May 13, 2010
Faculty members Kent (instructor and technical director of the theatre) and Mary (adjunct faculty member) Cyr recently organized a display of technical projects produced by students in several theatre courses they teach. Kent teaches Theatre Construction and Theatre Technology, while his wife teaches Costume Design and Costume Construction. York College added such technical courses to its theatre curriculum during the 2009-10 academic year.
“Few of the items created were for a specific production, but instead were meant to explore typical problems and needs found in theatre,” said Kent Cyr. Projects included in the display and the course from which they were developed, as described by the Cyrs:
THE220 Theatre Construction
Scenic construction and painting from the set of this year’s musical opera, “Elijah.”
THE221 Theatre Technology
Flash Cannons, an exploration of a simple circuit, using batteries, a switch, a glo-plug and some brass tubing to light and launch a piece of flash paper from an object of the student’s design (pictured).
Tree Project - Students worked to produce a realistic-looking sample tree for the stage. All aspects of the project, such as tree type, materials and painting were researched and developed by the students. (“This one was a lot of fun as each group of students approached the project with a completely different methodology,” said Kent Cyr.)
Moonbox Project - The students worked together to produce two moon “boxes” (lit from within to emulate the glow of the moon) in two different styles: the “good” moon group attempted to make a large “just coming over the horizon” moon, while the “bad” moon group attempted a bright orange and slightly sinister crescent harvest moon. All students participated in the research, creation, construction and lighting of these two projects.
THE322 Costume Design
Design Portfolios - A few of the students brought in their design portfolios, which included three design projects from the course. The idea was to introduce them not only to the concepts of design, but also how to approach design for different genres of theatre. To do this, they researched and designed costumes for an opera, a play, and a musical. The final project of the course was to put all of their work together into a professional format -- the portfolio -- complete with their current resume. For the display, a few of the students chose to bring in their favorite design project from the semester.
THE 386 Costume Construction
Pattern Drafting - Students were introduced to the techniques and concepts behind manipulating a basic bodice and skirt pattern to create new patterns. Each student produced ten ¼-scale pattern draftings with descriptions.
Hat Making Project - Students created a ½-scale top hat. The basic project was to learn the technique of creating a wire and buckram understructure. Several students took the project a step further and also learned how to then cover the framework with fabric.
Corset - This project introduced students to the techniques of machine and hand stitching. They also learned how to take measurements, use a basic corset pattern, layout and cut fabric and lining, work with corset boning, to make piping, and to grommet. The students had the option to either make the corset to be put into costume stock for use in future productions, or to make it to fit themselves.
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