Gary's Thoughts, part 2

Note: This is Part 2 of Gary's email to the Da Vinci group. Included were two set-design pictures, but i was unable to add them to the blog. If anyone would like to see these pictures, please let me know, and I will be glad to email them to you. -- Bret

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Part 2—the Da Vinci Project—Gary Schattschneider
Three other ideas that Da Vinci put forth that interested me in connection with theatre design and teaching Fundamentals of Speech were, the " 5 W’s and an H," the "what if…." question to search for solutions to various problems and the practice of developing mental pictures during different parts of the day to hopefully lead you to solving whatever type of problem with which you are dealing. I think these ideas play an important role in everything from solving set design problems, coming up with interesting speech topic ideas and approaches and "visualizing" a successful outcome to the speech and design experience.

I was introduced to the "5 W’s and an H" in high school journalism—as the structure of a basic news story. The "who, what, where, when, why and how" were all to be included in the lead paragraph followed by the information in descending order of importance in paragraph form. There were a couple of reasons for doing this. One was if you didn’t catch the readers’ interest and/or attention to want to continue reading the entire story, at least he/she had the important facts and information re: the story. The reason for having the information in descending order of importance was that once the story in column form reaches the person that does the page layout he/she might want to include the story on a certain page and if it didn’t fit the layout person would start literally start cutting paragraphs from the bottom of the story. The newspaper business being what it is –a race against deadlines—the layout person would not have time to read the story as he/she was trying to fit the story on the page. In fact some news stories have ended up with just a headline (to get the readers interest) and a lead paragraph. But at least the 5’s and an H are in it so the reader got all of the pertinent information. I still compare this lead paragraph approach as very similar to, but not exactly the same as an introduction in a speech in public speaking. I’m assuming that Da Vinci didn’t necessarily have "newspapers" in mind when he came up with this approach, but rather when we are in search of answers to our "cosmic" questions, we make sure that we have all of the information/facts before we draw our conclusions???

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The next area, the "what if…" I think is a really interesting and important area that can help "lift" a speech, a painting or a set design above the mundane, allow the work to soar and certainly lead to new ideas questions and adventures—(i.e. the creative vs. not so creative ideas ??? or concepts that make people sit up and take notice.) This "questioning" can be abstract or very practical in approaching set and costume designs, for instance.

In January, 1969 I was flying back to the University of Idaho where I was teaching at that time. I designed most of the costume for outer space creatures for an upcoming children’s production we were doing during that flight. I completed most of the designs in pencil while flying over the Rocky Mountains (talk about your "Rocky Mountain High")! I knew I wanted the creatures to wear half-masks but needed something beyond glitter that would catch the light and show up under black-light. The 60’s were a period in theatre there was a lot of experimentation with "new" materials both in scenery and in costuming. Designers were using a lot of Plexiglas, foam and various kinds of metals. And I was certainly on the lookout for anything we could afford and would work for the production. After a month in Minnesota and now back in my apartment in Idaho, I needed groceries. As I was shopping (there’s always a show design rattling around in my head—either consciously or sub-consciously) I went down the cleaning supply aisle and BAM !—there was my "what if…" copper colored Brillo scouring pads that were cheap, metallic, would reflect light and could be cut apart to make them larger and attached easily to the masks. I always advise my students—open your mind to new ideas, ask "what if….." and observe with a vengeance!

The next "what if…?" perhaps has a more tangible outcome and can serve to illustrate both the Da Vinci idea as well as the "Production Concept" example that seems to connect with my students and those that aren’t as familiar with working theatre ideas from a set designer and director’s point of view. Below is a set design for "Diary of Anne Frank" presented in the Hill Theatre at RCTC and directed by Ray Mikesh (former director of RCTC Theatre). This play is fairly well known; the pictures and the actual attic and rooms exist in The Netherlands as the "Anne Frank House" which is a museum/ tourist attraction. The set designs that are usually used are smaller than the average set to suggest the claustrophobia and cramped conditions that these people lived in while hiding from the Nazis. Ray had also visited the actual house the summer before we were scheduled to do the production.

When I was still in the "mental concept design" process of coming up with an idea for the set, I was taking a shower one morning and had an "A-HA-what if?" moment—and visualization and an idea for the production—that wasn’t the usual approach. (I do most of my mental visualization, creative problem solving in the shower!!!) In fact, that situation became a standing joke between Ray and myself. In fact I could, at any time expect him to come up to me and say (Schatts…..you need to go home and take a shower to solve this problem"…)

My "what if…" approach was this: I decided that it really wasn’t the attic or building that was "confining" the Frank family and their friends; rather it was the society of the time (the Nazis) that were in essence causing a physical and emotional confinement and the Nazis could at any moment "pull the rug out from under the Jews". So the stage set used the entire stage and then some. If you look closely at the design you will see that the floorboards on the attic run parallel with the rows of audience seats and as they move upstage they gradually change color and become red and supporting a large swastika on a white circular background. Those floorboards acted symbolically as "the rug" which could at any time be pulled upstage toppling anything that was set on top of them—people, furniture etc. The swastika was the ever present threat both above the stage and flags in the orchestra pit. This idea can also be referred to as the "production concept" or the framework against which all things on the stage, acting etc. could be measured. Now you might be asking yourself… would an audience member looking at this set be able to verbalize this? No, probably not—but I hope that once all the elements have played out and the story has been told that on a subconscious or maybe a gut reaction level it has caused a new way of looking at the play/story or perhaps given new insights into it.

[Picture missing -- Please email me if you would like me to email you the set-design pictures -- Bret]

The above set design for "The Tempest" at RCTC directed by Jerry Casper, was derived from a more visual discovery and approach. The scene is on an island where Prospero has been exiled and shipwrecked. My inspiration? I was looking for some other thinks at Hobby Lobby when I came across a decorative mirror (on clearance no less) that resembled a mariners compass. Another A-HA and what if ? moment!!! If you look at the platform design it resembles the mirror/mariner’s compass with three directional points. I added parts of the scavenged ship—a mast on the left, the ship’s ladder type stairs, some portions of a ripped sail etc. The platforms and levels also resembled the arrangement of the Globe theatre stage (inner below, inner above etc.), the theatre and physical stage for which Shakespeare wrote.