DRAMA
3315
Theatrical
Scene Painting
FALL 2007
Steven L. Gilliam, Professor
& Scenic Designer
RTT 118 (by the scene shop)
Office: 999-8587 Design Studio: 494-7373
OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday &
Thursday 3-5 & by appointment. To schedule a meeting outside office hours,
please contact Professor Gilliam by e-mail or in person to arrange for a time.
MWF, 9:00-Noon, he may be reached by calling his studio.
CLASS MEETING: T-R, 12:45
– 2:00, RTT 108: Painting Studio
PAINTING STUDIO: The Scene
Painting Studio is both our classroom laboratory space and the paint studio for
the departmentÕs production program.
It is going to be a challenge to keep this area organized. Your cooperation in keeping this a
clean and safe workspace will be expected. Each student will be assigned a week of cleanup and studio
maintenance with specific guidelines to be distributed in the near future.
STUDIO HOURS: The Ruth Taylor Theater is open M-F,
7am – 10pm; SA, 9am – 6 pm; and SU, Noon – 10pm. The Paint Studio will be available
during these times provided use does not interfere with ongoing Stieren Theatre
events. If the theatre is in use,
keep the doors to the Paint Studio closed and be quiet. Students enrolled in Drama 3315 will be
permitted to use the Paint Studio after hours by respecting and observing the
following policies:
á There
must always be a companion with you during after hours use.
á You
must have a cell phone to call out in the event of an emergency.
á You
must be in the building and in the space before the building is secured for the
evening.
á You
will need proper Trinity University identification.
á Unless
you are working with a drama faculty or staff member, you must let Lupita
Puente know during university working hours of your desire to be in the
building, date and times, for communication with Security.
COURSE OVERVIEW: Scenic artists
create illusions of reality, environments designed to enhance moods, and
worlds, which render meaning and provide context to stories, events, products
and the like. The scenic artist is in the business of creating make-believe
worlds come alive, of enhancing a product, or underscoring reality in the theatre,
motion pictures, television, interior design, theme parks, restaurants, toy
fairs, street fairs, industrial conventions, parties and many other areas. To
be a successful scenic artist is to understand the art, science and business of
scene painting. This course serves as an overview, a taste, an introduction to
theatrical scene painting.
ATTENDANCE: Attendance in this
class is required. You are allowed a total of two cuts before it will have a
measurable impact on your progress and ability to keep-up in this course.
Experience has proven that those who miss class, miss instruction, feedback and
the benefit of our class collaborative discovery process. Missing a class or
classes diminishes understanding and progress. Should you miss a class for
whatever reason, it is your responsibility to cover the missed material and be
prepared for the next class meeting. The instructor will not repeat class
demonstrations.
CLASS MENTORS: Erika Barker and Lori Vera serve the
drama program as staff scenic artists.
Erika took this class at its last offering. Lori is an art major.
Both assisted this past summer by painting drops for our upcoming
production of GUYS & DOLLS. I
hope both will be able to answer your questions during the course of this
semester.
ART SUPPLIES and SCENE PAINTING
SUPPLIES:
Text: SCENE PAINTING PROJECTS FOR THEATRE by
Stephen Sherwin. Focal Press. Available at the Trinity Bookstore.
Supplies: To understand and appreciate this art
form requires active participation in a series of guided projects. Students
will be required to purchase art supplies and scene painting supplies to
complete assignments. Order your supplies immediately.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY and CODE:
All students are covered by a policy that prohibits dishonesty in academic
work. The Academic Integrity
Policy (AIP) covers all students who entered Trinity before the fall of
2004. The Academic Honor
Code covers all those who entered the fall of 2004 or later.
The Integrity Policy and the Code share many features: each asserts that the academic
community is based on honesty and trust; each contains the same violations;
each provides for a procedure to determine if a violation has occurred and what
the punishment will be; each provides for an appeal process.
The main difference is that the faculty implements the AIP
while the Code is implemented by the Academic Honor Council. Under the Integrity Policy, the
faculty member determines whether a violation has occurred as well as the
punishment for the violation (if any) within certain guidelines. Under the
Code, a faculty member will (or a student may) report an alleged violation to
the Academic Honor Council. It is
the task of the Council to investigate, adjudicate, and assign a punishment
within certain guidelines if a violation has been verified.
Students who are under the Honor Code are required to pledge
all written work that is submitted for a grade: ÒOn my honor, I have neither given nor received any
unauthorized assistance on this workÓ and their signature. The pledge may be abbreviated ÒpledgedÓ
with a signature.
Whereas this course is a
mixture of individual and collaborative creativity, it is assumed that each
student can distinguish when it is proper to use and incorporate ideas and
thoughts of others and when it would be ethically improper. Drama 3315 follows
the guideline set forth by the University regarding Academic Integrity and the
Academic Code.
UNITS & PROJECTS: Scenic
artists have been making a living for centuries. It demands the abilities of a
creative artist, the skill of a specialized technician, and the savvy of a
business manager. Successful completion of the units and projects cannot
guarantee a career in scene painting. However, skills learned in this course
will be life skills. Upon completion of this course, all students should be
able to paint their own apartments; appreciate color mixing, combinations and
color taste; and/or be able to communicate with individuals who might paint
your set, color your office or finish your house interior. To facilitate these
objectives, this course will explore units and projects to assist in
understanding theatrical scene painting.
This course will focus on
artistic understandings important to the scenic artist and painting
techniques. Most ÒScenicsÓ, as
painters are called in the business, possess strong graphic communication
skills: value, sketching, enlarging and duplicating painter elevations, color
mixing and reproduction. These
artistic skills need to merge with the scenic art process, which includes
distinct aspects: paint preparation and interpretation of designs or elevations
leading to specific step-by-step painting procedures to execute and refine a
finished product.
Each unit and assigned project
builds on a previous assignment. As a record of these projects, students will
maintain a journal or Scenic Artist Notebook throughout the semester, which is
due on the Final Exam date.
Projects throughout the
semesters vary in length, complexity and degree of completeness. Each
project serves to illuminate a portion of the scenic art process. In most
cases, the projects are sequential and essential for future assignments.
Consequently, projects are due on the due date. Late assignments will be
downgraded one grade (from B to C) and will receive a partial critique.
Projects submitted later than two weeks of the deadline will receive an
automatic "D". Projects not submitted will receive an
"F" grade.
SCENE PAINTING EXHIBIT: To
recognize the collaborative significance of the scenic artist in a theatrical
production, members of Drama 3315 will produce a scenic art exhibit during the
second week of GUYS & DOLLS. The class will present scenic art samples and
projects in a lobby display. The
entire class will participate in preparing for this event with submissions and
the execution of the exhibit (set-up and strike).
CREW ASSIGNMENT: To better
appreciate the business, working conditions and deadlines of the scenic
artists, each student is required to work 20 hours on the semesterÕs main stage productions. Dates and crew hours will be posted in
advance and will take into consideration how busy everyone is.
ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION: A
large portion of the communications for this course will be conducted via
e-mail (sgilliam@trinity.edu)
(slgdesign@satx.com) and the web page (http://www.trinity.edu/sgilliam).
Students will need to have access to an address for classroom postings and
individual comments from the professor. Failure to read posted announcements is
not acceptable. Make it a practice to check your e-mail daily.
EVALUATIONS: Artistic
interpretation allows for a wide degree of interpretation. However, in most
cases, the scenic artist is not an interpreter rather a conduit from a designer
to the final product. Thus, the scenic artist is hired to execute a design from
a scaled designer's paint elevation and line drawing. These skills take
practice. Evaluations will focus on skills and an understanding of the process.
Feedback will be based on several considerations not necessarily limited to the
following:
¥ Overall
understanding to the project
¥ Demonstrated
attention to the scenic art process (research, drawing preparation, clarity of
procedure, samples and execution)
¥ Technical
painting skills
¥ Color
understanding
¥ Individual
progress
Professor Gilliam will
digitally reproduce student work for evaluation and publication on the course
web site as outlined in the syllabus. Late projects may not be posted and will
be evaluated when possible. Late projects will not receive the benefit of a
class-wide overview. Students are encouraged to meet their deadlines.
GRADES:
Assignments will be given an assessment to determine an overall score. Below note the total point score
conversion. If you have questions,
please ask.
Preliminary
Assignments
5 points Weathered Wood
Project 10
Studio
Participation
10 Stone
Project 10
Texture Techniques
Project
10 Brick Project 10
Wall
Project
10
Marble and Wallpaper Project 15
Distressed Wall
Project 10
Curtain Project 10
Wood
Project
10
Post Card Project 15
Midterm Scenic
Notebook
10
Scene Painting Crew 15 Final Scenic Notebook 10
Total Points:
160
A 160
-152
A- 151-147
B+ 146 -140
B 139-134
B- 133-128
C+ 127-121
C 120-115
THERE ARE NO INCOMPLETE GRADES
GRANTED IN DRAMA 3315.