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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