ABOUT THIS BOOK

Directors and Designers explores the practice of scenography—the creation of perspective in the design and painting of stage scenery—and offers new insight into the working relationships of the people responsible for these theatrical transformations. With contributions from leading practitioners and theorists, editor Christine White describes the way in which the roles of director and designer have developed over time. Featuring chapters on theater and site-specific performance, theatrical communication and aesthetics, and the cognitive reception of design by the audience, this volume provides a valuable resource on current approaches to scenography for professionals and students.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Christine White is head of narrative and interactive arts in the School of Art and Design at Nottingham Trent University.

REVIEWS

“Considering designers from the infamous (Jo Mielziner, Max Gorelik) to Jean Cocteau (and his contributions to “design as action”), these sixteen essays by theater designers and practitioners reveal both successful and flawed collaborations among designers, directors, and playwrights. Others have treated this subject . . . but White makes a valuable addition in bringing together theory, scholarship, and professional practice. Highly recommended.”

— Choice

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Part I: Setting the Scene

Chapter 1: Back and Forth to Russia: Scenography as an Academic Study from Moscow 1994-St Petersburg 2004

Christine White

Part II: Performing Partners

Chapter 2: Hand in Glove: The Designer as Director as Designer

Charles Erven

Chapter 3: Political Performing Partners: Director Lee Strasberg, Scene Designer Mordecai Gorelik, Playwright John Howard Lawson and the Group Theatre

Anne Fletcher

Chapter 4: The Director, the Designer and the Ghost/Creative Team in Site-Specific Performance Practice

Kathleen Irwin

Chapter 5: Director Petr Lébl and Designer William Nowák: To a Man

Věra Velemanová

Chapter 6: The Organics of the Rehearsal Room: Contemporary Directing Practice and the Director-Designer Relationship

Alison Oddey

Chapter 7: Collaborative Models: Mielziner, Williams and Kazan

Julia Listengarten

Chapter 8: Problematics of Theatrical Negotiations: Directing, Scenography and State Ideology

Julia Listengarten

Chapter 9: Methodological Practices for Directing and Designing

Christine White

Chapter 10: The Digital Platform as a Communication Tool

Adele Keeley

Part III: Metaphors, Metatheatre & Methodologies

Chapter 11: The Seductive Scene or Reclaiming Spectacle

Christine White

Chapter 12: Metatheatre: A Discourse on Contemporary Staging

Ewa Wąchocka

Chapter 13: A Metaphorical Mise-en-Scène: Elia Kazan and Max Gorelik at The Group Theatre

Scott Dahl

Chapter 14: Ideational Conflict and Resolution in the Design Process: Positive Outcomes from Negative Relationships

Harry Feiner

Chapter 15: Design a Action: Jean Cocteau and the Ballets Russes

Gregory Sporton

Part IV: Postscript to the Director

Chapter 16: From Hamlet with Love: A Letter to the Other

Lilja Blumenfeld

Bibliography

Notes on Contributors

Index