Bird’s Eye View of Theatre
The ‘place where a drama is presented’ is known as the VENUE.
Inside the venue you will find the seating laid out into the following
areas:
STANDARD GRADE DRAMA
THE THEATRE
Front of House are the staff who do ‘any job in the theatre which
involves dealing with the audience’.
STAGING
Staging is about:
Different Stage Types – More Popular
•The way the acting area is positioned in relation to the audience
There are a few different types of stage. Most stages are of a
Proscenium Arch type. Called so because it has an enclosing arch. It is
the stage type with the most advantages for Director, Actors, Theatre
Company and Audience.
Rake is the name given to the ‘slope of stage (which allows the actors
to be seen)’.
Sight lines are what ‘the audience sees of the stage from where they
are sitting’.
Looking closer at the world of stage and theatre…
Curtains (also known as TABS) keep the stage area
hidden before and after the presentation - and
also between Acts.
Blacks are ‘drapes which curtain off the sides,
or back, of the stage’.
The auditorium is where the audience will sit - it is the ‘area for the
audience, generally filled with seats’.
The apron is the ‘area of stage in front of the curtain’.
Here is an example of ‘blacks’ which have
curtained off the back wall.
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In this picture you can see what is known as
a cyclorama which is the ‘back wall of the
stage which can be painted or lit’. It could
be a fixed screen or suspended backdrop.
In this picture you can see that A gobo has
been projected on it and it is washed with
blue- gelled lights
These are ‘sides of a
theatre stage’ – known as
the wings.
SCENERY and SET
Scenery are ‘resources used to create the setting where a drama takes
place’. There are lots of different options.
Set can be ‘scenery used to show where a drama takes place’ and also to
‘place a drama in a certain time or place’.
•A backcloth is a ‘canvas cloth which covers the back of the stage and
can be painted’’. Below you can see 1) a new backcloth being put up 2)
a fully painted and finished backcloth from the Wizard of Oz and 3) a
backcloth with gauze over it. Gauze is ‘see through material which
cannot be seen through when lit from the front, but can be seen from
behind’’.
Props and set can also be in the wings. Actors waiting to come on
stage would also be there.
The left side of the stage is also known as the prompt side – this is
where the ‘prompter and stage manager sit during the
performance’.
•Flats are ‘wooden frames, joined together and covered with canvas,
which can be painted’. You can also have a door flat ‘a frame into which a
door is built’ and a window flat ‘a frame into which a window is built’. A
booked flat is one which is hinged together.
Here is an example of flats which have
been joined together and painted.
Other scenery options…
A revolving stage which is ‘a stage
which turns in a circle’.
A rostra or rostrum (plural) are
‘blocks or platforms used to
create levels’.
A trap door is simply a ‘door in
the floor’.
Here is an example of flats which
have been covered with material.
Simply again.. treads are the theatre
term for ‘stairs’.
…Furthermore…truck is scenery on wheels so it can be easily moved…
BACKSTAGE!
(THE NON-ACTING AREA BEHIND THE STAGE)
Any Questions?
Consider the following:
•Would you use any of the staging?
•When would you use it?
Flies are the ‘area above the
stage where from
scenery/actors are flown in
on pulleys’.
•Did any of the scenery stand out?
•Did any of it seem unnecessary?
The Green Room is the ‘area in which actors wait when not on
stage during a performance’.
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