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The hidden energy of the lifeless stage.

Imagine a stage set with wondrous things such as furniture, toys, curtains and clothes. Just sitting there all colorful, and clean, some things may be dirty some are torn but what is their purpose? Why are these things set about and for what purpose? Whose things are they? Those questions must be asked when we set the mood for ourselves mentally for the play. Those things will tell us what the play is about and about what time period the scene is set in. But, that is not always true either.

All of the elements that make up a scene such as, lighting, props, and set dressing is nothing without the actor to confirm its' purpose. We may have a progressive screenwriter and director who would want to make some interesting changes like, a turn of the century Jack the Ripper play with the dialogue of the time but in a modern setting. Now when you arrive and the curtain is up you start looking around and think that it is in the modern times because you see a brightly lit stage with modern placements that you are used to seeing in everyday life.
Without the actors to help you along with what you are seeing the area is just an empty space that is filled with stuff. What we do with the stuff defines what it is. A curtain just hangs there until we open it and shut it, a table just sits there until we put things on it or as some younger people do, sit on it. These objects just sit there lifeless until we give them stories and reasons why they are sitting where they are and why.
They may have some hidden history such as a piece of the titanic and not some ratty looking necklace that really needs a good polish. A couch Marilyn Monroe sat on in one of her movies. Every thing has a story but cannot always be conveyed through sight alone.
In every scene there is a purpose, or a message if you will, the actors and the set itself tell that. Collectively all of the elements must come together otherwise the story telling universe is out of wack and the message will come out as a jumbled mess. I think what is meant by, " the actor adds the one element in scene design that releases the hidden energy of the whole, is that the energy is flowing through the actor themselves to hold all of the other elements together.
The images, sound and costumes can only go so far and tell you only modestly about what they are doing and what they are for but the element that bridges the gap between the audience and the elements is the one that is using the elements together or separately. Bring life to things that have none on their own, taking energy and passing it on to other elements in the scene design universe. Without something to put everything in its place there would be confusion, no message, no meaning. We would not get what it is we are seeing, no explanation of why it is there and what it does. We are always looking for meaning, weather it would be for life or just how to turn our kids loud toys off. But unless we have all the instruction, be it by reading or someone telling us we are lost.

Learn more about this author, Angela Olver.
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