Syllabus
TA 10: Intro to Design
Tues. & Thurs. 10a-11:45a Theater Arts Second Stage
Instructor: Alan Tollefson
Office: A101 Phone: 459-4096 email: abtollef@ucsc.edu
Office hours T,W,TH 12:30-2
Office hours by appointment
Class Objective: In an interdisciplinary framework, facilitate the student's collaborative effort to produce designs that communicate abstract ideas with concrete physical forms. Teach the process of working on a design team where each member has specific responsibilities. Teach analysis of writing, the presentation of a design proposal & the documentation of work. Teach visual communication like a foreign language using drawing exercises that develop visual thinking in the student. The format will consist of 1/2 lecture 1/2 demonstration.
Structure: 8-10 Students will form approximately 10 modules for group projects and reading/study groups. Everyone in the group has a specific job for which they are responsible. I.e. Director, Manager, Writer, Documenter, Artist, etc.
Group projects: Statement of Purpose; Stage designs; Live design; Interviews; Environmental designs and proposal; Documentation.
Individual assignments: 1) 5 page Mid-Term paper; 2) 10 questions 3) Script Analysis
Final Exam: There will be a short answer final based on lectures and the reading
Required Reading: Articles and chapters on ERES Password: doubleimage
"Poet's Creed" Borges
"Metapatterns" Volk
Pamela Howard: "Directors and Designers is There a Different Direction" Oddey
"Behind the Screen Door" Aronson
"Can Theater and Media Speak the same language" Aronson
"Metaphor" Borges
"World on Stage" States
"The Stage as Dangerous Machine" Aronson
"Richard Foreman as Sceneographer" Aronson
"Stage as Machine" Christopher Baugh
Suggested Texts: (in bold)
Metapatterns by Tyler Volk
Looking into the Abyss by Arnold Aronson and
What is Scenography by Pamela Howard
Great Reckonings in Little Rooms by Bert O. States
Theater Performance and Technology by Christopher Baugh,
The Potentials of Spaces by Alison Oddey
This Craft of Verse By George Luis Borges.
Attendance: Since your notes and any hand-outs form the basis of the final exam. It should be clear that attendance is crucial to your success in this class. If you miss three (3) classes I will ask you to meet with me and discuss if you should continue the class or not. If you know in advance that you cannot make a class you must let me know via phone or email at least one day in advance. It is your responsibility to find out what you missed.
Late work is not accepted. End of discussion.
Sections: Arrange times with instructor and TA to facilitate your reading group, notes on the reading are due before the class discussion of the reading.
Supplies needed: Sketchbooks, news print, drawing pencils 6b,4b,2b,HB, graphite stick, vine charcoal, kneaded eraser, onion skin, repros and photos, glue stick.
Midterm Paper: 5 pages, MLA, with citations to three of the readings. DUE: Tuesday May 5th
Schedule:
1)
Tuesday March 31
Introduction, Metapatterns, Groups
Thursday April 2
DUE: Questions
Lecture: Poetics
Assignment: Statement
Reading discussed: "Poet's Creed" Borges p.97
2)
Tuesday April 7
DUE: Manifesto
Exercise: Light and Shadow
Supplies needed: Sketchbooks, Drawing Pencils 6b,4b,2b,HB graphite, kneaded eraser
Thursday April 9
DUE: Blog
Lecture: Scenography (Robert Wilson, Julie Taymor)
Reading Discussed: Pamela Howard: "Directors and Designers is There a Different Direction" Oddey p. 25
3)
Tuesday April 14
Exercise: The Graphic Image
Supplies needed: prints, cut out type-lettering, text, photos, glue stick, marker, and illustration board
Thursday April 16
Lecture: Theater Space / Architecture
Designers Discussed: Adolphe Appia Josef Svoboda
Reading discussed: "Behind the Screen Door" Aronson p.52
4)
Tuesday April 21
IIPP: Saftey Training for theater arts facilities (mandatory)
Thursday April 23
Lecture: Scene as Shifting Frame
Designers Discussed: Jo Mielziner, Ming Cho Lee, Santo Loquasto
Reading discussed: "World on Stage" States P.19
5)
Tuesday April 28
TBA
Thursday April 30
Lecture: Media Onstage
Designers Discussed: Eiko Ishioka, Erich Wonder, Achim Freyer
Reading discussed: "Can Theater and Media Speak the Same Language" Aronson p.87
6)
Tuesday May 5
DUE: Midterm Paper
Exercise: Sections/Perspective/Projections
Supplies needed: Sketchbooks, Drawing Pencils 6b,4b,2b,HB graphite, kneaded eraser, ruler
Thursday May 7
DUE: Environmental Design Proposals
Lecture: Metaphor and Image
Designer Discussed: Foreman
Reading Discussed: "Metaphor" Borges p. 21;
"Richard Foreman as Sceneographer" Aronson P. 46
7)
Tuesday May 12
DUE: Interviews
TBA
Thursday May 14
DUE: Script Analysis
Lecture: Synesthesia
Designer Discussed: George Tsypin
Reading discussed: "Stage as Dangerous Machine" Aronson p.206
Lottery for presentation slots
8)
Tuesday May 19
Presentations: Stage Designs
Thursday May 21
Presentations: Stage Designs
9)
Tuesday May 26
Presentations: Environmental Designs
Thursday May 28
Presentations: Environmental Designs
10)
Tuesday June 2
Presentations: Live designs
Thursday June 4
Presentations: Live designs
