Stagecraft: Set, Lighting, Sound, Costume and Make-up
This domain tests design thinking: how technical choices support action, mood, and meaning without creating practical hazards. Questions may ask you to justify a design choice or spot a production error.
Core rules
- Set design begins with a ground plan and sightlines; every entrance, level, and masking point must work for the audience.
- Lighting has four main functions: visibility, focus, mood, and time/place; cues must be plotted and rehearsed.
- Sound includes reinforcement, effects, and music; feedback, dead spots, and late cues are avoidable errors.
- Costume communicates period, status, character, and practicality; quick changes and movement must be tested.
- Make-up adjusts for stage distance and lighting; corrective make-up is different from character make-up.
Worked example
A night scene needs a moonlit window and a candlelit table. Reasoning: use a cool blue wash from the window side for moonlight, a warm practical lamp on the table for the interior, and low front light so faces remain visible. The design must not leave the downstage area in darkness or shine light into the audience's eyes.
Exam traps
- Designing a set that blocks sightlines or traps actors.
- Using lighting only for visibility and forgetting focus and mood.
- Placing a microphone where it causes feedback.
- Ignoring costume changes under stage lighting.
- Treating make-up as cosmetic rather than character and visibility.