The Art of Scenic Design: A Practical Guide to the Creative Process

(Paperback)

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Description

How do you navigate a career as an entertainment designer while maintaining a sense of self-worth and value in the various off-ramps and sidestreets you may choose to take on the journey The Art of Scenic Design provides an in-depth look at the scenic design process for young designers as well as creative entrepreneurs seeking to nurture a collaborative environment that leads to rediscovery and innovation in their work. Based on his 30 years of experience in stage design, exhibit design, art direction for film, and theme park and industrial design, Robert Mark Morgan demonstrates that while a design process for creating these types of works can seem like niche professions, the lessons learned in collaboration, testing and re-testing ideas, prototyping concepts, overcoming fears, venturing guesses, divergent thinking, and the creative process in general are applicable and valuable in nearly all disciplines and professions both inside and outside of the entertainment industry. In The Art of Scenic Design: A Practical Guide to the Creative Process you will follow an accomplished designer on a narrative of the theatrical design process from early phases of a design with a creative team encompassing visual research, idea-making, and collaborative relationships, to sketching, prototyping, and testing ideas, through to the execution and manifestation of the design with a team of artists and collaborators. The design journey is contextualized with backstage stories of "what if" moments, provocative discussions, and lessons that are indispensable to your professional development.

Reviews

Robert Mark Morgan has crafted an accessible and nuanced conversation about the why-how-what-ifs of stage design in ways only an empathetic creative soul might. From afar, Robs career as a designer, innovator, and educator has appeared to me like a lighthouse for the next generation of theater artists. His book is that invitation for young designers to dig in and find their own voice in the collaborative arts for the 21st century. * Mike Brown, Principal, Creative Director, Lot71, USA *
Rob Morgans book is a love letter to the young designer, and a reminder that a designer is not just a person gifted with magical talent, but one who lives a lifelong journey of observing, curating, reimagining and reassembling the world around them. * Jill Davis, Case Western Reserve University, USA *

Author Bio

Robert Mark Morgan is Teaching Professor of Drama and Director of the Beyond Boundaries Program at Washington University in St. Louis, USA, and a Teaching Artist for arts education and consultancy COCAbiz. For 30 years he has designed professionally in the areas of theatre, film, museum, and theme park venues, including for American Conservatory Theatre, the MUNY, Old Globe Theatre, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Indiana Repertory Theatre, and the Cleveland Play House.