Date of Award
5-2026
Degree Type
Report
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Department
Theatre Arts
Committee Chair(s)
Dennis Hassan (Committee Chair)
Committee
Dennis Hassan
Committee
Bruce Duerden
Committee
Paul Mitri
Abstract
This thesis examines how strong scenic design emerges not from how something looks, but from a clear understanding of how its world works. Rather than starting from aesthetic preference or visual trends, it outlines a process that identifies a central idea within a story and uses that idea to shape a cohesive spatial environment. By focusing on how a world behaves - what drives it, what resists change, and how its internal logic operates - design decisions begin to align, creating work that feels intentional rather than assembled. Through a series of production case studies, it evaluates how that process functions in practice, including both its successes and its limitations, while accounting for real-world constraints such as time, budget, and collaboration. Ultimately, it presents scenic design as a process of translating ideas into space, offering a flexible framework that can scale across contexts and produce work that remains clear, responsive, and meaningful.
Recommended Citation
Francis, Michael W. D., "In This World: A Scalable Methodology for Scenic Design" (2026). All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present. 142.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/gradreports2023/142
Included in
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Comments
This submission is a single-file thesis document. Figures, tables, Works Cited, and appendices are included within the PDF. Production photographs appear in the appendices at the end of the document.