Scenographics

Written By Rachel Hann
Featured Video
E3 | Scenographics: Acts of Worlding
E3 | Scenographics: Acts of Worlding

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My research on ‘scenographics’ first emerged as part of my monograph, Beyond Scenography. This project investigated the Anglophone appropriation of the term ‘scenography’ and how this now relates to the expanded practices of theatre and performance. The book argued for a critical distinction between ‘scenography’ and ‘scenographic’: where a scenographic perspective can operate beyond the institutional and ideological contexts of theatre. Case studies include scenographic architecture, installation art, protest art, and parades. Since the book’s publication in 2019, I have sought to apply and expand the concept of scenographics to a variety of contexts such as justice, costume, sports wear, and gender.

Publications

Featured
Pluriversal scenographics and staging world feelings: climate crisis in SUPERFLEX’s ‘It Is Not The End Of The World’
Articles, Scenographics, Atmospherics, Open access
Pluriversal scenographics and staging world feelings: climate crisis in SUPERFLEX’s ‘It Is Not The End Of The World’
Articles, Scenographics, Atmospherics, Open access

How is a feeling of world produced through staged material cultures? This question provides the through-line to my argument for this article. In an era of climate crisis, acts of representation that enact, invite or irritate conceptual models for ‘world feelings’ are increasingly urgent.

Articles, Scenographics, Atmospherics, Open access
Costume Scenographics
Articles, Scenographics, Costume
Costume Scenographics
Articles, Scenographics, Costume

What do costumes do? I ask this question with two positions in mind. First, I am interested in how costumes produce a sense of atmosphere, occasion, or event. Second, I propose that costuming as a socio-material technology orientates feelings of world.

Articles, Scenographics, Costume
Gender-Assemblages: The Scenographics of Sin Wai Kin</a>
Articles, Scenographics, transness, Nonbinary, Costume
Gender-Assemblages: The Scenographics of Sin Wai Kin
Articles, Scenographics, transness, Nonbinary, Costume

The concept of gender-assemblage is proposed as a critical framework to identify, critique and negotiate the more-than-human processes of gendering. Sin’s drag draws upon their non-binary identity to speculate renewed discourses, actions and expectations for gendered practices.

Articles, Scenographics, transness, Nonbinary, Costume
On Atmospherics: Staging Stormzy and nonbinary thinking
Articles, Atmospherics, Scenography, Scenographics, Nonbinary, Open access
On Atmospherics: Staging Stormzy and nonbinary thinking
Articles, Atmospherics, Scenography, Scenographics, Nonbinary, Open access

Taking the UK Grime artist Stormzy’s performance at Glastonbury 2019 as a case study, this article investigates the tactics, technologies and processes revealed through the act of staging atmospheres.

Articles, Atmospherics, Scenography, Scenographics, Nonbinary, Open access
Painting Scenographics</a>
Articles, Scenography, Scenographics
Painting Scenographics
Articles, Scenography, Scenographics

Silke Otto-Knapp’s paintings could be seen to represent stage environments. But at the same time, one could argue that, as with the stage environments they evoke, her paintings enact a feeling of place that others, complicates, and reveals normative orders of place. This is my starting point for proposing “painting scenographics.”

Articles, Scenography, Scenographics
Notes on Beyond Scenography
short form, Scenography, Scenographics, Open access
Notes on Beyond Scenography
short form, Scenography, Scenographics, Open access

Reflecting on writing Beyond Scenography, this essay in English and Portuguese documents the lecture ‘Scenographic Futures’, presented as part of the session PQ TALKS, at PQ 2019, a position statements called ‘Changing the Question’is presented to reflect if rather than asking what is scenography, now the question is what does scenography do?. How scenography affects, channels, and orientate experiences of stage, place, and world.

short form, Scenography, Scenographics, Open access
Justice Scenographics: Preparing for civilization change in a time of ‘Anywheres’ and ‘Somewheres’
short form, Scenographics, Open access, climate crisis
Justice Scenographics: Preparing for civilization change in a time of ‘Anywheres’ and ‘Somewheres’
short form, Scenographics, Open access, climate crisis

For the Design Studio for Social Intervention, I consider ‘justice scenographics’ to offer a model for speculating renewed human-world relations based on a climate ceiling model of economics.

short form, Scenographics, Open access, climate crisis
Beyond Scenography
Books, Scenography, Scenographics, Costume
Beyond Scenography
Books, Scenography, Scenographics, Costume

Beyond Scenography offers a manifesto for a renewed theory of scenographic practice for the student and professional theatrical designer. With sections on installation art and gardening as well as marketing and placemaking, this book is an argument for what scenography does: how assemblages of scenographic traits orientate, situate, and shape staged events.

Books, Scenography, Scenographics, Costume

Videos

Featured
PQ Talks 11 June - Panel 3: Trans/nonbinary Scenographics
Scenography Talks, Trans Performance, nonbinary, pq talks
PQ Talks 11 June - Panel 3: Trans/nonbinary Scenographics
Scenography Talks, Trans Performance, nonbinary, pq talks

Trans/nonbinary Scenographics w/ Rachel Hann, Nic Farr, M'ck McKeague

This is the recording of the third panel of the third day of the PQ Talks at the 15th Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space, which took place on 11 June 2023 in the Jatka78 theatre.

0:05:09 Introduction by Barbora Příhodová, the curator of PQ Talks

0:05:55 Introduction by Rachel Hann, moderator of the panel

0:07:20 Trans/nonbinary Scenographics w/ Rachel Hann, Nic Farr, M'ck McKeague

0:46:20 Q&A

More info: https://pq.cz/pq-2023-info/projects-2023/pq-talks-curated-by-barbora-prihodova/trans-nonbinary-scenographics/

Scenography Talks, Trans Performance, nonbinary, pq talks
On Atmospherics: Designing feeling in an era of climate crisis
Scenography Talks, nonbinary, atmospherics, keynotes and seminars, climate crisis
On Atmospherics: Designing feeling in an era of climate crisis
Scenography Talks, nonbinary, atmospherics, keynotes and seminars, climate crisis

For Atmospherics: Designing feeling in an era of climate crisis

with Rachel Hann, Cultural Scenographer,

Senior Lecturer in Performance & Design at Northumbria University, UK

in conversation with Prof. Patrick Du Wors

Dr. Hann presents a proposal for ‘atmospherics’ as a process-based, non-binary approach to stage aesthetics and a model for future eco-decolonial scenographies.

Scenography Talks, nonbinary, atmospherics, keynotes and seminars, climate crisis
Rachel Hann and Rosie Elnile, 'Decolonizing Scenography: A case study on Rosie Elnile's Prayer'
Scenography Talks, keynotes and seminars
Rachel Hann and Rosie Elnile, 'Decolonizing Scenography: A case study on Rosie Elnile's Prayer'
Scenography Talks, keynotes and seminars

Abstract

This presentation is part of an ongoing dialogue between a cultural scenographer (Rachel Hann) and a performance designer (Rosie Elnile) on what decolonizing scenography entails, involves and feels like. We present the case for ‘empty space’ as a colonial idea and consider alternative models of scenographic practice built for an era of climate crisis. To afford focus to this discussion, we draw upon Elnile’s re-imagined online production of Prayer (2020) that explored themes of labour, care, and decolonial politics of space. Elnile’s practice is adopted as an example of ‘post-empty’ scenographics in action and offers a burgeoning model for a possible route towards a decolonial scenography. Drawing upon designer Tanja Beer’s production model for ecoscenography and anthropologist Kirsten Simmons’s ‘settler atmospherics’, we affirm the critical role that new models of scenographic practice will take in realizing carbon budgets and the need for a decolonial aesthetics that embraces space as full, ready and situated. Consequently, we conclude with a manifesto for decolonizing scenography as embracing climate ceilings and decolonial imaginations as a critical framework for debating, challenging, and transgressing the colonial imagination of empty space.

Scenography Talks, keynotes and seminars
E5 | Body Assemblages
Scenography Talks, Costume, Beyond Scenography series
E5 | Body Assemblages
Scenography Talks, Costume, Beyond Scenography series

This episode is based on a talk I gave for Innovative Costume of the 21st Century in Moscow, June 2019. It explores the idea of body assemblages as related to costume practices and design. It ends with a manifesto (detailed below) with the episode structured in five parts:

This episode is based on a talk I gave for Innovative Costume of the 21st Century in Moscow, June 2019. It explores the idea of body assemblages as related to costume practices and design. It ends with a manifesto (detailed below) with the episode structured in five parts:

2:14 - 'The Body'

3:25 - Body Assemblages

5:26 - What can costume do?

7:38 - Bodies as intersectional

10:03 - Costume Orientations

11:41 - Kinaesthetic Empathy

15:53 - Manifesto

Manifesto for Body-Assemblages:

Bodies are always in process; an assemblage of parts

Body-assemblages perform differently each and every time (even if only at a cellular level)

Costuming others the normative body-assemblage

Costumes show the labour of appearance through acts of appearance

If bodies are assemblages,then costuming affords a methodology for complicating how bodies fit together.

Costume celebrates the power of non-human materials to affect very human acts of sociality and togetherness.

Costuming exposes the myth of ‘the body’; bodies are always multiple, porous and in process.

Costume investigates bodies caught in the act of appearance.

Scenography Talks, Costume, Beyond Scenography series
PQ2019 talk | Beyond Scenography: Acts of Transformation
Scenography Talks, pq talks
PQ2019 talk | Beyond Scenography: Acts of Transformation
Scenography Talks, pq talks

My talk on Beyond Scenography from the Prague Quadrennial 2019 on Saturday 15th June 2019. Thanks to Vicente Saldanha for filming.

Scenography Talks, pq talks
PQ2019 Talk | Justice Scenographics: Preparing for civilisation change
Scenography Talks, pq talks, climate crisis
PQ2019 Talk | Justice Scenographics: Preparing for civilisation change
Scenography Talks, pq talks, climate crisis

My panel on Justice Scenographics with Kenneth Bailey (Design Studio for Social Intervention) from the Prague Quadrennial 2019 on Sunday 9th June 2019. Thanks to Vicente Saldanha for filming.

Scenography Talks, pq talks, climate crisis
E4 | Scenographic Futures
Scenography Talks, Beyond Scenography series
E4 | Scenographic Futures
Scenography Talks, Beyond Scenography series

As prep for PQ2019, this latest episode on 'Scenographic Futures' insiders 9 key concepts, themes and practices that will drive scenography's future.

As prep for PQ2019, this latest episode on 'Scenographic Futures' insiders 9 key concepts, themes and practices that will drive scenography's future. Includes:

0:55 - Changing the question

2:30 - Radical Gestures (costume & sound)

4:15 - Scenography as Formative

6:18 - Atmosphere

8:00 - Augmentation

11:11 - Rethinking Nature

14:58 - 'Space' Obsession

16:47 - Potentiality

19:39 - Feeling

Scenography Talks, Beyond Scenography series
E3 | Scenographics: Acts of Worlding
Scenography Talks, Beyond Scenography series
E3 | Scenographics: Acts of Worlding
Scenography Talks, Beyond Scenography series

This episode outlines one of the conclusions of Beyond Scenography. 'Scenographics' are approached as the place orientating traits of stage material cultures, inclusive of theatre and dance, as well as gardening, installation art, interior design, visual merchandising etc.

This episode outlines one of the conclusions of Beyond Scenography. 'Scenographics' are approached as the place orientating traits of stage material cultures, inclusive of theatre and dance, as well as gardening, installation art, interior design, visual merchandising etc. Accordingly, the episode provides an overview of how scenographics relate to established positions on performance theory as well as scenographic practices.

Scenography Talks, Beyond Scenography series
E2 | Scenic Politics: Scenes, Mise en scène, & Atmospheres
Scenography Talks, Beyond Scenography series
E2 | Scenic Politics: Scenes, Mise en scène, & Atmospheres
Scenography Talks, Beyond Scenography series

Episode II of the Beyond Scenography series looks at the possible distinctions between notions of 'the scenic' and that of 'scenes'. This debate considers how landscape is appreciated through the aesthetic politics of the picturesque and what this tells us about the potentiality of scenes as 'things that happen'.

Episode II of the Beyond Scenography series looks at the possible distinctions between notions of 'the scenic' and that of 'scenes'. This debate considers how landscape is appreciated through the aesthetic politics of the picturesque and what this tells us about the potentiality of scenes as 'things that happen'. It also maps out some of the discussions in the book on stage atmospheres and the affective potential of scenographic assemblages.

Scenography Talks, Beyond Scenography series
E1 | Beyond empty stages | Beyond Scenography
Scenography Talks, Beyond Scenography series
E1 | Beyond empty stages | Beyond Scenography
Scenography Talks, Beyond Scenography series

In this episode entitled 'Beyond empty stages', I outline what a scenographic approach reveals about the notion of an ‘empty space’ and how stages become manifest.

Beyond Scenography (Routledge, 2018) is my first book that proposes a renewed theory of scenography and scenographics. In this accompanying vlog series, I expand upon the key arguments featured in the book and provide a guide for students and practitioners when considering how to adopt these positions within their own work.

In this episode entitled 'Beyond empty stages', I outline what a scenographic approach reveals about the notion of an ‘empty space’ and how stages become manifest. I'll get a better mic for the future episodes ;-)

Buy the book on amazon or at:

https://www.routledge.com/Beyond-Scenography/Hann/p/book/9781138785069

Scenography Talks, Beyond Scenography series
Rachel Hann
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