Friday, November 4, 2011

Designer Library 2: Payne

This is the second in a series of entries about my most valuable books for scene design. One of the most useful books on how to design is Darwin Reid Payne's The Scenographic Imagination. I have the 1981 edition, but Amazon lists a 1993 third edition. The book is an expansion and development of his 1974 Design for the Stage: First Steps. Payne was chair of theater at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and he wrote several books on scene design and model-making. There have been displays of his exquisite scenic model work at USITT conferences. I have never met him.

This isn't a slick, commercial textbook on design. Payne writes with a kind of personal volubility about his processes in designing for the stage. Some chapters feel as if they were drawn from a collection of lectures for a design class, which gives the writing a more personal feel than just "the way it is done." Parts of the text are a bit self-conscious and over-written, with some steps or ideas getting more or less emphasis and space than their significance, but the book does have a lot to say. I came into contact with Payne's first book when I was working on my MFA. I have found this expanded text on scenography most useful to re-read when I'm stuck in a design. When I can't find my way into the play, or maybe I have a design but it doesn't rise to art.

The text of Scenographic Imagination takes an expansive view of the scenographer and her contribution to the production. If there's a fault with the text it is that it ignores the reality of working with a director. It focuses entirely on ways of thinking about the dramatic text and designing for expression of those ideas. I have always argued that a designer needs to be able to think like a director - and perhaps have directed a little. This text is about thinking like a director about the imagery and action. Each chapter concludes with a brief commentary by a significant director or designer.

Payne puts value in the terms and titles we use, referring throughout to the scenic designer as the scenographic artist. It's a little self-conscious, but it works in emphasizing the overall artistic responsibility of the role, expanding beyond the concept of the designer as background painter. There are chapters on The Scenographic Artist, The Scenograher and the Physical Stage, Communication through Scenographics, The Scenographer and the Written Text, Creative Research in the Theater, and The Scenographic Vision Employed.

The first chapter on The Scenographic Artist deals with the attitude and education a scenographer needs and the reasons for it. The second chapter deals with more than just the physical space - it also discusses the place of the scenographer in the production process. Payne lays out his arguments about the meaning of scenic space and its semiotic and symbolic values, which he builds on in later chapters. The arguments are clear and well presented, and they seem to be knit together in a comprehensive philosophy. Payne's use of the term scenographer here really applies to the scenic designer. In the international theater community scenography involves lighting and sometimes costume as well as scenery .

Payne's third chapter is about communicating a design. He begins with a rationale for graphic art training for the designer and discusses an ideal studio space (generally pre-computer). He stresses training in drawing and identifies the various sketches, diagrams, drawings and draftings that are inherently part of he design process. It is clear that he expects a designer to know how to do these things, and there is some sense he is covering required ground. He describes the concepts of perspective in the theater and how they apply to the design. There also is an essay on design portfolio standards.

Chapter 4 is how to analyze a text for design, and my copy is well-marked and well thumbed. This section is an invaluable discussion about how to find the ideas, recognize the intentions of the playwright and support those through stage imagery. He writes about the physical and spatial expressions implied by the text. Here the designer has to direct the play in his imagination, thinking deeply about dramatic moments and the best way to present then scenically. For this Payne analyzes Gounod's Faust. He discusses clues to thinking about and understanding the action, leading to a design that, in effect, directs the staging of the play. One might object to Payne confusing the roles of director and designer, but that is why you have communication between them. As a designer I find directors vary greatly in how much "base" they like to work with. Some want to own all the ideas, others are more open to a designer's contribution.

Chapter 5 is about Creative Research in the Theater. Payne begins with a bit of a rant, and I think rightfully. There is an extensive discussion about how to look at and see the world as a designer. He discusses internal and external research questions, and he describes a process of feeding creative ideas. He concludes with how to compile personal research resources for designers.

In Chapter 6, The Scenographic Vision Employed, Payne lays out his approach to design. These 60 pages are the most significant chapter in the book as he steps through the analysis of moments, and he explores what the scenic environment does to participate in telling the story and all of it's rich connections and content. Here Payne implicates the designer as a director of the play by means of enabling the action and suggesting meaning.

As near as I can tell, this is one of those unique texts that exists in a kind of middle ground. It is not a beginning design text. It gives excellent discussion of how to think about design, and good discussion of design practices that you should consider. While it is theoretical, it is about how to find and apply that theory. I have pulled it out many times when a design doesn't seem to be going anywhere.

Next, my favorite scenic how-to book.

Scenemaker
November 4

No comments:

Post a Comment