Stage Tour and Terms

Dressing Room The room or area where the performers put on their costumes and makeup.

Green Room A green room is a room in a theatre for the accommodation of actors and actresses when not required on the stage. It is a common feature of theatres and even later television studios.

Wings The areas to the sides of the stage where the performers wait before coming on stage. wings wings

Wings View of stage from the wings.

Fly System or Counterweight System A fly system is a system of ropes, counterweights, pulleys, and other tools designed to allow a technical crew to quickly move set pieces, lights, and microphones on and off stage quickly by 'flying' them down from a large opening above the stage known as a flyspace.

Fly System or Counterweight System

Fly System or Counterweight System Carriage is the metal plate that holds the counterweights. Carriage

Batten A steel pipe which moves up into the flyspace and down onto the stage, it holds lights, scenery, and curtains.

Curtains In a theatre curtains Can move in two different ways. A curtain can: Fly- to move up and down Travel- to move side to side or left and right

Different Types of Curtains Teaser Fly Curtain or Border Cyclorama Grand Drape Leg

Curtain Definitions Teaser- Short horizontal curtain that is dead hung and defines the height of the proscenium arch. It is hung in front of the grand drape. (Dead Hung- Can not move) Grand Drape (a. k. a. 1st Act Curtain or Primary Act Curtain)- Long horizontal curtain that opens and closes the show. It can fly or travel. Tormentor- Long vertical curtain that defines the width of the proscenium arch. It is hung directly behind the grand drape.

Curtain Definitions Cont. Leg- Long vertical curtain that is hung at a 45% angle and mask the wings. (Mask- To hide or cover). Fly Curtain- Short horizontal curtain that can fly and mask the lights on stage. Act Curtain- Long horizontal curtain which separates the actors from the audience.

Curtain Definitions Cont. Cyclorama or Cyc- Specialty curtain or wall, often concave, positioned at the back of the stage area. Traditionally it is hung at 0% fullness (flat). Cycs are often used to create the illusion of a sky onstage.

Curtain Definitions Cont. Sharkstooth Scrim- A specialty curtain that when lit from the front they can appear opaque to the audience, until a change in stage lighting (lighting from behind) makes them almost fully transparent. When you light behind a scrim you make objects "appear" behind it.

Types of Stages

Proscenium Arch Proscenium theater is a theater space whose primary feature is a large archway (the proscenium arch) at or near the front of the stage, through which the audience views the play. The audience directly faces the stage, which is typically raised several feet above front row audience level.

Proscenium Arch Floor Plan Audience sits on only one side of the stage

Parts of Proscenium Stages Proscenium Arch Floor Plan Apron- The part of the stage in between the Proscenium arch and the audience.

Orchestra Pit or Pit- The area in between the apron and the audience, usually sunken, where the orchestra or band sit and play for a musical. Pit

Thrust Stage A stage that thrust out into the audience so that the audience sits on 3 sides of the stage. Stage Audience Audience Audience

Arena or Theatre in the Round any theatre space in which the audience is seated on all sides of the stage. In an arena theatre, there is an audience on every side of the performers; in effect there are four fourth walls. Fourth Wall- imaginary invisible wall at the front of the stage in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play.

Arena or Theatre in the Round Floor Plans

Stage Lights

Scoop The simplest type of instrument used in theatre is known as the scoop. The main use of a scoop is to provide a very bright flood from a single source. Their application to lighting the stage tends to be limited, but they can be very useful for some types of effects lighting as well as cyclorama washes.

Fresnel Figure 5.5: Tyical fresnel spotlight. (pronounced freh-nell) produce a soft-edged beam that is well-suited to washes and specials. Fresnels consist of an incandescent lamp, a mirrored parabolic reflector, and a round fresnel lens. It is this lens that lends the instrument both its name and its characteristic of having a soft focus. Fresnel spotlights come in a few sizes, the most common of which are three, six and eight inch.                                                Figure 5.5: Tyical fresnel spotlight.

Ellipsoidal Reflector Spotlights Ellipsoidal reflector spotlights (often called Lekos or source fours, after a company's ellipsoidal instrument) consist of an incandescent lamp, an elliptical reflector, and one or two plano-convex lenses. They produce a sharp beam that can be focused and shaped. Most employ four shutters that allow the spill of light to be controlled.

Cyclorama Lights Figure 5.3: Three-element cyclorama light. cyclorama light (or less formally, a cyc light), is mainly used for providing color washes on a cyclorama. Cyc lights are available with anywhere from one to four individual elements, consisting of quartz lamps and reflectors. Large color frames can be slid into the face of each of the individual sections of the instrument. Cyc lights provide a uniform wash, which makes them especially suited to cyc and backdrop lighting.                                                                            Figure 5.3: Three-element cyclorama light.

Gel or Color Filter a transparent colored material that is used in theatre, photography and cinematography to color light. Modern gels are thin sheets of polycarbonate or polyester, placed in front of a lighting fixture in the path of the beam.

The End