We'll begin with the work that is most visible to you, the audience, when you sit down to watch the play. Then you can read about the stuff you never see, and probably never even think about.

The Set

Not too many years ago, when you went into a theater to see a play, the only thing you saw before the show started was a long black velvet curtain. These days, you're much more apt to set the set. The designers evidently figured out that showing the audience the set, subtly lit, in advance helps to set the mood for the production, as does the music that is playing when you enter the theater and wait for the show to start.

As with the director, the set designer reads and rereads the script, forms a concept of what kind of environment the action requires, then begins the design process. First, he might submit some concept sketches - including color schemes. Chances are the initial design will undergo many changes (and redrawings) before a final design is agreed upon.

The next step is a precise scale rendering of the set, then the designer must draft working plans for the construction of the various elements - stairways, built-in shelves and cabinets, platforms, balconies, doorways, arches, working windows, sometimes running water or revolving platforms... it obviously varies from one show to another.

This can be really major construction and can take a very long time and a lot of competent carpenters and other skilled workers.

Sets are often built using braced wood framed with canvas or other sturdy fabric stretched tight over them (you definitely don't want the walls to ripple every time the door is slammed!). They are then painted to look like... well, just about anything you want... an ancient stone castle, a modern kitchen, the inside of a pub or gas station, or perhaps a fantasy environment.

If you need a large rock that the actors can sit on... get out the chicken wire to cover the wood frame, then cover the whole thing with papier mache, and paint it to look like a rock! Set designers are only limited by their imaginations and the available materials and competent workers!

The same crew that designed and built the set may be working backstage during the run of the show, changing sets, repairing damage, inspecting the braces that hold the walls upright, and so forth. A different crew may work during the run of the show. The carpenters and painters are replaced by a 'running crew'.

Sometimes there is a whole separate crew to handle the set decoration. They make sure that those built-in shelves in the living room have all of the things on them that you might have in your own living room: books, photos, knickknacks, small sculptures... anything purely decorative that doesn't actually get used but is important to setting the mood and making the environment believable.