Let's Design – Class 6 Arts Chapter 17 Notes & NCERT PDF

Class 6ArtsChapter 17NCERT book: Kriti - Arts Class 6

Notes and a simple summary of Chapter 17 of the NCERT Class 6 Arts book, with the official chapter PDF, flashcards, an MCQ quiz and an AI tutor for your doubts.

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Chapter 17: Let's Design (Theatre)

Introduction

The chapter's heading reads "Let's Design — Stage Technicals 1". It opens with a short poem:

In the realm of design, makeup weaves a tale, / Brush strokes on faces, emotions set to unveil. / Costumes, a canvas for characters to shine, / On the stage, design harmonises, a visual symphony divine.

Actors get the applause, but a performance works only because of the effort of many departments. In Scene 3: Theatre Production you explore make-up, costume design and stage layout, and in Scene 4: Write, Right you learn to write a script.

Key Ideas

Make-up

Everyone on stage needs make-up, whatever their gender, age or community. The make-up room (also called the green room) should be bright, well-lit and airy.

Why stage make-up is needed:

Visibility and projection — expressions reach the audience even from a distance.

Character transformation — actors can look older, younger or take on special features.

Highlighting facial expressions — eyes and mouth stand out so small changes are visible.

Harmony with stage lighting — strong lights can wash out or darken skin tones; make-up balances this.

Historical and theatrical styles — helps actors fit a time period, culture or fantasy world.

Stage make-up is not just about "looking good" — it is a practical and artistic necessity.

Types of make-up:

Straight make-up — simple, basic highlight of features.

Character make-up — shows age, profession, personality and situation.

Special effects — wounds, scars, or extra features like horns.

Fantasy or abstract make-up — unusual colours for unique, unfamiliar characters.

Mime or pattern make-up — a bold, striking, usually neutral face cover.

Costume design

We wear different clothes for home, school or a temple festival; actors too wear different clothes so the audience can recognise the character. Costumes are designed according to:

Gender

Age of the character

Timeline of the play — jeans and pants did not exist in Maharaja Shivaji's time.

Geographical location — traditional clothing of Karnataka differs from Bengal.

Occupation — police officer, lawyer, doctor.

Features of the character — shabby versus neatly dressed.

These are brought out through:

Fabric or material — synthetic chiffon did not exist in ancient India and would not suit the cold Himalayas.

Colours — time period (no neon blue in a Vedic scene), meaning (a negative character wears dark shades), culture (red is not used in mourning scenes).

Patterns and designs — some are exclusive to royalty, some tribal, some rural.

Styling — jewellery and accessories such as crowns, dupattas, belts, bags and eyewear.

The stage

A stage is any place where a play is performed. Plays have been staged in the Indian Natyagruha, the Greek Theatron (carved out of mountains — the origin of the word theatre), the Globe Theatre, on the streets, and today in the indoor proscenium, the most common structure.

The proscenium stage became possible because of electricity and light bulbs. Earlier, plays depended on sunlight or heavy oil lamps; with electric light, shows could be held indoors, safe from sun, wind and rain.

Parts of the stage:

Side wings — divide the sides and let actors enter and exit.

Apron — the curved space extending towards the audience, used for foot mikes and foot lights.

Proscenium — the frame or arch around the stage.

Cyclorama — a large light-blue or white fabric on the back wall that reflects light to create sky, clouds and other effects.

Stage areas (nine): C (Centre), CR (Centre Right), CL (Centre Left), UR (Up Right), UC (Up Centre), UL (Up Left), DR (Down Right), DC (Down Centre), DL (Down Left).

Scene 4: Write, Right — scripts

A script is the storyteller's brush, painting worlds with words…

A story is a narrative of connected events, usually written in paragraphs.

A drama is a story told live; its script is written as conversations (dialogue).

A conversation is an interactive, verbal exchange between two or more people who take turns speaking and listening.

Every story or script has three parts:

Beginning — Who are the characters? Where and when? What do they want?

Middle — What is the problem? What happens? How do they react?

End — Is the problem solved? How, and by whom? What is the conclusion?

The middle holds the conflict — the struggle or disagreement that creates obstacles and moves the story forward. In The Hare and the Tortoise: the race (beginning), the hare rests and the tortoise overtakes (middle, conflict), the tortoise wins and the hare is disappointed (end).

The book shows a shopkeeper–customer conversation twice: without conflict it is dull; with conflict (no vanilla chocolate, no gift paper, the customer about to leave, the shopkeeper solves it) it becomes dramatic.

Activities

You Design! — plan make-up (hair, headgear, colours) and then costumes for Chandragupta Maurya, a folk dancer and Subhash Chandra Bose, by drawing or pasting fabric.

Stage project — pick a favourite story, design costumes and make-up for two characters (your own ideas, not copied), build a cardboard model of a stage with side wings in groups, and plan one scene's set and properties.

Story Building game — sit in a circle and add one line each. Advanced level: 10–15 chits with twists (e.g. "Suddenly the lights went out") are picked every ten lines; the last children must resolve the conflict.

Write your own shopkeeper–customer conversation and then add a conflict.

For a movie or storybook, identify its beginning, middle (conflict) and end.

Key Terms

Make-up — face colours for the stage (रूप-सज्जा)

Green room — make-up room (ग्रीन रूम / श्रृंगार कक्ष)

Costume — clothes for a character (वेशभूषा)

Proscenium — frame or arch around the stage

Side wings — sides used for entries and exits (विंग्स)

Apron — curved front extension of the stage

Cyclorama — back-wall fabric for sky effects

Props / properties — objects used on stage (मंच सामग्री)

Script — written play in dialogue form (पटकथा)

Dialogue / conversation — characters speaking in turns (संवाद)

Conflict — the problem that drives a story (संघर्ष / द्वंद्व)

Theatron — Greek performance space; origin of "theatre"

Natyagruha — traditional Indian performance space (नाट्यगृह)

Writers Mentioned

Stories/novels: Sudha Murthy, Rabindranath Tagore, R.K. Narayan, Ruskin Bond, Shel Silverstein, Taro Yashima — reading others' work gives ideas for your own.

Connect to Your Life

Notice how the clothes people wear tell you their job or the occasion. When you watch a film, look for its conflict.

Common Mistakes

Thinking make-up is only for looking pretty — it serves visibility, lighting and character.

Choosing costume fabric or colours that don't fit the time period or place.

Mixing up "up" and "down" stage — up is away from the audience, down is towards it.

Writing a script with no conflict, which makes it boring.

Forgetting to resolve the conflict at the end.

Let's Reflect

Which type of make-up would a character with horns need? A mime artist?

Where is the apron, and what is placed there?

Check your shopkeeper conversation — does it have a beginning, a conflict and an end?

💡 Key Learning Points

✓Stage make-up serves five purposes: visibility, character transformation, highlighting expressions, balancing stage lights and matching historical styles
✓There are five types of make-up: straight, character, special effects, fantasy/abstract and mime/pattern
✓Costumes are planned by gender, age, timeline, location, occupation and character features, using fabric, colour, pattern and styling
✓The proscenium stage has side wings, apron, proscenium arch and cyclorama, and nine stage areas from UR to DL
✓Every script has a beginning, a middle with a conflict, and an end where the conflict is resolved

👨‍🏫 Teaching Tips

→Mark the nine stage areas on the classroom floor with tape and call out positions for students to move to
→Show photos of actors before and after character make-up to discuss transformation
→Give students fabric scraps to design costumes for Chandragupta Maurya, a folk dancer and Subhash Chandra Bose
→Read the two shopkeeper conversations aloud so students feel the difference a conflict makes
→Prepare 10–15 twist chits in advance for the advanced Story Building game
→Have groups build cardboard stage models with side wings and place props for one scene
→Link to Chapter 16: ask which rasa a character's make-up and costume should show

📋 Assessment Questions

Can the student name the five types of make-up and give an example of each?
Can the student explain why a costume must match the time period and location?
Can the student label side wings, apron, proscenium and cyclorama and locate the nine stage areas?
Does the student's script have a clear beginning, conflict and resolution?
Did the student design make-up and costume for a character using the book's criteria?

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