Tech Theatre Tool Kit

Types of Stages Designed and Created by Brandon Goodman Houston Texas [email protected] Unit 1 - Technical Theatre

Week Days Objective Standards Essential Questions Paperwork Notes Core Values, TH:Cn10.1.I. TH:Cn10.1.II. How do you connect to the Elements of Design, Aug 14 - 16 3 Introductions TH:Cn10.1.III. world of theatre? Personality Types What essential elements are TH:Cn10.1.I. TH:Cn10.1.II. needed for a theatrical Aug 19 - 23 5 Types of Stages TH:Cn10.1.III. performance? 21st - PAC TOUR How has society shaped the TH:Cn10.1.I. TH:Cn10.1.II. way we view theatre through Aug 26 - 30 5 Theatre History TH:Cn10.1.III. performance spaces? Types of Stages Quiz What elements of the space TH:Cn10.1.I. TH:Cn10.1.II. have stayed constant over the Sept 3 - 6 4 Stage Diorama TH:Cn10.1.III. history of Theatre? TH:Cn10.1.I. TH:Cn10.1.II. How can we incorporate the Sept 9 - 13 5 Tool Safety TH:Cn10.1.III. 5S model into our daily lives? 5 - S TH:Cn10.1.I. TH:Cn10.1.II. How does a clean workspace Sept 16 - 20 5 Tool Application TH:Cn10.1.III. affect productivity? Tool Test Production Week Parts of a Stage

(Modify as needed for your space) Standard proscenium arch

Upstage Right Up Center Upstage Left

Wings Stage Right Center Stage Left Wings

Down Stage Right Down Center Down Stage Left

APRON

AlwaysAudience from the ACTORS perspective - Start with your space

Draw a diagram of PAC TOUR! your space and label 1.Green Room 18.Booth Quiz - Use google 7.Black Box 20.Ticket Booth forms to create a 3.Goodman Office 24/25.Spotlight Rooms quiz 2.Gette Office 14.Piano Storage 4.Green Room Girls 12.Band Storage 5.Green Room Boys 15.Light Tech Room 8.Props 22/23. Boys/Girls Bathroom 9.Costumes 13.Scene Shop 6.Loft Storage 16.Stage 10.Boys Dressing 21.Vestibule 11.Girls Dressing 17.House 19.Lobby QR Code Scavenger Hunt

Make a document that shares a short snippet of information for each area of https://www.qr-code- generator.com/a1/?ut_source =google_c&ut_medium=cpc& your space. ut_campaign=en_rlsa&ut_cont ent=qr_code_generator_exact Print those and attach them to the &ut_term=qr%20code%20gen erator_e&gclid=CjwKCAjwr8z location. oBRA0EiwANmvpYLQcyqxLa XaiFWQzWBWN3ReQ7AQBo a2- Students will scan QR code using cell BwnvsT4axKuIR_dAJXawEBo phones and will navigate through the CxiEQAvD_BwE space. ADVANCED - Make a video description, upload to youtube - link video to QR code. Terms

Map (floor plan) . Acting areas Performance space Apron Planes Arena stage Promenade Black Box Proscenium stage Clock (floor plan) Proscenium arch Curtain line Proscenium line Entrance Thrust stage Flexible staging Traverse Floor plans Upstage Fourth wall Downstage Grand drape Wings House Types of Stages Six main ways of staging a performance

• Proscenium • Thrust • In the round or Arena • Traverse • Black Box • Promenade/Street theatre/ Environment Most seen types of theatre spaces

• Proscenium – audience views the action from one direction ● Arena

● audience views the action from four directions Most seen types of theatre spaces cont.

• Thrust • audience views the action from three directions

• Created & Found Spaces • each audience member views the action from a unique perspective Proscenium

The audience is directly in front of the acting area

Acting Area

Audience Proscenium Theatre Space

• Other terms: • picture-frame, fourth wall • Introduced in Italy during the Renaissance • 90% of all theatres Proscenium Theatre Space

Advantages Disadvantages • provides for • intimacy more spectacle difficult to • focuses audience’s achieve attention most acutely • heightens aesthetic distance Proscenium Arch

Photo credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Auditorium_showing_stage.jpg#/media/File:Auditorium_showing_stage.jpg What is a thrust stage?

• A thrust stage is one in which the performance area sticks out into the “house” and the audience is seated on three sides. Thrust

The audience is on three sides of the acting areas

A Acting Area A

Audience Thrust stage

• Advantages • Disadvantages A compromise A compromise between the between the proscenium and proscenium and arena stage arena stage - some intimacy - some intimacy - some spectacle - some spectacle Thrust Stage

Wharton Center [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)] In the round or arena

The audience is all around the acting areas

Acting A AreaA A

A What is an arena stage?

Arena stages or sometimes called In-the-Round - as the name suggests, the audience is seated all around the stage on four sides. Can also be circular. Arena floor plan

Arena Stage Arena Theatre Space

Disadvantages Advantages • Plays requiring • offers greater intimacy elaborate • heightens audience’s sense of scenery suffer community • demands economy in design and production Arena Theatre

Wing1990hk [CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)] What is a black box theatre?

A black box theater is simply a large room used to stage plays that is painted completely black. Lights are suspended on the ceilings and the performance space and audience space is flexible. This smaller space can be found in colleges and high schools around the country. It is often used as both a rehearsal and a performance space. Traverse

The audience is on both side of the acting area

A Acting Area A What is a traverse stage?

• When the audience faces each other and the action occurs in between this is called a traverse stage. • Where have you seen this before? Flexible space

• A flexible space • The “empty space” What is flexible staging?

As the name suggests, flexible staging is when stages are created in any location and when they cannot be classified as proscenium, arena, or thrust stages. Street Theatre/Environment

Promenade - the audience follows the actors from area to area Street Theatre - The actors perform to the audience somewhere in the street. Different scenes can move into the space. Environment – The performance is based around a place or building

Phillip Capper [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)] Created and Found Spaces

• Created/Found Spaces (flexible theatre) • An attempt to break down audience- actor distance. • Grew out of experimentation. • Affect the audience’s experience as strongly as dialogue or staging might. • Non-theatre buildings, street theatre. How do we divide the arena stage? How do we divide the proscenium stage? ?

Drama planes: In drama planes refer to imaginary divisions giving depth to the proscenium stage. Quiz

Create a google form quiz for the information covered this week. Have students complete the quiz over the weekend or you can ask them to create a presentation on what they have learned.