Paul Groothuis

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Paul Groothuis is a Dutch sound designer who has had a long career working on the London stage. Groothuis was born in the Netherlands and moved to the UK in 1979 to study Stage Management at the Central School of Speech and Drama. He joined the National Theatre on the South Bank in 1984 and has designed sound for more than 120 NT productions. Some of his recent productions are Her Naked Skin , Rafta, Rafta... , The Man of Mode , The Life of Galileo , The Royal Hunt of the Sun , Once in a Lifetime , His Dark Materials , A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Stuff Happens . He has also designed sound for musicals at the NT, including Sunday in the Park with George , Sweeney Todd , A Little Night Music , Lady in the Dark and Guys and Dolls . In 1999, he won Live! Magazine Sound Designer of the Year Award for his work on Oklahoma! and Oh, What a Lovely War! .

London Capital of the United Kingdom

London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south-east of England, at the head of its 50-mile (80 km) estuary leading to the North Sea, London has been a major settlement for two millennia. Londinium was founded by the Romans. The City of London, London's ancient core − an area of just 1.12 square miles (2.9 km2) and colloquially known as the Square Mile − retains boundaries that follow closely its medieval limits. The City of Westminster is also an Inner London borough holding city status. Greater London is governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.

Netherlands Constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Europe

The Netherlands, sometimes informally called Holland, is a country located in Northwestern Europe with some overseas territories in the Caribbean. In Europe, it consists of 12 provinces that border Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, with maritime borders in the North Sea with those countries and the United Kingdom. Together with three island territories in the Caribbean Sea—Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba—it forms a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The official language is Dutch, but a secondary official language in the province of Friesland is West Frisian. In the northern parts of the country, Low German is also spoken.

Royal National Theatre Theatre in London, England

The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. Internationally, it is known as the National Theatre of Great Britain.

Groothuis has been visiting lecturer at the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts. He is also a sound consultant for the Kingston Theatre.

Kingston Theatre, was a theatre in Kingston, Jamaica between 1775 and 1838. It was a major cultural center of the island during its duration and had a good reputation also outside of the island, giving Jamaica a name of cultural sophistication, and it remained the main theatre of Jamaica during its history.

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Lighting designer person responsible for lighting on a stage

A theatre lighting designer works with the director, choreographer, set designer, costume designer, and sound designer to create the lighting, atmosphere, and time of day for the production in response to the text, while keeping in mind issues of visibility, safety, and cost. The LD also works closely with the stage manager or show control programming, if show control systems are used in that production. Outside stage lighting, the job of a Lighting Designer can be much more diverse and they can be found working on rock and pop tours, corporate launches, art installation and on massive celebration spectaculars, for example the Olympic Games opening and closing ceremonies.

Stagecraft technical aspect of theatrical, film, and video production

Stagecraft is the technical aspect of theatrical, film, and video production. It includes constructing and rigging scenery; hanging and focusing of lighting; design and procurement of costumes; make-up; stage management; audio engineering; and procurement of props. Stagecraft is distinct from the wider umbrella term of scenography. Considered a technical rather than an artistic field, it is primarily the practical implementation of a scenic designer's artistic vision.

Scenic design creation of theatrical or film scenery

Scenic design is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but in recent years, are mostly trained professionals, holding a B.F.A. or M.F.A. degrees in theater arts. Scenic designers design sets and scenery that aim to support the overall artistic goals of the production.

Sound design is the art and practice of creating sound tracks for a variety of needs. It involves specifying, acquiring or creating auditory elements using audio production techniques and tools. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including filmmaking, television production, video game development, theatre, sound recording and reproduction, live performance, sound art, post-production, radio and musical instrument development. Sound design commonly involves performing and editing of previously composed or recorded audio, such as sound effects and dialogue for the purposes of the medium, but it can also involve creating sounds from scratch through synthesizers. A sound designer is one who practices sound design.

Costume design creation of clothing and accessories to signal aspects of character in film, television, or theatre

Costume design is the investing of clothing and the overall appearance of a character or performer. Costume may refer to the style of dress particular to a nation, a class, or a period. In many cases, it may contribute to the fullness of the artistic, visual world which is unique to a particular theatrical or cinematic production. The most basic designs are produced to denote status, provide protection or modesty, or provide visual interest to a character. Costumes may be for a theater, cinema, or musical performance but may not be limited to such. Costume design should not be confused with costume coordination which merely involves altering existing clothing, although both create stage clothes.

Stanley Russell McCandless is considered to be the father of modern lighting design. He paved the way for future lighting designers by making contributions to almost all aspects of theatrical lighting, from the engineering of lighting instruments to consultant work, and designing realized theatrical productions. Perhaps most importantly he wrote on of the seminal works on the theory of stage lighting, which continues to influence the technique of most theatrical lighting designers to this day.

Ayub Khan Din is a British Pakistani actor who played Sammy in Hanif Kureishi's film Sammy and Rosie Get Laid in (1987) and wrote the BAFTA, BIFA and London Film Critics Circle award-winning film East Is East, based on the original 1996 play that was nominated for an Olivier Award in 1998. In 2008 his comedy play Rafta, Rafta... won the Olivier Award that year. He also wrote the film sequel West Is West released in 2010. He also created the television series Ackley Bridge, which debuted in 2017.

Costume designer person who designs costumes

A costume designer is a person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television. The role of the costume designer is to create the characters' outfits/costumes and balance the scenes with texture and colour, etc. The costume designer works alongside the director, scenic, lighting designer, sound designer, and other creative personnel. The costume designer may also collaborate with hair stylist, wig master, or makeup artist. In European theatre, the role is different, as the theatre designer usually designs both costume and scenic elements.

Mel Wesson is a British film, TV and video game composer and ambient music designer. He is a highly influential 'musical sound designer' in Hollywood having worked on many blockbuster films, yet his sound is often hard to describe or even identify. He is probably best known for his collaboration work with Hans Zimmer and has contributed with both ambient music design and music to some of last decades biggest Hollywood blockbusters. He has also made numerous production music CDs for Extreme Music which loosely feature some of the atmospheric textures in his world of ambient music design.

<i>Rafta, Rafta...</i>

Rafta, Rafta... is a comedy by British Pakistani playwright Ayub Khan-Din adapted from the 1963 Bill Naughton play, All in Good Time. The play is set in the working class English town of Bolton, and examines a story of marital difficulties within an immigrant Indian family. Ishwar Dutt is a first-generation immigrant and patriarch of the family. He has a troubled relationship with his newlywed son Atul, whose married life with Vina Patel has got off to a rocky start. The play deals with setting out and resolving these various conflicts.

Harish Patel is an Indian actor. Although mainly associated with the stage, he has appeared in films and on television.

Brian Thomson is an Australian theatre, opera and film designer. He has been active in Australian stage design for over three decades.

Derek McLane is an American set designer for theatre, opera, and television. He graduated with a BA from Harvard College and an MFA from the Yale School of Drama.

His Dark Materials is a play written by British playwright Nicholas Wright, adapted from the Philip Pullman fantasy novel trilogy of the same title. The production premiered in the Royal National Theatre's Olivier Theatre, London, in 2003. Due to the complications in staging a piece containing the narrative of three books, the play was performed in two parts in alternate performances. The play is published by Nick Hern Books.

Tim Hatley is a British set and costume designer for theater and film. He is the winner of the Tony Award for Best Set Design and Best Costume Design, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design, and the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Set Design.

Video design

Video design or projection design is a creative field of stagecraft. It is concerned with the creation and integration of film, motion graphics and live camera feed into the fields of theatre, opera, dance, fashion shows, concerts and other live events. Video design has only recently gained recognition as a separate creative field. Prior to this, the responsibilities of video design would often be taken on by a scenic designer or lighting designer. A person who practices the art of video design is often known as a Video Designer. However, naming conventions vary around the world, and so practitioners may also be credited as Projection Designer, "Media Designer", Cinematographer or Video Director. As a relatively new field of stagecraft, practitioners create their own definitions, rules and techniques.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to stagecraft:

Giles Cadle is a British set designer. He studied architecture at Kingston, followed by a postgraduate diploma in stage design at Nottingham. He has designed sets for theatre, opera and musical productions in the UK, Germany, New Zealand, and the USA. He won an Olivier Award for his work on the National Theatre production of His Dark Materials.

Niraj Chag is a London-based musical artist and composer. His musical style mixes Indian classical influences with contemporary stylings and layered, complex beats. Niraj's tracks were initially released on the Outcaste record label and later on his own Buzz-erk label. He has written and produced three albums released under his own name: Along the Dusty Road (2006), The Lost Souls (2009) and Mud Doll (2015).

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