The intricacies of the theater set is always something that has
always fascinated me. The architectural details are always thought of as being
very minute and small, but in actuality, have huge subconscious meaning into
the viewer. The entire idea of a stage setup is created in order to serve the
audience and to help bring the story to the receiver. For three years, I was a theater
constructionist for my high school and have first hand knowledge about this
phenomena. The amount of detail and work that goes into painting the picture
that will end up seen at the premiere, is massive and may even take months. It
was through this experience that I could clearly see how the human experience
is dependent on so many more factors than say, the actors, dialogue, or story.
This is not only a truth for physical plays and musicals, but also for many
other mediums that have the same kind of function. In film, the frame and all
aspects within the frame have a huge impact on how the receiver takes in the
information. As a visual species, we depend on the elements within our vision,
including peripherals, to fully intake the complete portrait of what is being
given to us. On a stage, a huge responsibility is to make sure the action can
be viewed by every member of the audience and in order to do so, careful
blocking and dressing becomes an imperative to make sure that every seat in the
house is capable of experiencing what’s on stage.
