Scenography - The Theatre Design Website

A 5-day intensive course led by David Neat
Rose Bruford College, Sidcup
Summer 2008 dates: 21-25 July, 8-12 September

The term ‘advanced’ is used because it is assumed that those interested will already have the basics, but want to extend their repertoire of techniques and understanding of different materials. It is aimed at practitioners or experienced students in a variety of disciplines.

David Neat is a professional model-maker with 25 years experience in theatre, film, 3D design, architecture and exhibitions. He is a Motley graduate, a practicing sculptor, and a qualified teacher (including Rose Bruford College, Central St. Martins, Central School of Speech and Drama, RADA and Wimbledon College of Art where he teaches on the ‘Technical Arts and Special Effects’ and ‘Set Design for Stage and Screen’ courses). His book Model-making: Materials and Methods, a comprehensive, interdisciplinary book on model-making, has just been released by Crowood Press.

His emphasis in these workshops is on accessible techniques of building, modelling, surfacing and finishing which are largely common to all the above disciplines, and relevant both to designers and makers. There is also an emphasis on ‘realism’ in representation, which is geared more to theatre and film work than the other disciplines, but the aim in keeping the course solidly materials-based is to provide just as much of relevance to the architectural or product model-maker. Each session will offer a wealth of information, supported by specially prepared examples and clarified through demonstrations and practical exercises. Areas covered include: -
methods of constructing with card, plastics and foams; methods of casting; modelling with soft materials inc. figures; techniques of soldering and etching metals; simulating plants and trees; various surface/texture treatments and paint finishes.

Many materials are covered, while both traditional and new techniques are explored. Another aspect is the reliance on simple tools and accessible materials, rather than complicated or expensive machinery. All materials for the practical exercises are provided. Participants must however bring their own essential equipment (such as scale rule, scalpel, cutting mat and soldering iron). A complete list will be forwarded prior to the begin.

Each individual will also bring with them their own varied knowledge and talent, making this a valuable opportunity to discuss and compare personal experience. Whether you are a theatre designer wishing to make better, more convincing models; a  stop-motion puppet animator searching for the right environment, or an interior designer aiming for the right presentation - this course will help you on the way.

The cost per person will be £220, payable to Rose Bruford College in advance. This is still very low for an intensive course of this nature. Places are limited to 15, for the most effective teaching and participation, so those interested are advised to apply a.s.a.p.

Email… davneat (at) aol.com or phone David Neat on 07989 474786 for more information or to request a booking form.

From Ritual to Theatre - Asian Ritual Festival Workshop is an exciting once in a lifetime opportunity to participate in Taiwan’s Ghost Festival in Keelung and work with participants from around the world in a complimentary program of workshops organised by OISTAT and the Taiwanese Governments.

The full OISTAT press release follows:

We are cordially inviting you to join <From Ritual to Theatre – Asian Ritual Festival Workshop >, organized by OISTAT Secretariat and supported by Taiwanese Governments.  The workshop will take place during the Ghost Festival in Taiwan from August 13th (arrival) to 24th (departure), 2008.

A two-day trip to visit the Ghost Festival ceremony in Keelung will be arranged for the participants to observe the Taoist Shaman’s ritual performance, lantern pole erection, folk art parades and most important the “water lantern releasing to the sea”. You will also have once-in-a-life-time experience with the exotic spirit in rituals like “Grand Putu” as well as the Hakka Holy Boar Competition.
In the workshop followed by the trip, we are hoping you to share your observation and inspiration with the Taiwanese performing art profession (directors, designers), as well as theatre apprentices/assistances who will tour and work with you.The intention of the workshop is to encourage intercultural exchange and dialogues based on the grass-roots culture and to transform the ritual into theatrical ideas.
It is expected to present your initial works in the last day of the workshop in the forms of installations, story boards for a potential production, video/photo documentary and its transformation, design as performance, etc. Further development of works from the workshop is encouraged and we are hoping the works could be presented in future OISTAT events such as Scenofest, World Stage Design, or even end up as production in Taiwan.
The participants will be provided with logistic support, basic working materials, space for workshop/presentation. Local trip to Keelung, Welcome& Farewell dinners will be arranged and covered by the host. However, you are responsible for your own traveling arrangements and local accommodations.
For detail information, please click below to link to OISTAT Website. (http://www.oistat.org/newsletter/ghostfestival/) If you are willing to join the workshop, please fill out the registration form and email back to OISTAT Secretariat secretariat@oistat.org before 25th June with your traveling information. Attached please find also view the preliminary program

Download:

The Registration Form

Preliminary Program

Contact:

OISTAT Secretariat
Project Director: Wei-Wen Chang executivedirector@oistat.org
Contact Person: Chin Mu secretariat@oistat.org
Tel: 886-2-77260088
Fax: 886-2-7726-0808

In the Garden of One World is a floral photography installation by the Filipino-American writer/photographer Randy Gener and the Romanian-born theatre designer/visual artist Nic Ularu. This remarkable work brings together theatre scenography, digital photography and installation art to create a conceptual space inspired by Ellen Stewart’s famous dictum that theatre should “speak beyond words.”
At once a scenographic statement and a thematically organized exhibition, In the Garden of One World imagines a dream of a world garden. On display are more than 35 photographs of flowers and intriguing places taken in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, France, Greece, Italy, Nevis, Panama, Romania, South Korea, Sweden and the United States
A playwright, critic and senior editor of American Theatre magazine, Randy Gener snapped these photos while he was on assignment abroad, delivering papers and lectures at international theatre festivals and congresses, or participating in a number of cultural exchange programs and international artists’ residencies, including La MaMa Umbria International (the nonprofit cultural center and artists’ residence and work center founded by Stewart in 1990 in central Italy).

Location: La MaMa La Galleria, 6 E 1st Street, New York City, between Bowery & 2nd Avenue, (212) 505-2476

Dates: May 17 - June 1, 2008. Opening reception with the artists: Sunday, May 18, 6-8 p.m.

Designed by the Romanian theatre artist and scenographer Nic Ularu, In the Garden of One World reveals, enhances and re-stages the poetic and formal potential of these photographs through the metaphor of an abstract garden. Gener and Ularu are theatre artists whose professional careers have been nurtured at La MaMa E.T.C. In seeking to make unexpected links between disparate international experiences, their collaborative show attempts to visualize and embody La MaMa’s dream of “many cultures, one world.”
Support for the international theatre travels, which made In the Garden of One World possible, was made by Ernst Aichinger of The Austrian Foreign Ministry, The Consulate General of Sweden, The Ford Foundation through the Institute of International Education, The Foundation of the American Theatre Critics Association, The Romanian Cultural Institute in New York, The Trust for Mutual Understanding, the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest and the U.S. Department of State.
Biographies:

Nic Ularu is an Obie Award–winning designer, painter and theatre artist. Hailing originally from Romania, where he established himself as an important visual artist whose paintings were represented in a series of national exhibitions of fine arts from 1980 to 1988, Ularu has held eight solo exhibitions as well as several group shows in Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Brussels, Bucharest and Craiova. Besides writing and directing his own plays, Ularu has extensive design credits in the U.S., Sweden, Northern Ireland and Romania. He was the head of scenography at the National Theatre of Bucharest. Recent credits include: writer/director of The Cherry Orchard Sequel at LaMaMa E.T.C.; 2003 OBIE award for the Talking Band’s Painted Snake in a Painted Chair; 2005 co-designer of the exhibit World Stage Design in Canada; and 2007 lead designer and curator of the USA National Exhibit at the Prague Quadrennial for World Scenography.

Randy Gener is an award-winning writer, theatre artist, critic and editor, making his debut as a photographer. The author of the plays Love Seats for Virginia Woolf, What Remains of a Rembrandt Torn into Four Pieces, and other theatre works, he was among the inaugural batch of playwrights in LaMaMa Umbria International Playwrights Retreat in Spoleto, Italy, where he wrote his latest play, A Parliament of the Streets. The senior editor of American Theatre, a monthly magazine published by Theatre Communications Group, Gener lectures extensively in theatre festivals and universities in the U.S. and in Europe. He is the recipient of a 2007 Arts and Culture Prize from the 10th annual Filipinas Magazine Achievement Awards, honoring Filipino-American leaders and individuals who have excelled in their respective fields, as well as a 2000 Distinguished Service and Contribution in Arts and Culture from the National Federation of Filipino American Associations.

For more details visit the La MaMa website or call 212-254-6468

Forkbeard Fantasy are offering 2 six day residential courses in 2008. These Summer Schools give you the chance to discover new ways of working in an inclusive, stimulating and challenging environment. The Schools are located at Forkbeard’s Waterslade Studios in the heart of rural Devon (UK). Set in 2 acres of fields, Waterslade comprises a modern studio complex equipped for set and prop construction, film and video edit suites and performance teaching.

The week-long courses enable participants to explore the wild and diverse array of techniques, technologies and artforms used in Forkbeard’s multi-media stage, film and television work: Film and digital video 16mm and DV, lighting and camera skills, Final Cut Pro, compositing, editing, projection systems and surfaces…. Animation in all its myriad 2D & 3D forms, including pixillation and blue screen mixes.

We encourage a wide mix of interests and skills. Previous schools have included students, teachers, prop-makers, designers, visual and performance artists, film-makers, editors, animators, performers, engineers, technicians, architects, cartoonists, writers and puppeteers. The only requirement is applicants are over 18.

For more information about the Summer Schools telephone 0117 930 9933 or write to Forkbeard Summer Schools, P.O. Box 1241, Bristol BS99 2TG or e-mail ff@forkbeardfantasy.co.uk

Also visit the FF Website

Dates : June 27th - July 4th and July 11th - July 18th

Registration for Jean-Guy Lecat’s The Essential Performance Space closes on may the 31st, 2008

Read  The Essential Performance Space for more details.

The workshop provides:

• Residential accommodation for the week
• A midday meal
• All materials and equipment
• Final celebration

Fee:
£528 .75 inclusive of VAT

Arrival date: 10thJuly 2008 Departure: 17th July 2008

Contact: Sean Crowley

Location:
The College is located in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales and within the grounds of Cardiff Castle. Easily accessible by road or rail, Cardiff is situated just 2 hours from the centre of London. Cardiff also has its own International Airport which is only a 20 minute drive from the College. With low cost airlines offering excellent deals to Europe, Cardiff is an ideal base from which to visit other countries in the EU.

This workshop is presented in co-ordination with OISTAT, The International Organization of Scenographers, Theatre Architects and Technicians (www.oistat.org ) and a portion of the funds raised by the workshop will fund future OISTAT projects and scholarships.