Barbara Bilon PEF Unit 5

7/28/2019 Barbara Bilon PEF Unit 5

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Unit 5

Project Evaluation File

Barbara Bilon

Design for stage Year 2


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Theatre Practice: Specialist Competencies

BA (Hons) Theatre Practice

Strand: Design for Stage Year 2

Unit Seven

Student Name Barbara Bilon Date : 11.12.12

Learning

Outcome

Competencies

There will be no

more than 12

listed items for

any discipline per

term.

P

ass/Fail Assessment

Criterion

Tutor comment

(C1)

Apply relevant

specialist skills of

technique, craft and

associated

technologies

Use of IT.

Can include evidence

of developing skills

learnt so far in

Photoshop,

Vectorworks etc

applied to each

terms speculative

project, skills

sessions and strand

projects.

X

x

Progress in relevant

practice basedtechniques and skills

Autumn term

No evidence yet.

Please submit with PEF

Has completed

(C1)

Apply relevant

specialist skills of

technique, craft and

associated

technologies.

1:25 scale

model of the theatre

space and design with

at least three 3d scale

figures. To

demonstrate scene by

scene how the

production is staged

for each of the two

speculative projects.(Autumn and Spring

term)

x Communication (of

for example, ideas

and concepts)

Autumn term

This is failing in terms of model

box 22.11.12 (not enough

progress made for this stage)

You need to address the

details required in order to

communicate the design,

Furniture needs to be

accurately decided upon.Thickness of returns on

flats need to be

addressed and the


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A complete set

of fully finished

costume/ character

renderings/designs

in an appropriate

format and with

appropriate fabric

samples.

x Please re-submit

22nd April

Fail

22nd April

Please do Vixen,

the Forester, The

Schoolmaster, the

Priest, Fox

(Picasso?

Goncherova

(Russian))

sightlines need to be

checked for key scenes.

Spring term

Very crude, not meetingideas, feels like missed

out on a few stages.

Masking?

Autumn term

You worked to create

some interesting ideas.

You created a set of

costume drawings which

needed more attention to

detail, shape and

character. You did

experiment a little with

rendering when asked.

Spring term

Very hurried. What is thepoint of reference?

Very generic


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(C2) Document

and present your

work.

Portfolio pages for

one full speculative

project from

Autumn or Summer

terms that

demonstrate:

Enquiry and visual

research Idea

development &

material technical

exploration

Critical judgement,

selection and

resolution

Contextual awareness.

(Separate guidelines

given in seminar)

X Communication (of

for example, ideas

and concepts)

Successful

collaborative and/or

autonomous

processes

Autumn term

You will need to re-

present these autumn

term project pages.

Spring term

Do by 22nd April at least 3

pages

(C2) Document

and present your

work.

A rationale (For each

speculative design)

should be displayed

for the final

presentations (No

more than 250

words)

X Communication (of

for example, ideas

and concepts)

Successful


autonomous

processes

Autumn term

Not seen. Hand in with

PEF

Spring term

Unclear what the world is,

no rationale has beenhanded in

(C2) Document

and present your

work.

Selected research

material that both

inspires and

supports the design

process that should

be selected and go on

the wall for interim &

final presentations ofeach speculative

project.

Research and Source

file (to include

x

X

Effective use of

research

Autumn term

You had some interesting

ideas quite boldly presented.

Needed to research you

materials as the sizes of

sheets of grass was

important for the model. Your

research was from fashionwhich was misleading and

didnt support the world you

were creating.

Spring term

Some good initial

responses, but not

evident in final design at

all!


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background research

into context, author,

genre, periods as

appropriate) there will

be a research

presentation / sharing

during the project

Props Research and

images That would be

handed to those

sourcing or making the

props.

X

x

X

Autumn term

Add images and research

from the non-fashionworld. This was a weak

folder with not enough

information.

Spring term

You will need to show a

detailed and organised

research and source file

for this term,

Still weak

Autumn term

You have scraped through

on this item. You need to pay

more attention to detail and

sizes of items for sourcing

and making

Spring term

(C3)

Practice and apply

health and safety

considerations

rigorously and

consistently in your

work

Health and Safety

Evidence awareness

of what the issues

may be in relation to

each speculative

design.

Evidence of how you

have applied health

& safety in the

design process and

making and in strand

projects.

X

x

Effective use of

research

Joint construction seminar

Embassy shorts Induction

(C4) Demonstrate

effective time

management and

organisational

skills

Conduct, time

keeping and

housekeeping

(Observed by staffand VLs) This

includes attendance

at strand seminars

X Successful


autonomous

processes

Autumn term

Please send your tutorial

records for this term to

tutor.

Strand seminars and


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and critical thinking

lectures.

X

tutorials missed.

Spring term

You need to significantly

improve.

This is retrieved

(C5)

Contribute

effectively to the

needs of a given

production or

performance as an

individual and as a

member

of a team.

Analysis of relevant

text/libretto/score

and space in order to

initiate the design

process.

Evidenced from

feedback on processand evident in the

final designs

presented for each

speculative project

Analysis and

interrogation

demonstrating

knowledge and

understanding some

of which is at the

forefront of the

theoretical andpractical field/industry

Autumn term

22.11.12 interims:not

enough visual research to

back up ideas and

specific detail on

individual elements.

Still not fully developed for

finals presentations.

You will need to show that

you can do this for the

spring term opera project.

Spring Term

Unclear?

(C5)

Contribute

effectively to the

needs of a given

A design sketchbook

(a working tool that

demonstrates the

development of the

design and your

X Successful


autonomous

processes

Autumn term

A good start but you can

show more process and

idea exploration and


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production or

performance as

an individual and

as a member of a

team

design process) for

each project.

X

experiments.

Spring term

Useful sketchbook

(C6)

Make use of

current working

practice in your

discipline and its

associated

technologies

Moment drawings

for each speculative

design.

Minimum of 8

drawings for each

project that show key

moments within the

text/musical

score/libretto.

X

X


practice based

techniques and skills

Autumn term

Please hand in with PEF.

Spring term

photoshop

(C6 )

Make use of

current working

practice in your

discipline and its

associatedtechnologies

Storyboard

A photographic or

rendered storyboard

that is linked to a

scenic breakdown

A storyboard to

support thepresentation

demonstrating the

movement of

performers in the

space and changes of

major elements

including lighting for

both Autumn and

Spring Term projects.

Communication (of

for example, ideas

and concepts)

Autumn term

This was lacking in the

project. Please do 2

completed storyboard

images for this project for

14th Jan.

Spring Term

You need to address

this

In the Opera Project

Not evident in terms of

addressing all key

moments

When you have new set

choose 4 key moments


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(C6)

Make use of

current workingpractice in your

discipline and its

associated

technologies

Technical Drawing

Hand drawn

(autumn term)

1:25 ground plan and

section of spec design

in autumn term.

1:10 prop drawing -

by hand or using a cad

programme e.g.

Vectorworks or

Sketchup.

Vectorworks

(spring term)

Ground plan,

selected elevation

and section of

Autumn term spec

project

1:25 drawing of an

element of the set

.

Vectorworks

(summer term)

Finished detailed

plans, selected

elevations and cross

section in

Vectorworks of Spring

term spec. project.

X Progress in relevant

practice based


This was passed by the

tutor.

(Autumn term)

Make sure you have them

for 22nd April


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(C6)

Make use of

current workingpractice in your

discipline and its

associated

technologies

Documentation

A text or libretto

analysis chart/breakdown for each

speculative design.

A full costume

chart of costume

changes for each

speculative design.

A full props chart

accompanied by

research and images

that would be

handed to thosesourcing or making

the props for each

speculative design.

X

X

X

X

X

X


practice based


You have done well in this

area and completed

useful charts and

analysis.


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Statement of Goals

Criteria [A1] :

My goal in response to this learning outcome is to improve my costume drawings. I want to

improve both technical skills as well as communication ones.

I would knwow whether I have achieved this goal based on self-assesment and most

importantly, feedback from tutors and costume construction students.

Criteria [A3] :

For this learning outcome, my goal is to use the knowledge I already have in the field of

using media in performance and use it in practice when creating a projection installation in

a group. Also, I would like to gain better understanding of frameworks in this kind of

performance and research different works of using media effectively.

I would know if I achieved this goal based mostly on feedback received after showings of

the installation we would create as a group.

Criteria [B1] :

My goals in response to this criteria are to address and look for ways of solving following

problems effectively: the first one would be portraying animals in costumes for the opera

The Cunning Little Vixen, the second one is creating a design based on the music in the

opera, rather than based on text.

I would know if I managed to achieve those goals based on the feedback from peers and

tutors on costume drawings and feedback mostly from the director and design tutor on

designing in response to the music.


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UNDERGRADUATE

UNIT 5: ASSESSMENT FEEDBACK FORM

Student Details:

Surname: Bilon

First Name: Barbara

Student ID: 114829

BATP strand Design for stage

This Feedback Form is:

Self-Feedback x

Peer Feedback

Tutor Feedback

Please tick as appropriate

Unit Name: UNIT 5: Practitioner 2

Assessment task/ element: PEF

Your writing

should

demonstrate

your

reflective

learning

journey,

informed by

rigorous

research,

good practice

and initiative.


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Please check

that your PEF

includes the

following:

Self-Assessment of the file x Peer Assessment of the file x Word Count

x

Statements of goals x Feedback from at least two

people who worked with

you on the project

x At least two pieces of

supporting evidence per

Learning Outcome

x

Provisional grade

lower second

General Comments

First Marker : Barbara Bilon

[A1] The responsibilities of your role and how it relates to other roles.

I`m not sure whether I explained the responsibilities of my role in the project. Although, I feel

that I have done good use of feedback from the costume construction student.

[A3] An understanding of the historical, conceptual and critical frameworks in relation to

performance.

I might have concentrated on various frameworks of the performance, not just the current

discourse.

[B1] That you can creatively solve problems to further independent and collaborative work.

I feel that I do not have enough evidence for this criteria, however I feel that I explained quite


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well the problems I encountered and reflected on my way of solving them.

Second marker (if relevant):

Ways to improve your work

I feel that to improve my work, I should look at even more aspects of certain issues that I

reflect on in my essay.

First marker:


Assessmen

t Criteria

FAIL PASS

V. Poor Poor

Sat

isf

act

ory

Go

od

V.Go

od

Ex

cel

len

t

Ou

tstan

din

g

0-19 20-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-84 85-100

Intellectual engagement (e.g. devising and

sustaining arguments and/or solving problems)

Analysis and interrogation, demonstrating

knowledge and understanding some of which isat the forefront of the theoretical and practical

field/industry


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Self reflection

Successful collaborative and /or autonomous

processes

Agreed Provisional Mark: Lower second

Note:

This mark is provisional and could be changed following moderation by the Board of

Examiners.

This mark does not reflect any capping or mark reduction that may be applied for late

submission, retrieving a failed assessment or academic misconduct.


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UNDERGRADUATE

UNIT 5: ASSESSMENT FEEDBACK FORM

Student Details:

Surname: Ma

First Name: Macrina

Student ID: 112727

BATP strand Stage Management

This Feedback Form is:

Self-Feedback

Peer Feedback x

Tutor Feedback

Please tick as appropriate

Unit Name: UNIT 5: Practitioner 2

Assessment task/ element: PEF

Your writing

should

demonstrate

your

reflective

learning

journey,

informed by

rigorous

research,

good practice

and initiative.


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Please check

that your PEF

includes the

following:

Self-Assessment of the file x Peer Assessment of the file x Word Count

x

Statements of goals x Feedback from at least two

people who worked with

you on the project

x At least two pieces of

supporting evidence per

Learning Outcome

x

Provisional grade

upper second

General Comments

First Marker : Macrina Ma

[A1] The responsibilities of your role and how it relates to other roles.

I think that you explained your role as a designer well. Using feedback from costume student is

good as well.

[A3] An understanding of the historical, conceptual and critical frameworks in relation to

performance.

I think you write a bit too much about your inspiration, but it relates to the frameworks which is

good.

[B1] That you can creatively solve problems to further independent and collaborative work.

You could reflect more on your process and what could you have done differently.


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Ways to improve your work

First marker:

maybe more visual evidence? It`s good that you put the evidence in the text. Maybe reflect on

your process more.


Assessmen

t Criteria

FAIL PASS

V. Poor Poor

Sat

isf

act

ory

Go

od

V.

Go

od

Ex

cel

len

t

Ou

tst

an

din

g

0-19 20-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-84 85-100

Intellectual engagement (e.g. devising andsustaining arguments and/or solving problems)

Analysis and interrogation, demonstrating

knowledge and understanding some of which is

at the forefront of the theoretical and practical

field/industry

Self reflection

Successful collaborative and /or autonomous

processes


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Agreed Provisional Mark: Upper second

Note:

This mark is provisional and could be changed following moderation by the Board ofExaminers.

This mark does not reflect any capping or mark reduction that may be applied for late

submission, retrieving a failed assessment or academic misconduct.


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Criteria 1

[A1] Demonstrate the responsibilities of your

role and how it relates to other roles.


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During past, spring term, I have been involved in two projects: 2 weeks long

Media Project and the main one: Opera Speculative Design Project. Both projects have

been a challenge that enriched my learning process. However, my responsibilities in each

of them varied due to different roles I was going to play as responsibilities of one depend

on the team that one finds themselves in. When working on the opera, I was playing a role

of a set and costume designer in collaboration with a visiting director. Whereas, during

Media Project, I was working in a group with other design students to create a video

projection installation.

One of the goals that I have set myself for this term was improving my

costume drawing skills. Reflecting on my journey in the process, I realised that when

setting the goal, I was not aware of how important it was. At first, I looked primarly as a

technical skill that needs improvement based on my auto reflection and feedback that I

have received at the final presentation of the previous speculative design project that took

place in autumn term. Some of the things I was trying to address that have been

mentioned in the feedback from the director and design tutor were that my figures lacked

faces and feeling of the character. Also, the figures that I have drawn were all in the same

position and costumes were not specific. Consequently, these images were not exciting for

the director and did not communicate my ideas well. Taking those useful comments on

board, my next step was defining what makes a good costume rendering. During the

learning process one has to refer to those with more experience and authority in certain

discipline. In ordered to find the answer to this question, I looked at the essay entitled 'The

diseases of costume' by Roland Barthes. He lookes at costumes from his structuralist point

of view, comparing elements of performance to organs fulfilling certain functions in the

organism. Based on that theory, he then points out reasons according to which

performance or its elements can be classified as 'unhealthy'. Reflecting back on my design

process during opera project, I found Barthes` essay highly informative and inspirational. It


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made me more aware of the role that costumes play in a production.

When setting this goal, I was hoping to learn a lot about costumes and gain

practical skills that would make my costume rendering a useful tool in communicating and

expressing my ideas visually, as for the first time our group was given a chance to have a

costume tutor with a lot of insight knowledge and experience. I found the first session with

Christopher Giles to be a very useful and important moment in my learning process. Even

though when applying to the course I was mainly interested in set design, over my first 4

terms, I realised that costume design is my weak spot that I genuinely wanted to improve

and gain more understanding of, but was not sure how to go about that. After the session

mentioned above, I left with my hopes high that I could become an exeptional costume

designer, with a few useful tips written down. One of them that has helped me when

drawing costumes, was using found or photoshopped silhouttes as a base for the

rendering. Having those ready to use ensured correct proportions and desired posture or

indication of movement. Here is an example of a drawing I have done using this useful tip I

mentioned above.

costume rendering of the character of the Grasshopper


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Unfortunately, due to unexpected turns of events, our group lost a costume

tutor that I, personally, needed a lot. At first, I felt very lost and was not sure how to

improve my costumes without this additional learning guidance. I felt that I was left on my

own to some extend. Despite that, I was still keen on fulfilling my goal. Looking back at

some notes I have received in the past, which mentioned that my research didn`t support

costume ideas well enough, I put emphasis on this part of the process. To my surprise,

when I actually put effort in doing research and stopped perceiving it as something that I

was required to do but instead as something that inspires and informes my design that I do

to benefit my own process, not to fulfill any obligation, I relised that it happens to be an

extremly inspiring and enjoyable part of the process. One of the suggestions that I

received from design tutor was that I might want to look at photography artists when

researching characters. Taking that on board, when exploring characters of hens in the

opera, I came across photographs of drag queens by Diane Arbus.

A picture of a page from the research part of my sketchbook


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They turned out to be a perfect visualisation of my take on those characters

and inspired my costume drawings. Here is a picture of a costume drawing I have done

thanks to the inspiration that those images provided for the character of the Chief Hen

Also, notes that I received from the director and design tutor during interim

presentation mentioned that my character research into hens was very effective and

supported my take on the character and what I would like to create on stage well. This

positive feedback made me feel more confident and once again, assured me about the

relevance of good research and how it helps in communicating one`s ideas.

One of the challenges of designing costumes for this specific project was that

for the first time I was responsible for considering such aspects as the fact that the


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performer would be either an opera singer or a ballet dancer. In order to get some insight

into how to go about this issue, I went to see two different shows that could have shined

some light onto that. The first one was 'Onegin' at the Royal Opera House, a ballet with

music by Tchaikovsky.

It was a rather traditional take on ballet and how dancers act on stage and

what kind of costumes they might wear. Despite that, I feel that it was a very useful

experience, as many people say that in order to create something and develop one`s

taste, one should see as much as they can, preferably, diverse things. Even though,

repeating after Harold Rosenthal 'What is happening in the present is just as interesting

and, I feel, more important'. Following that route, I went to see another production: Design

for Dance at Central Saint Martin`s.


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It was a series of short, contemporary pieces designed and choreographed

by students. It has been a wonderful experience for me to watch other students` work, see

their interpretation and also learnt a bit about what costumes work well when dancers are

involved. Both performances informed my design process and had broadened my

understanding of this kind of spectacles, as when working on this project, it has been the

first time I encountered this kind of performance in a creative way, not as audience

member, which has been terrifying to start with.

Coming back to my design process, and the final outcome, I feel that the fact

that I pushed myself to see more things to gain better understanding, made my costume

designs better. During a session with costume construction students which took place after

the project was finished, I had a chance to go over my drawings with one of the students.

In her feedback, Holly O`Neill said that 'I like the way you have drawn your figures as it

gives me an idea of movement and shape.It is also so helpful to have them in colour.'

Something that I was trying to address in my drawings was a suggestion of fabric that I

imagined the costume to be made of, especially in the ones worn by dancers. Here is an

example of my costume rendering for the character of the Blue Dragonfly, performed by a

ballet dancer.


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Holly said that 'the suggestion of transparent fabric is clear', but she also

suggested that having fabric samples would be very helpful as it makes the

communication clearer and my vision more defined. That was extremly useful feedback, as

it was from a point of view of a maker, that I plan to take on board next time I will be

designing costumes. In overall self assesment I feel that I managed to fulfill this goal. I

think that it is a good start as I was very insecure about costumes and felt lost and

confused throughout the process. However, hearing another piece of feedback that I

received from a costume student 'I like the way you communicated your ideas and I felt

informed about what you wanted to achieve', felt very rewarding and encourages me to

keep developing this vital skill more and more.

Word count: 1490


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Criteria 2

[A3] Demonstrate an understanding of the

historical, conceptual and critical frameworks

in relation to Performance.


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During first two weeks students on my course have been working together to

create a projection installation. Since I`ve heard about the project I was very excited as

projection and video design is something I`ve been growing to be more and more

interested in during my time in Central. It is something that combines my interest in art,

video, photography and new media. It was an amazing opportunity that I wanted to take

out from as much as I could.

One of my goals for this project was to transfer my knowledge and interest in

this field onto work we created as a group. Apart from theatre, I am very much fascinated

with the music world. Not particularly the world of sounds but rather the visuals that have

the potential to make them more powerful, meaningful, spectacular. In my opinion they add

this extra depth to music which is something that I find both wonderful and inspiring. I

research artists working with musicians on regular basis, and two of them that I adore, also

turned out to be very inspirational when creating the projection installation at Central. One

of them is an Austrian-based collective System Jaquelinde, artists who regularly work with

a musician creating chillout electronic music, called Parov Stelar. This collective is

responsible for creating eye-catching and beatiful music videos for his songs. Apart from

that, they are involved in creating projections using video mapping.

An example of System Jaquelinde`s video mapping installation


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When watching their work, I felt that it was something I would very much like

to get experience and skills in creating, as it had this power of touching certain strings in

my mind.

My friends involved in the music industry, introduced me to another company

working with video mapping connected to music, called V Squared Labs. It is a team of

animators, designers, programmers, architects and producters creating big scale

projections using cutting edge technology. One of their most impressive projects was the

one they created in collaboration with a contemporary electronic musician Amon Tobin,

called 'Amon Tobin Isam: Live Visual Experience 2011'.

a picture of one one of the projections during Amon Tobin`s performance


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One of the key aspects of the project is that it is a live performance, with the

musician on stage and visuals designed to respond to the music, projected on a big piece

of set, that thanks to the animation came to live during the show. This performance has

been a big inspiration for me during this project, as we had a chance to learn a bit about

projection mapping and have been briefly introduced to Isadora Core, one of the

programmes that can be used when designing projections.

Another performance that helped me develop greater understanding of the

frameworks and current discourse in this discipline was Master and Margarita by

Complicite/Simon MacBurney at the Barbican Theatre. It was a breathtaking production,

with impressive use of technology that in my perception, has trurly served the story told on

stage. However, it was not only my reception of the show, as later I read in one of the

reviews:

'Notably, the marriage of video and live action (Google Earth-style maps set the scene,

while several key moments are filmed from above and projected on the back wall) enables

the production to match the epic nature of the narrative, culminating in a final image that

feels appropriately apocalyptic.'

Complicite is known for creating big scale multi-media performances and I

feel that experiencing one of them live as audience member has helped me understand

what using projections and mapping in theatre really feels like and what impact does it

have on the audiences. As I wrote down in my journal after the show 'when we left, Ricky

told me that if it wasn`t for me, he would have left in the middle, as he was so

overwhelmed by constantly present projections and great speed of the play'. My friend`s

response showed me that even though I was amazed by the vibrant visual image in front

of my eyes, other audience members might simply feel tired and overwhelmed by what

they described as overuse of new technology. This opinion made me think about the wider


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aspect of creating such performances and using media in it. I feel that when making the

decision that one wants to use projection or video, they should always consider firstly,

whether it would serve the story well and also the impact that it would have on the

audience and what kind of reaction one aspires to achieve.

The Media Project, that I have been involved in during first two weeks of term

was a great opportunity to put theory into practice. With enhanced understanding of the

field of using media in performance, I was ready to create my first as conscious as

posssible at this stage video installation. I was motivated to take inspiration from the

successful and accomplished artist in this field that I have mentioned above. As a group,

we made a decision to use video mapping and play with video as all four of us were keen

on learning the software and trying out new things. Our initial idea was to use footage of

people we saw filmed around Piccadily Circus, combine it with video of the famous

advertising screen and then project onto 3D surface. We have been inspired by the shape

of scrrens that I mention above, although we needed more projection surface. In order to

explain my visual idea, I referred back to some of the works of artists I admire to look for

some practical ways to solve this problem. In our collaborative process, we tried out

different configurations of projection surfaces but in the end we came back to the basic,

structural idea I suggested in the beginning. Here are a few pictures of our final installation


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Also, as I wanted to make effective use of my interest in the discipline, I

suggested choosing soundscape and providing the audience member with a set of

headphones to create an extra layer to our installation and make it a more personalised

experience. I struggeled with this idea, as the group was not so much interested in adding


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music, nevertheless, I did not give up and presented them with different options and then

we made a remotely collaborative decision on which one to use. I felt quite proud of myself

that I did not drop the idea and persisted on creating something more complex, as during

the brief we received feedback that 'the choice of music was excellent and it added to the

visual image we created'. It was a simple but rewarding moment that ensured me that it is

worth doing something one believes in despite lack of support from others.

I feel that I managed to fulfill the goal that I set for myself in this project,

however I know it is just the beginning. This project made me realise the importance of life

long learning and how to use theory in practice and become a better practitioner thanks to

expanding one`s interests. I understood that maintaining curiosity is extremely important

when being a designer. After this short project, I attended two lectures in Central that were

connected to using media in performance. One of them was a contextual studies session

with Finn Ross, who talked about designing and creating video projection for Master and

Margarita at the Barbican. The other one was interdisciplinary studies lecture with Darren

Johnston who came in to talk about his work and how he uses projection in performances

combining dance, projection and contemporary electronic music. Those two amazing,

informative and inspiring lecture have been just another confirmation of relevance of

expanding knowledge and exploring one`s interest in certain discipline, as it turns out I can

do it even during lectures, it is all about taking as much as possible of what I experience.

Word count: 1327


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Criteria 3

[B1] Demonstrate that you can creatively

solve problems to further independent and

collaborative work.


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Throughout this term, I encountered numerous problems that needed to be

solved either independently or as a part of the collaboration process. One of my goals for

the opera project corresponding to this criteria was to find a creative way to solve to main

problems that I could predict beforehand.

The first one was designing animal costumes for opera singers and ballet

dancers. It has been a big challenge, as for the first time I had to think about costumes that

were not simply items of clothing but something more, creating non-human forms.

Although, animal costumes would have been worn by human performers what makes it

impossible to create entirely animal-like shapes, as the human element is present and

significant. At first, I felt a bit overwhelmed with this task, as the initial resposnse is not to

fall into cliches and approach animal costumes creatively and originally. The sensation of a

kind of pressure and tension to be original and avoid being too literal could have been

sensed in the design group at the beginning of the process. But I feel that with time all of

us, or at least I, became less stressed about the outcome and more concerned with

creating characters, not realization of a certain animal on stage. The first important

decision in the process was whether to choose animals on stage or animalisation. In order

to make that call, I researched a few productions in which animal characters appear on

stage. To begin with I looked at the popular ones such as The Lion King or Cats.


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Pictures from the performances mentioned above


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Later in the process, I looked up previous productions of The Cunning Little

Vixen, the opera we have been working on, to compare my costume ideas with the way

previous creators interpreted characters. I felt lost in the process, as I did not have the

support of the costume tutor who we lost at the beginning of the process, as I mentioned in

the first essay. This lack of support from the technical costume side on top of my insecurity

concerning designing animal costumes made me very unsure about my initial ideas and

doubtful throughout design process.

To put together costume ideas in my head I needed one more aspect:

research into animals appearing in the opera. I combined character analysis, research into

certain animals and research into professional productions with animal characters na

stage to find my way of solving this problem. My concept for dealing with it and finding

moderation between animalisation and actual animal-shaped costumes was choosing

distinctive features of a certain animal and then based on that creating costumes,

sometimes adding such elements as a tail for foxes, a long ear-like hat for the dog or wing-

like sleeves when creating costumes for insects such as the blue dragonfly or flies. Here

are examples of a few of my renderings for animal characters


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costume rendering for the Dog

drawing of costumes for characters of the Fox and Fox Cubs


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costume rendering for the Fly

Feedback that I received from my peers was rather positive, however I

wanted to test whether my costume drawings signigfy that the character is an animal so I

asked a few colleagues from different strands, lightng design and stage management, who

did not know the opera to try telling which animal is on the drawing. To my positive

surprise, they were right with most of the characters what assured me that if the production

was to be realised audience members would be able to tell that the person on stage is

meant to be for example a fox. This aspect was a big concern of mine, as during interim

presentations the director that we have been working on pointed this issue out when giving

feedback to other designers. One of her useful comments was that if performer playing in

this case the Badger is dressed in trousers and a top hat, audience members would not be

able to identify him as this certain animal, as noone in the opera referrs to him using the


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word 'badger'. At this point I have very much appreciated the relevance of presentations

and feedback sessions in a big group as I could use or at least consider suggestions given

to other people that made me question my own design.

The second goal that I set for myself before the opera project started

addressed the challenge of designing for the opera, to be specific, designing from music

rather than from the text. At first, I had no idea how to even start the process. I have no

music education, I do not understand music well. I do appreciate it and I find it fascinating

probably because it is a mystery to me. It has not been infected by practical skills and

hours of practicing, like it was with drawing and painting for me, so that it maintened its

magical quality for me. However, using the term 'black magic', which in Polish means

something almost impossible to understand, would be very appropriate to describe how I

felt about the opera when I first encountered it. The director told us to create 'atmospheric

moment drawing' of scenes in the opera. I was very confused, as I was not sure what was

I expected to do exactly. I tried and then feedback that I received from her stated that it

was 'intellectual bullshit'. The way the director expressed herself was quite unique, even

though I aprreciated that it was straightforward. After this rather harsh comment, she

explained that I respond to the opera on a intellectual, not emotional level that she was

trying to get from us. She also suggested that I concentrate too much on the action that I

can read about in the libretto instead of listening to the music and sensing the atmosphere

created there. After this conversation, I felt lost and had no idea how to change my way of

understanding and analysing the opera. Fortunately, director took time to show me an

analysing exercise: we were listening to the music together and she made me write down

anything that was coming to my mind no matter which language I prefered to use. Here is

a photo of my sketchbook from that day with a list of different words describing

atmosphere in the prelude in act one.


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I found this way of approaching the opera very useful and it helped me to

respond to it on more emotional level. Even though, looking back at my process, I do not

feel that I managed to fulfill my goal and find a way of designing trurly from the music. Also

feedback that I received both from the director and design tutor mentioned that what I

created in terms of the set does not really come from the opera, that I did not manage to

capture its feel and meaning in my set design. I agree with this opinion, as I was struggling

to understand and take from the music during entire process and I feel that still I have not

found a way that would suit me. Even though I failed when it comes to set design for this

particular opera, I think that for my personal development and my journey as a designer, it

has been a very useful process. I did get a chance to do the set design again, as at the

moment it does not serve the opera and I got a suggestion that my initial responses that I

presented during interim presentations were a good start for the design, but at some point

I got lost in the process and forgot about them. When looking back at my first ideas and

initial responses, I can now see that they were valuable as they captured my


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understanding and perception of the story captured in the music and libretto. So maybe I

did understand the opera in my personal way after all? Now I feel that probably I was

trying too hard to get the same understanding of the opera as the director had, somehow

forgetting about my own. What I have learnt and what our design tutor mentioned

somewhere in the process is that the designer and even we, as design students, are not

there to please the director, our responsibility is to serve the story well and that is a lesson

I will definitely keep in mind in future projects when trying to be more confident with my

ideas and responses.

Word count: 1414


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Bibliography

Allison, J. (2013) 'Past, present and...', Opera, February 2013: 149

Barthes, R. (1972) 'Diseases of costume' in Barthes, R. Critical Essays, Northwestern

University Press: 41-50

Bosanquet, T. 'The Master and Margarita', www.whatsonstage.com (accessed 29.03.13)

Central Saint Martins (2013) Design for dance, Platform Theatre, London, 01.03.13

Complicite/Simon MacBurney (2012) TheMaster and Margarita, (Mikhail Bulgakov),

Barbican Theatre, London, 14.12.12 19.01.13

Disney Theatrical (1999) The Lion King, Lyceum Theatre, London

Royal Opera House (2013) Eugene Onegin, Royal Opera House, London, 30.01.13

System Jaquelinde (2010) Visual Performance Augemented Sculpture, Zwischenstromball,

2010

Tobin, A. (2011)Amon Tobin Isam Live Performance 2011

Webber, A. L. (1981) Cats, New London Theatre, London, 11.05.81
http://www.whatsonstage.com/http://www.whatsonstage.com/

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Barbara Bilon PEF Unit 5

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