To compare layouts fairly, turn the brief into a short list of tests and judge both layouts against the same list. The choice then comes from evidence on your plans.
This lesson is part of SPM subjects and learning resources. It pairs with explaining how space and visual design support a concept.
How do you get tests from a brief?
Read the brief and pull out what the audience must see, how performers must move and what mood the space should suggest. Write each as a yes-or-no question.
Three to five tests is enough. Place the most important first.
Worked example: an invented brief
Brief: a fictional play set in a cramped attic. Four performers. The audience sits on three sides of a square stage, three metres wide.
The mood should feel closed in and dusty. A trunk and a window must be visible.
Layout A places a large wooden trunk in the centre and the window on one wall. Layout B places the trunk in one corner, hangs a thin cloth at each side to form low walls, and puts the window frame above the audience’s heads on the far side.
| Test | Layout A | Layout B |
|---|---|---|
| Whole audience can see the trunk | No, the centre trunk blocks the sightline across the stage | Yes, corner trunk, low cloth walls |
| Four performers can move | Partly, the centre trunk leaves narrow paths | Yes, open floor in the middle |
| Feels closed in | Partly, the trunk fills the stage but the walls are open | Yes, cloths shape a small room |
| Window visible from all sides | Only from one side | From two sides |
Layout B passes three tests and partly passes one. Layout A fails the most important test, because some of the audience cannot see the trunk.
Justify in a sentence
“I choose Layout B because it keeps the trunk visible to the audience on three sides, leaves room for four performers to move, and uses cloth walls to make a small, enclosed space.”
Note how each clause answers a test from the brief. The sentence does not use “I prefer”.
The mistake to avoid
The common slip is to judge by looks: “Layout A is more dramatic”. A centre trunk may look dramatic in a plan, but a plan is drawn from above, while the audience sits at the sides.
Draw a sightline from a corner seat to the object, and check whether anything blocks it. This turns taste into a test.
Check yourself
In Layout B, the thin cloths are one metre tall. Name one test this may affect and what you would check.
Answer
The “feels closed in” test is affected. Check whether one-metre walls create enough enclosure, or whether the cloths should be taller on the side facing the most seats.
Also check that the cloths do not block the audience from seeing performers sitting on the floor. Raising the cloths could solve one test and break another, so recheck both.
What to study next
Use the structured-answer self-review tool to check your comparison answers each test. For a teacher to question your layouts, see online one-to-one Scenography tuition.