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Download a PDF - Stage Directions Magazine

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Off the Shelf<br />

By Stephen Peithman<br />

Instructions Included<br />

How to turn a design into a drawing, ask for money, play games — and more.<br />

Successful theatre depends on acting, directing, designing<br />

and financial skills. This month’s books include recently<br />

published how-to books that cover a wide range of theatrical<br />

expertise.<br />

A theatrical designer’s ideas cannot stay locked in his or her<br />

head. At some point, it becomes necessary to communicate<br />

your visual idea effectively to others — and the best way to do<br />

that is almost always in a drawing. In Drawing & Rendering for<br />

Theatre: A Practical Course for Scenic, Costume, and Lighting<br />

Designers, Clare P. Rowe begins with the fundamentals of drawing,<br />

moves on to the various types of media and finishes with<br />

specific exercises in each section. Her approach is unusual in that<br />

she covers all areas of theatrical design, which serves to underscore<br />

how interrelated these areas really are (and how designers<br />

often end up working in more than one). Rowe explains: how to<br />

draw in one-, two-, and three-point perspective; the uses (and<br />

abuses) of color; drawing with media or digitally; and how to use<br />

these drawings to clarify and communicate your design. This<br />

handsome, full-color book includes student drawings that the<br />

author analyzes and critiques, plus renderings by professional<br />

theatrical designers. The result could serve as a textbook for<br />

design students or as self-help for working scenic, lighting and<br />

costume designers who want to improve their rendering skills.<br />

[ISBN 978-0-240-80554-2, $49.95, Focal Press]<br />

It’s enticing to think that theatrical-quality costumes, wigs<br />

and makeup can be made out of cheap materials, but the results<br />

are often less than terrific. However, author Tan Huaixiang<br />

makes a strong case for success in her new book, Costume<br />

Craftwork on a Budget: Clothing, 3-D Makeup, Wigs, Millinery<br />

& Accessories. With creativity and a solid understanding of<br />

available materials, she explains, a costume designer can create<br />

results that are practical, good-looking and durable. Writing<br />

in an easy-to-follow style — and illustrating each step with<br />

drawings and color photographs — the author shows how<br />

she has created three-dimensional makeup (including fangs)<br />

for Dracula, made a nose for Cyrano de Bergerac, built rubber<br />

masks for Once on This Island, designed the “Chrysler Building”<br />

headdress for Lend Me a Tenor, used household items to create<br />

war helmets and armor for Pippin, and many more intriguing<br />

examples. We liked it so much that we invited her to walk our<br />

readers through a process of creating a mask, which you can<br />

read in this issue on page 34. The rest of her book is filled with<br />

similar clarity and guidance. [ISBN 978-0-240-80853-6, $39.95,<br />

Focal Press]<br />

Most theatre companies need funding to enhance and<br />

expand their offerings. So, what are the secrets of prying open<br />

the pocketbooks of prospective donors? According to Barry J.<br />

McLeish’s Yours, Mine & Ours: Creating a Compelling Donor<br />

Experience, the secret is not having to pry anything open<br />

at all. It’s all about creating an environment in which donors<br />

want to give. McLeish explores donor expectations and goes<br />

beyond conventional concepts of branding and marketing. In<br />

today’s world, he emphasizes, fundraising success means being<br />

focused more on the donor’s concerns and needs than on your<br />

own. The effort must switch from “here’s what we need,” to<br />

“here’s what you need, and here’s how you’ll get it by giving<br />

to us.” That is a fundamental shift for most nonprofits, entailing<br />

a great deal of thought and planning — a game plan — that<br />

McLeish outlines carefully and concisely in this helpful how-to<br />

book. [ISBN 978-0-470-12640-0, $39.95, Jossey-Bass]<br />

And speaking of game plans, actors and acting teachers<br />

should find two new books of particular interest. Drama Games<br />

& Improvs: Games for the classroom and beyond, by Justine<br />

Jones and Mary Ann Kelley, is a semester-long curriculum guide<br />

for teaching basic dramatic skills using improv games that can<br />

be adapted to any age group. [ISBN 978-1-56608-147-4, $22.95,<br />

Meriwether Publishing]<br />

Acting Games for Individual Performers, by Gavin Levy,<br />

is targeted at college students, community theatre or professional<br />

performers who prefer to work on their own. Levy offers<br />

110 “self-discovery” acting exercises on such topics as imagination,<br />

observation, concentration, nonverbal communication,<br />

voice, body awareness, acting and reacting, understanding<br />

your objective, characterization, improvisation, props, retention<br />

and understanding, research, auditions and casting, and<br />

performance. [ISBN 978-1-56608-146-7, $17.95, Meriwether<br />

Publishing]<br />

While there are many books on how to become an actor,<br />

there are few that provide guidance for those who want to<br />

work behind the scenes. Mike Lawler’s Careers in Technical<br />

Theater helps fill that need. The book looks at theatre in<br />

the broadest sense — Broadway and regional theatre, ballet<br />

companies and vacation/resort productions onboard<br />

ship or in Las Vegas. Lawler provides specifics for careers<br />

as stage manager, lighting designer, electrician, stagehand,<br />

projection designer, scenic carpenter, production manager,<br />

prop artisan and many, many others. Information provided<br />

includes job duties, estimated earnings and recommended<br />

training institutions, plus examples of career trajectories,<br />

internships and apprenticeships, as well as a helpful list<br />

of Web resources. Throughout, Lawler makes it clear that<br />

work is more than about just making a living — that there<br />

are creative rewards and fun in technical theatre. [ISBN<br />

978-1-58115-485-6, $19.95, Allworth Press]<br />

40 January 2008 • www.stage-directions.com

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