A Look Inside ATEB’s Creative Workshop Rooms
Behind every memorable performance sits a visual world: a doorway that suggests a distant house, a coat that reveals a character’s past, or a colour palette that changes the mood of an entire scene. At ATEB, the theatre school connected with Figueres a Escena, these details become part of the learning process.
Set design and costume-making workshops give children, young people, and adults practical ways to explore theatre beyond acting. Participants work with materials, shapes, textures, and ideas while discovering how design choices support a story.
The workshops also reflect the wider cultural life of Figueres. Alongside performances at Teatre El Jardí and Sala La Cate, ATEB creates a place for experimentation, shared skills, and community participation. A simple piece of cardboard or fabric can become the starting point for a much larger theatrical vision.
Where Stories Become Visible
Scenic design begins with a question: what should the audience see, and what should that sight make them feel? ATEB workshop activities can turn this question into a hands-on creative challenge. Participants might sketch a stage environment, build a miniature model, or test how an object looks under performance lighting.
The process encourages imagination, but it also introduces practical thinking. A set must be stable, transportable, and appropriate for the performers who use it. Students learn that an impressive visual idea becomes truly useful when it supports movement, atmosphere, and the rhythm of a scene.
This combination of artistic freedom and problem-solving is central to theatre education. A handmade backdrop does not need to imitate reality perfectly. It needs to communicate place, time, emotion, or transformation clearly enough for the audience to join the story.
From Sketchbook To Stage
A costume workshop follows a similarly collaborative path. Before choosing fabric or adding decoration, participants consider who the character is. Age, occupation, personality, social setting, and the world of the play can all influence a costume concept.
The practical work may include drawing silhouettes, comparing materials, adapting existing garments, and creating accessories. These activities help students understand proportion and movement. A costume can look striking in a sketch yet become uncomfortable or restrictive when an actor walks, dances, or changes position.
That attention to function turns costume-making into a form of performance research. A hat can alter posture, a long coat can slow a gesture, and a particular colour can connect two characters. Even small details can help performers inhabit their roles with greater confidence.
Materials, Texture, And Sustainable Imagination
The workshop environment is also a lesson in resourcefulness. Theatre design often depends on seeing possibilities in ordinary materials: recycled packaging, paper, fabric remnants, wire, paint, found objects, and garments ready for a second life. Reusing materials can encourage inventive solutions while reducing waste.
Texture is especially important on stage. Rough paper, reflective foil, soft cloth, and painted wood each behave differently under light. Students can compare these surfaces and discover how a material changes when viewed from a distance or photographed during a performance.
The aim is not to produce identical finished objects. It is to develop an eye for composition and a willingness to test ideas. Cutting, joining, painting, draping, and remaking are all part of a creative cycle in which an unexpected result can become the best part of the design.
A Shared Workshop Language
Set and costume design bring together skills that are sometimes taught separately. Drawing, construction, colour theory, storytelling, communication, and teamwork all meet in a single project. A group may need to agree on a visual style, divide responsibilities, and adjust an idea after seeing it in rehearsal.
This makes the workshops valuable for different kinds of learners. Someone who enjoys detailed handwork can contribute alongside someone who prefers illustration, research, organisation, or large-scale construction. Theatre becomes a shared language in which every contribution affects the final result.
The collaborative approach also reflects professional performance-making. Designers, performers, directors, technicians, and makers must listen to one another and respond to changing needs. ATEB’s creative activities can introduce these habits early, helping participants understand that a production grows through conversation rather than individual effort alone.
| Workshop focus | Skills developed | Contribution to a performance |
|---|---|---|
| Set building | Measuring, modelling, painting, joining materials | Establishes place, scale, and atmosphere |
| Costume creation | Sketching, fabric selection, sewing, adaptation | Communicates character and supports movement |
| Props and accessories | Craft, detail, visual storytelling | Adds meaning and theatrical action |
| Colour and texture | Observation, composition, material testing | Shapes mood and stage visibility |
| Group production work | Planning, cooperation, problem-solving | Connects creative ideas with rehearsal needs |
Learning Through Making
The value of these workshops lies in the process as much as the finished pieces. Participants learn to begin with an idea, make a first version, inspect it, and revise it. This practical cycle can make creative learning feel immediate: the result of a decision is visible in the object itself.
There is also a strong sense of confidence in making something tangible. A participant who has built a stage element or transformed a piece of clothing can see their contribution become part of a larger theatrical world. That experience gives meaning to patience, precision, and persistence.
For younger students, the workshop may support fine motor skills and imaginative play. Teenagers can explore artistic direction and production roles, while adults may reconnect with craft, performance, or community learning. The same room can accommodate different levels of experience because each project offers room for challenge and discovery.
Connecting The Workshop To Figueres
ATEB’s activities sit within a wider network of performances and cultural events in Figueres. A costume exercise can lead to a conversation about a production, while a stage model can inspire interest in lighting, directing, or theatre technology. The boundary between classroom and cultural venue becomes usefully open.
Seeing professional or community performances can give workshop participants fresh reference points. They may notice how a set changes during a scene, how an actor uses a prop, or how costume colours work together under stage lights. For those planning to attend a show at Teatre El Jardí or Sala La Cate, browse upcoming shows and consider how the visual design contributes to the experience.
The connection works in both directions. Audiences bring curiosity to the venues, while creative training helps future audiences look more closely at what happens on stage. ATEB therefore contributes to a living performance culture, where learning, viewing, making, and meeting are closely linked.
Ways To Approach A Creative Session
A productive set or costume workshop does not require expensive equipment or advanced technical knowledge. It benefits from a clear artistic starting point and enough time for experimentation. The following principles can help participants get more from the process:
- Begin with the story, identifying the place, period, mood, and central characters before choosing materials.
- Make quick sketches or small prototypes so several ideas can be compared without committing too early.
- Choose materials for both appearance and practical use, especially comfort, safety, durability, and ease of movement.
- Share work-in-progress regularly, allowing feedback from performers and other members of the group.
- Keep useful scraps, old garments, and adaptable objects available for future projects rather than treating them as waste.
These habits make design more thoughtful without taking away its playful side. A workshop can be carefully planned and still leave space for accidents, discoveries, and surprising visual solutions.
The strongest outcome may be a finished prop or costume, but it may also be a new skill, a stronger connection with a group, or a better understanding of how theatre is built. Making things together gives participants a direct role in the cultural life around them.
ATEB’s set design and costume workshops show that theatre begins long before the curtain rises. It starts with looking closely, imagining alternatives, handling materials, and working with others. Anyone interested in the creative force behind performance can explore Figueres a Escena’s programme and find a way to step into that process.