How to Select Settings for a Stage Play
- 1). What type of characters are in your play? Where will they most likely hang out? For instance, if your play is about street gangs, then choose settings that will be the most likely place for them to congregate---a street corner, for instance. If your play is about office workers, then a business office will be the most likely setting for your play.
- 2). When does your play take place? Is it a contemporary play, or does it take place in the 17th century? Knowing when your play takes place will help you to select the appropriate settings you'll need to advance the plot of your play.
- 3). Make an outline of your plot. Map out the three acts in your play, as well as the scenes in each act. Determine whether you will need to change settings in the play and how many times based on the story's progression. For instance, the play about street gangs can switch from a street corner to the gang's hangout to a police station. On the other hand, the story about office workers can take place in a single office setting.
- 4). Determine where the meat of the drama will most likely take place. The play about street gangs might have many settings, but choose one setting where most of the story's drama will happen. This could be, for instance, the street corner. This setting will be the hub of your drama and the place where your characters will return to as the story progresses.
- 5). Choose settings that will enhance the drama in your play. For instance, in Tennessee Williams' play "A Streetcar Named Desire," the entire story takes place in a cluttered shotgun house in New Orleans. The claustrophobic nature of this setting enhanced the drama of Blanche Dubois's fragile and precarious mental state, leading to the play's denouement: her breakdown.
- 6). Take budget into account. If you plan on producing your play, the budget will determine how much money you can spend on stage designs. If your play doesn't require a great deal of details, then a simple, black backdrop with a few stage props can work. Before writing the play, visualize what you're able to do budget-wise first, then create settings that will enhance the drama while realistically setting the play within your means.
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