Building Theatre Stages

What’s involved in creating and building theatre stages?  The first is the stage designer’s creative vision and the second is budget. Stage theatre supplies can range from scaffolding, to hold up backdrops (common in touring productions), rostra (for creating stage areas), lights (if not available) and so on. Indeed stage theatre supplies can include anything from these major requirements right the way down to the trusty old roll of multi-purpose Gaffer tape, ideal for holding sets together, stick down leads for health and safety purposes, to even holding costumes on in extreme circumstances.

The student of stage design should work to develop his or her artistic talent in the visual and decorative arts; exercise the imagination to create dramatic space, imagery and effects; acquire a broad-based knowledge of theatre arts and technical production; become very observant; practice drawing, painting, rendering, model-making, drafting and research; and develop a strong interest in the spoken or lyric theatre.

When you look at the stage you might think Oh there is just a couch there” but what you might not know is that it has been reinforced with steel, the pads might be completely reconstructed to give the actor the right amount of height that they need for that scene or maybe the couch is going to be stood on. So everything is altered even though it may look like an ordinary couch.” Often we have to totally change the color, rebuild, or reupholster.