mind and the visual mind can work together.
The scenographer needs to be part of the process, and understand the actors' performances, and how to sculpt them in the space.
Actors are the carriers of the story, and are
brave, tender and vulnerable and often need
help to see themselves as three-dimensional
beings in the graphic space. Through drawings and maquettes they can be reminded of
the scene as viewed by the spectators. Yet,
however well explained the maquette is at
"show and tell" sessions at the beginning of
rehearsals-how quickly it is forgotten. How
many times have we seen a carefully markedout stage plan on the rehearsal floor, with actors being directed to walk through walls,

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 2001