In a realistic production, the scenery should demonstrate to the audience the time and place in which the play is set. For example, Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest," takes place in a number of settings. Each new setting must be represented by the scenery so the audience has a reference for where the scene takes place. The play was originally set in England at the end of the 19th century, so this is often the time in which a production of the play is set. In this case, each piece of scenery must support the setting of the performance in that time and place.
Non-realistic performances, rather than providing the audience a visual reference for exact time and place of the play's setting, often offer the audience a feeling or mood about the performance. For example, portions of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" take place in a magical wood inhabited by fairies. The scenery for this performance could consist of wispy lengths of sheer fabric that suggests the airy mood of the environment or, to suggest a more ominous mood, the scenery might be dark amorphous tree shapes that cast weirdly shaped shadows. In evoking mood, the scenery often tends towards the abstract. Color, size and texture become important elements in creating scenic choices that suggest the appropriate mood. Complementary lighting often reinforces this scenic mood.
In a realistic production, the scenery must provide an environment in which the actors can bring the time and place in which the play is set to life. For example, in a production of "The Importance of Being Earnest," the scenery must include furniture, doors and windows that operate. Actors must be able to open and close doors and windows, sit on couches and chairs, push draperies out of the way to peer out the window and pour tea from the tea service. All of the elements that dress the stage must relate to the overall vision of the scenery, while, at the same time, remain in good working condition for the actors' use for the entire run of the show.
In a performance where special effects are important, the scenery often masks technical elements or special devices used by the actors. For example, if the actors playing the fairies in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" must enter the stage magically, the scenery can mask this entrance point. A two-dimensional representation of a tree or bush placed just downstage of a trap door can obscure the mechanism from the audience's view, allowing the actor entering from this point to suddenly "appear" from behind the piece of scenery. If there is a special piece of lighting equipment that must be placed onstage, for example, a row of footlights, then scenery can be built up to mask the equipment from the audience. When the light is turned on, the light seems to emanate from behind the scenery.