It should be so designed as to enhance the play and help the characters. The playwright selects the best environment in which to set his plot. The scenic designer creates the actual scenery. In reading plays, the actor should imagine the setting. The emotional feeling which all the elements of the stage combine to establish is the atmosphere of the play.
Every play has a dominant mood or atmosphere.
Whether the play is a tragedy or a comedy will determine certain elements that build the mood. Not only must the speeches explain the plot, but the choice of words AND the manner of speaking must be true to each character type. He must always be able to develop speeches that are in keeping with the human beings that he has placed in the play and reveal the theme and plot through their dialogue. Many plays are termed dramas of character , because the characterizations are the dominant interest. Good characterizations are those which are vital and true to human nature .