Book Resources

This collection of books provides an introduction to the work that industry practitioners undertake in the art and costume departments of film, television and screen media productions around the world.

Filmcraft: Production Design

Written by Fionnuala Halligan

Designing for Screen: Production Design and Art Direction explained

Written by Georgina Shorter

The Art Direction Handbook for Film & Television (Second Edition)

Written by Michael Rizzo

Designer Drafting and Visualizing for the Entertainment World

Written by Hal Tiné and Patricia Woodbridge

Staging Ideas: Set & Costume Design for Theatre

Written by Stephen Curtis
Currency Press, 2014/2018
ISBN: 9780868198774

Written by distinguished Australian designer and APDG live performance member Stephen Curtis, this beautifully illustrated book is structured to suit both students and younger designers and  those looking for deeper insights into the performance design process. It uses detailed case studies and many practical examples to illustrate the design process for live performance.

Performance Design in Australia

Edited by Kristen Anderson and Imogen Ross
Craftsman House and Fine Art Publishing, 2001
ISBN: 1877004049

This gem of a book is out of print, so if you find one online grab it, or you may find it in a library. Co-edited by APDG live performance member Imogen Ross, and including an essay by APDG live performance member Eamon D’Arcy, it is a visual survey of the best of Australian performance design for theatre, opera, dance, musicals, circus, puppetry and non-theatre installations.

What is Scenography?

Written by Pamela Howard
Routledge, 2009
ISBN: 9781351380348

This book by one of the world’s leading scenographers is a provocative re-evaluation of the traditional role and methods of theatre designers. Pamela Howard examines scenography from many different perspectives including: Space, Text, Research, Colour and Composition, Performers, and Spectators. Part handbook, part polemic and part critical analysis.

Looking Into the Abyss: Essays on Scenography

Written by Arnold Aronson
University of Michigan Press, 2005
ISBN: 9780472068883

Arnold Aronson is one of America’s most respected writers and thinkers on performance design practice. This book is a collection of his stimulating and provocative essays on contemporary performance design practice.

Theatre & Performance Design: a reader in scenography

Edited by Jane Collins and Andrew Nisbet
Routledge, 2010
ISBN: 9780415432092

Theatre and performance studies, cultural theory, fine art, philosophy and the social sciences are here brought together in one volume to examine some of the principle forces that have informed the ways in which the visual practice of performance design has been produced and understood.

Platform Paper 46 – The Designer: Decorator or Dramaturg?

Written by Stephen Curtis
Currency House, 2016
ISBN: 9780992489076

Australian designer Stephen Curtis gives a provocative overview of the development of design practice in Australia and how our designers have shaped Australian Theatre.

Platform Paper The Lighting Designer -what is “good lighting”?

Written by Nigel Levings
Currency House, 2016
ISBN: 9780994613011

Australian lighting designer Nigel Levings discusses intelligent lighting from the perspective of his long experience lighting for dance, theatre and opera in Australia.

Stage Lighting: The Fundamentals

Written by Richard Durham
Routledge, 2009
ISBN: 9780205461004

This book is written specifically for introductory stage lighting courses, beginning with an examination of the nature of light, perception, and color, stage lighting equipment and technicians. The book also provides a detailed explanation and overview of the lighting design process for the theatre and several other traditional forms of entertainment.

Unbuttoned: The Art and Artists of Theatrical Costume Design

Written by Shura Pollatsek
Routledge, 2016
ISBN: 9781317420071

This book documents the creative journey of costume creation from concept to performance. Each chapter provides an overview of the process, including designing and shopping; draping, cutting, dyeing, and painting; and beading, sewing, and creating embellishments and accessories.

The Actor in Costume

Written by Aoife Monks
Palgrave Macmillan, 2015
ISBN: 9781137021601

How do audiences look at an actor in costume onstage? Monks explores this question, engaging with the main theoretical approaches to the study of actors in performance. The book considers costume’s power to shape identity and form bodies drawing on examples from Modernist performance to nudity and stage ghosts

The Art and Practice of Costume Design

Edited by Melissa L Merz
Routledge, 2016
ISBN: 9781138828407

A panel of seven designers offer students a new multi-sided look at the current state and practice of theatrical costume design. Beginning with an exploration of the role of a Costume Designer, the subsequent chapters analyse and explore the psychology of dress, the principles and elements of design, how to create costume renderings, and collaboration within the production.