The Stage and It's Equipment

1. What is the difference in the actor-audience relationship between an arena stage, a thrust stage and a proscenium theatre?

	In an arena theatre the actor is totally surrounded by the audience. Entrances to the acting area are normally made through the audience at the four corners of the stage.
	In a thrust stage theatre the actor is surrounded on three sides by the audience-- the fourth side contains the scenery. Entrances to the acting area are through the scenery upstage and through the audience at the two front corners of the stage.
	In a proscenium house the the actor is on a raised platform in front of the audience. Scenery typically fills the space behind, upstage of, the actor. Entrances to the playing space are made through the scenery.

2. Give a local example of a proscenium theatre?

The MainStage of the Johnson Fine Arts Center, the Capitol Theatre (the home of the Aberdeen Comunity Theatre), the Civic Theatre in downtown Aberdeen and the Thomas Kelly Theatre in the new Aberdeen Central High School

    A thrust stage theatre?

The Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis.

    An arena theatre?

Although it's not local, the Arena Stage in Washington, DC is probably the most obvious example of an arena theatre. Northern has used both the arena and thrust configuration for its Theatre-On-the-Stage presentations.

3. What is the Fire Curtain

The fire curtain is a flame resistance drop hung immediately behind the proscenium arch. In the case of a fire the curtain is dropped to protect the audience.

      Act Curtain

The act curtain (also known as the grand drape) is generally hung directly behind the fire curtain. It is traditionally made of 24oz Velour and is used to begin and end each act.

      Traveler

A traveler is a full-stage drape which is split in the center. When opened it travels to the side and is stored off-stage left and right. The MainStage act curtain is a traveler.

      Tormentor, Teaser, Leg, Border and Cyc

The tormentor and teaser establish the size (width and height) of the set on a proscenium stage.

The tormentors are narrow (8' wide) curtains hung behind (up stage of) the act curtain. They are used to establish the width of the setting and mask (hide) the off-stage space. On the MainStage we use the act curtain to establish the width of the opening.

The teaser (or valance) is a short, full stage (48' wide x 8' tall) curtain hung behind (up stage of) the act curtain. It is used to establish the height of the setting and to mask the lights and scenery hung above the acting area. Together the tormentor and teaser form an inner portal or false proscenium which frames the action of the play.

Legs are the long narrow curtains (8' wide x 24' long) hung at the sides of the stage which mask the off-stage space. They are generally hung parallel to the front of the stage on 6' to 10' centers. The MainStage requires three sets of legs to mask.

Borders or short full stage width curtains (48' wide x 4.5' high) hung above the acting area which mask the lights and scenery hung in the fly loft. Typically the borders are hung downstage (in front of) each set of legs. Typically both legs and borders are cut from black velour or commando cloth.

The Cyc, short for cyclorama, is the light sky-blue drop, or white plastered wall, at the rear of the stage. It is generally used to represent an endless, cloudless sky. Note: What I call a cyc is actually a sky drop. A true cyclorama is curved, it starts down left curves around the back of the stage and ends down right. As you can see from the drawing below, the use of a real cyc severely restricts access to the stage

      Scrim

Scrim is an open weave fabric which is often used for "magical" effects. When lit from the front it appears solid; when the lights behind the scrim are turned on, the fabric becomes transparent revealing whatever is up stage.

      Apron, Wings, Fly Loft, Grid, Cove,
      Center Line, Plaster Line,
      Up Stage, Down Stage, Stage Left and Stage Right

The apron is the narrow stage space infront of the act curtain.

The wings are the backstage space on either side of the acting area.

The fly loft is the backstage space above the acting area.

The grid is the I beams which form the "ceiling" of the stage house. The blocks (or pulleys) which hold the lines of the rigging system are clamped to these beams.

The cove, or ceiling beam, is the front-of-house mounting position, usually cut into the ceiling of the auditorium, where lighting instruments are hung to light the front edge of the stage.

The center line marks the center of the stage. It is one of the two reference lines used when locating points on the stage.

The plaster line is the second reference line. It extends from the upstage corner of the stage left proscenium arch to the upstage corner of the stage right proscenium arch. Each point is located by its distance from the plaster line and its distance left or right of the center line.

Stage left and stage right are always from the actor's point-of-view with the actor standing on stage, facing the audience.

Down stage is towards the audience; up stage is towards the back wall.

      Pin Rail (or lock rail)

The lines which control the rigging are secured (tied off or locked) at the pin rail (or lock rail). The lock rail on the MainStage is against the stage right wall.

4. How wide is the proscenium of the JFAC-MainStage?

Sixty feet.

    How deep is our stage?

Forty feet from the plaster line to the back wall.

    How wide is the stage house?

One hundred feet.

    What is the height of the gridiron?

Thirty-one feet. Because of the size of the counter weight-arbor, the maximum out trim of a lineset is either 24' (for our four Electric Pipes) or 27 feet.

    How many line sets do we have?

Fifteen -- 4 Electric pipes, 4 Borders, 3 sets of Legs, 3 sections of "Concert Shell Ceiling Units," and the Sky Drop (or Cyc). Notice there are no spare pipes. If we must hang a drop for a show, we either double up (hang two units on one pipe -- for example: border and legs on the same pipe) or we take down the "Concert Shell Ceiling Units."

    How many lines should we have?

We should have between 40 and 60 pipes. The conventional practice is to evenly distribute the line sets on 8 or 12 inch centers.

    What on our stage is dead-hung?

The act curtain, the mid-stage black traveler, and the up-stage black traveler.

5. What type of flooring should be used on a stage?

The stage floor should be made of a soft wood (perhaps plywood) covered with particle board or tempered Masonite®. Typically the top layer of the stage floor will need to be replaced every two or three years.

6. What is a trap? How is it used?

A trap is section of the stage floor which can be removed giving the actors and crew access to the basement. It is generally used for those plays which require an entrance from below.

7. What should be the color and finish of the stage floor?

The floor should be painted a flat black.

      The masking drapes?

Black.

8. Out of what type of material should they be cut?

Velour, or a similar light absorbing material such as 16oz. Commando Cloth, also known as Duvetyn or Velourette.

9. What basic set of curtains should a theatre own?

1. Act Curtain
2. Valence (or teaser)
3. Legs (probably three or four sets)
4. Borders (probably three or four sets)
5. Concert drape (or olio)
6. Full stage black (up stage)
7. Cyc (or sky drop)

10. What is a "concert drape" or "olio?"

A full stage traveler hung eight to twelve feet upstage of the act curtain.

      How is it used?

It is traditionally the backdrop behind a speaker.