Journal of Development Communication And Applied Theatre

The overall mood of a production is conceived from the drama genre but it is the design that deepens the aura that defines its grave or whimsical ambience. This makes the need to substantiate a specific sensation stimulated in theatre and filmmaking through design to be necessary towards understanding colour psychology and its import in conditioning the mood of the audience. This study focuses on colour psychology and resonance, using Sunnie Ododo’s Hard Choice as produced by Sunday Umanah as paradigm. The paper is based on Tzvatan Todorov’s conception of Semiotics, which holds that things that set the state of mind is linked to mood motivation, and data is presented in qualitative method. Findings show that colour psychology focuses on the general ambience and mood colour combination stimulates in mind in a production. Resonance is what the mood articulates of the agent (actor) or conveyors of these colours. Findings further show that Hard Choice is a tragedy. It is in the death of Ada Eze who chooses to expiate the ill of the society by sacrificing herself that pervades the atmosphere. However, the colours used to convey the gravity of the tragedy were of tinted hues, which appeared beautiful and scintillating but lacked the graver command that stimulates the sombre and dreadfulness of the tragedy in the content. The paper concludes that costume should not be used for beauty but reasoning. Its recommends that colour psychology should be involved earlier there practice to equip the students earlier in life. 

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