The stage and costume design is in decline

Scenes and costumes are important elements in a show. The elements that can present the performing method  to the audience before any story and dialogue and action.

 

Moonir Maleki, theater costume designer, also said about the position of this profession: "Costume design can be examined from two aspects. The first aspect is the quality of work, the knowledge and ability of costume designers, fortunately, Iranian designers are capable, knowledgeable and master in their profession and do their work with knowledge and precision.

She went on to say: "Unfortunately, the status of Costume designers is not well defined, so an experienced and educated costume designer should have a special status in terms of Intellectual property rights."

 

 

Payam Foroutan, a lecturer and stage designer of cinema and theater, divided the challenge of stage designers into two parts: software and hardware and said: "In the field of software challenges, it goes back to the 90s and 2000s when there were no private theaters and we had decor studios. The groups signed a contract with the General Administration of Dramatic Arts, and a A separate budget was allocated to design costs. In that time, stage designs were rich with high quality.

He continued: "Since the establishment of private theaters and the cutoff of government funding due to lack of support, many directors and investors have preferred to spend the budget on the presence of celebrities, DJs, etc. to increase their sales."

According to Foroutan, other issues such as financial concern and rising material prices have solutions and can be classified as stage design software problems.

This lecturer believes that now 2 groups of directors work in the theater: "There is a group of experimental directors and they do not have education in this field, The second group has academic education, but what is interesting is that there is no stage design course in directing at the university. And this issue proves the directors' lack of knowledge in the field of stage design."

 

This artist explained about the use of the word minimal in the stage design: "The minimalist style is not necessarily a cheap style. As a result, artists who use the word "minimal" for not designing decor show their lack of information.

Elham Shabani, a theater costume designer, said: "I think that costume design in Iranian theater is not in the right place. I design clothes based on the play and character analysis and color psychology, but we always face some censorship. “

She continued: "Censors increase my creativity as a costume designer, but on the other hand, it restricts the designer."

Soheil Danesh Eshraghi, theater and cinema set and costume designer, said about this profession: "Set design has become simplistic in recent years and it seems that this profession is not taken seriously in the theater. While we saw more attractive designs in theaters in the past decades, which are still remembered in our minds."

Amirhossein Devani, theater stage designer believed: "Nowadays Stage design in theater is known as one of the main pillars in creating a theatrical experience. This can help shape the atmosphere of the story, convey emotions and messages, and even improve interaction with the audience."

He thought that set design has become a multi-dimensional art that can dramatically affect the narrative due to the advancement of technology and the use of new elements such as lighting, video, and so on.

Mogdi Shamirian, an Armenian- Iranian costume designer, also said about this profession: "Clothing is a skin with an identity and expression, stretched over the actor's body and skeleton, which has many capabilities in revealing the character and creating a message and connection with the audience, All dialogues and reactions of the actor take place while this outer skin is part of the body.”

She continued: "Clothes are a very important element in completing all the ideas that ultimately lead to an event called theater."

About the challenges of costume and stage designers, Mozhgan Eivazi said: "Our biggest problem is that designing costumes in the theater is not like everyday clothes. The theater actor's dress is different from the film and television actor's dress according to the character, the movement of the actor and the genre.”

She revealed that there is no expert unit for sewing and production of stage costumes: "We do not have an expert unit to prepare and sew different costumes for the theater. Previously, there were such specialized people in the workshop of Rudaki Foundation, and the designer gave them sewing orders based on the design. But now all the work will be done by the designer, which is wrong."