Notes: Richard Foreman as Scenographer

Richard Foreman as Scenographer:

¨     Said to be like “no other design work of the American theatre, now or in the past”

¨     Text, Character, language, sound, space, thought, décor are all aspects of a single entity in Foreman’s world.
¨     Sets evoke a sense of wonder and exhilaration because of his attention to detail and juxtaposition of images and objects.
¨     Likes to make the entire stage ( every inch) participate in the moment because he assumes the spectator is watching the whole stage at all moments of the play.
¨     Tends to direct “ frontally”. Which is achieved in part through the employment of multiple framing devices, setting the stage off from each the audience as well as differentiating objects and performers from each other within the stage space.
¨     Likes to have his sets with a homemade quality about them.
¨     Somber, monochromatic color schemes are common, such as browns, blacks and grey.
¨     When he uses bring colors, such as red, they are muted and flat.
¨     The somber quality is reinforced by strange and eerie lighting that helps illuminate the darkness of the stage
¨     He typically has elements of Victoriana- lamps, overstuffed furniture, fringe etc, that create haunting echoes of a bygone era. Which is supposed to make the audience feel a sense of nostalgia and a sexual aura.
¨      “ props play a crucial role in the productions and it is often individual props that will linger in the spectators mind ling after seeing a play, such as dolls heads, skills, legal pads on clip boards, and armoire, globe etc.”
¨     Making the familiar strange lies at the root of his theatre, not terror, per se.
¨     Element that is most identified as Foremanesque: String.
¨     Strings crisscross the space of the stage and even the auditorium to connect objects and points within the space.
¨     Strings frame, focus, they function as line of force or energy, and inevitable, they disrupt the field of vision.
¨     Foreman’s most ideal set is his living room. “ I wish I could just get it (the stage) to feel visually, like this room where I am sitting”
¨     His designs all establish two forms of energy, two tensions. There are reverberating ideas and images that bounce around the contained space of the stage.
¨     Thrives for the state of involved observation, “ being at a party but not being involved in the festivities”
¨     1970’s- 1980’s used devices such as shining lights into the spectators eyes and harsh noises. More recently has started using sheets of Plexiglas hung in front of the stage. Clear, but gives the sense of its presence. Like viewing the play through a window.
¨     Claims many of the intent or meaning to particular visual choices is purely just by accident.
¨     Compares the process of designing is similar to the process of writing, “ the scenographic environment evolves through thumbnail sketches, to a rough model to the final version.
¨      If he could have it his way, he would prefer to start rehearsing with out any set, and then later decide what the set would be, but he can’t accomplish this because of time constraints.
-Stacy