Ready, set, go!: Teaching set design

My first conversation with Sam Beal immediately piqued my interest. During the 2021 lockdown, he told me about the time he had taken shoeboxes from skips and used them to create set model boxes, as part of a project with Theatre Peckham. Immediately, I knew this would be something teachers would love. From there, we worked together to create and deliver a free online Think Like a Designer webinar called ‘Shoebox Theatre’. It was hugely popular, with hundreds of teachers taking part and starting to use the resources to create schemes of work across Key Stages 3 to 5.

Beal is a multidisciplinary designer who produces designs for touring plays, immersive performance and intimate live art installations, with a wide range of influences from popular culture and fashion to history and architecture. In his work, Beal continues to use education and experimentation to explore the medium of scenic design. I was keen to catch up with Beal to discuss his tips and practical ideas for teaching set design, even with minimal resources.

What are the main challenges of teaching set design in schools?

Teaching design in any context has its difficulties. Any given text can have hundreds of interpretations, without a single concept being ‘right’. The process of designing is collaborative. It might ultimately be the designer's responsibility to produce the world of a play, it is impossible to do this without significant contributions from the whole production team. While creating the right environment to nurture a collaborative relationship is important, it can often be difficult in learning environments. Similarly, finding a way of visually expressing one's ideas can be a barrier. A designer doesn't have to be an accomplished artist, but must be able to express the mood, scale and form of a design. There are many ways this can be achieved, which may not necessarily sit comfortably with the requirements of an educational syllabus.

The process of designing a set is a long one, from its initial conception to the final handover of a completed design and scale drawings. It can also be expensive. Schools may not be equipped to cover these costs, with teachers not necessarily armed with the relevant skills to impart. There is, however, real potential in embedding this element of theatre practice into the drama curriculum and creating more collaborative and creative classrooms, in order to help create a new generation of well-rounded theatre makers.

What is the best approach in terms of teaching set design to young people?

The role of a designer covers such a broad range of disciplines, both creative and practical, so it's important to cover the basics of the process in a way that is accessible and enjoyable.

Although imagination and creativity are paramount, design must serve a text first and foremost. Textual analysis and discussions around direction can often inform how a design manifests in the physical presence of a set. This crucial stage in the process comes first. For young people studying drama or theatre studies, comprehension of a text should be second nature. The development of these ideas and bringing concepts to life in a physical way is a great way of exploring the possibilities and limitations of set design.

What are your top tips for approaching set design practically with GCSE and A Level students?

When approaching scenic design, it's important to be as hands on as possible. Communication of ideas is important, but in the early stages, it's not helpful to be focused on creating a highly detailed finished product. The process of research, gathering ideas, making mood boards, sketching and resketching ideas is where you find out what you like, what works and what doesn't. We developed ‘Shoebox Theatre’ to allow aspiring designers to begin to map ideas out visually and provide a useful tool for sharing ideas and collaborating with other members of a production team or fellow students.

Set design sets the tone for a piece of theatre and forms the visual language for a play, complimenting the storytelling. It also needs to be practical and be able to change and develop with the story to fit physically in a stage space. Scale models are still vital tools in the design process, and this kind of ‘sketch modelling’ is an accessible way to bring ideas to life, experiment, make and learn from mistakes and develop initial ideas. It is a tool for collaboration, communication, and provides a basis for understanding scale, form and structure. With a few key pieces of equipment and some easily gathered materials you can allow your creativity to lead the way.

Sam Beal's essential kit list for teaching set design

• A scale ruler and scale figures
• A model box or shoebox
• Card and paper of various thicknesses, textures and finishes
• Scissors, glue and string
• LED torch (for experimenting with lighting)
• A sketchbook and pencil

Join Sam Beal and Lucy Bellingham from We Teach Drama at the Music and Drama Expo in February for the live workshop ‘Shoebox Theatre: practical approaches to teaching set design with minimal resources’.