Schneider-Siemssen's 10 COMMANDMENTS for a Stage Designer
1.Thou shalt study two years of psychology before thou beginneth to study stage design.
2.Thou shalt study several disciplines: Painting, graphics, interior-and exterior architecture, sculpture, art history, style doctrine, theater science, costuming, geometry, theater perspective, stage acoustics, stage technology, lighting, basic physics, laser graphics, holography, projection art, materials, TV and cinematic art.
3.Thou shalt not kill a composer's or author's work!
4.Thou shalt not break up a marriage with a good stage director.
5.Thou shalt serve the work and let thyself be transformed. Thy handwriting will thus never become unfaithful.
6.Thou shalt be able to interpret music visually. If thou hast no musical empathy, keep thy hands off musical works.
7.Thou shalt be like a composer, who hath every instrument in his ear; and understand the whole instrumentation of stage technology, of light and special effects, so that from this knowledge, creative mastery may emerge.
8.Thou shalt do thy best to avoid material conflicts on the stage, for these are only a capitulation to thine fantasy.
9.Thou shalt bequeath sets that enableth audiences to visualize in a space of light works ranging from antiquity to the avant-garde that contain a cosmic body of thought.
10.Thou shalt heed what Goethe sayeth: "Man is the measure of all things." Thus on stage, the singer, actor, dancer... shalt be the measure of things.
[From G. Schneider-Siemssen in conversation with K. Pahlen: Die Bühne, mein Leben , Selke Verlag 1996; (The Stage, My Life - English translation by James Mulder, in press]
2.Thou shalt study several disciplines: Painting, graphics, interior-and exterior architecture, sculpture, art history, style doctrine, theater science, costuming, geometry, theater perspective, stage acoustics, stage technology, lighting, basic physics, laser graphics, holography, projection art, materials, TV and cinematic art.
3.Thou shalt not kill a composer's or author's work!
4.Thou shalt not break up a marriage with a good stage director.
5.Thou shalt serve the work and let thyself be transformed. Thy handwriting will thus never become unfaithful.
6.Thou shalt be able to interpret music visually. If thou hast no musical empathy, keep thy hands off musical works.
7.Thou shalt be like a composer, who hath every instrument in his ear; and understand the whole instrumentation of stage technology, of light and special effects, so that from this knowledge, creative mastery may emerge.
8.Thou shalt do thy best to avoid material conflicts on the stage, for these are only a capitulation to thine fantasy.
9.Thou shalt bequeath sets that enableth audiences to visualize in a space of light works ranging from antiquity to the avant-garde that contain a cosmic body of thought.
10.Thou shalt heed what Goethe sayeth: "Man is the measure of all things." Thus on stage, the singer, actor, dancer... shalt be the measure of things.
[From G. Schneider-Siemssen in conversation with K. Pahlen: Die Bühne, mein Leben , Selke Verlag 1996; (The Stage, My Life - English translation by James Mulder, in press]
posted by scenolab at 9:17 AM
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