Cultural representation in works of selected scenic designers in Ghana

Abstract

Theatre as an art employs varied expertise ranging from the Playwright; who gives the blue print, the Director; the interpreter and creative artist, Actors as the performers and the Technical units thus; the Scenic Designers who served as the creator of the world of the play production. These creators create the scenery. Scenery has experienced so many stages in terms of era and location. Undoubtedly, consciously or unconsciously when telling a story, the imagery existence is the locale around which the story unfolds. This research sought to examine the varied approaches to cultural representation evident in the selected works of four Ghanaian Scenic Designers. The research approach employed was qualitative. The study employed two research designs; the case study design and the historic design. A sample size of ten (10) was selected and used in analyzing the data. Respondents were purposively selected for the study. The data was analyzed using thematic and content analysis, which reveals that cultural relies such as Adinkrah symbols happens to convey cryptic message that these Artist used in creating the world of the play production. In conclusion; the concept of portraying an African theme and African locale is the goal. The study recommends that, their background, styles and philosophies, their intent of establishing and using Ghanaian cultural elements in creation of scenic design must be upheld