theatrical design and production chapter 3: a brief history of theatre architecture & stage...
TRANSCRIPT
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 3: A Brief History of Theatre Architecture & Stage Technology
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
StageSpace
(4th Wall)
Audience Space
Proscenium:Spectators watch action through a picture frame
Backstage
Stage
AudienceAudienceSeatingSeating
AudienceAudienceSeatingSeating
Thrust: Stage projects into
audience space – audience on 3 sides
Stage
AudienceAudienceSeatingSeating
AudienceAudienceSeatingSeating
AudienceAudienceSeatingSeating
AudienceAudienceSeatingSeating
Arena:Stage surrounded by
audience
Space in the modern theatre…
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 3: A Brief History of Theatre Architecture & Stage Technology
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Greek Theatre
Audience space: Theatron
Playing space: Orchestra
Stage house: Skene
Columned Arches:
proskenium
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 3: A Brief History of Theatre Architecture & Stage Technology
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Remember!!!Much of what we know about the Greeks is
an ‘educated guess’!!!
Other terms to know!
Greek Theatre
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 3: A Brief History of Theatre Architecture & Stage Technology
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Other terms to know!
Greek Theatre
Paraskenia: long, high walls that extended on either side of and parallel with the skene
Eccyclema: A wheeled platform used in a variety of ways – revelation of dead bodies
Periaktoi: (4th c. B.C.) tall, 3-sided forms that rotated on a central pivot – most likely each side painted to fit a different ‘scene’
Pinakes: Painted panels much like modern flats
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 3: A Brief History of Theatre Architecture & Stage Technology
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Roman Theatre
Audience Space: Cavea
Scene house: Scaenae fons
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 3: A Brief History of Theatre Architecture & Stage Technology
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Roman Theatre
Other terms to know!
Velum: An awning that covered the seating area in some theatres
Periaktoi: Still in use but now painted three ways: comic, tragic, & satiric
Auleum: A front curtain was lowered into a slot or trough in the floor
Siparium: A curtain hung at the back of the stage – much like a backdrop
Evidence points to complex scenery such as traps and moving pieces that filled the spectacles of ancient Rome!
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 3: A Brief History of Theatre Architecture & Stage Technology
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Medieval Theatre
Church dramas & traveling stages…
Pageant wagons
All follow the conventions of the church
Small buildings (mansions) depict locations
Development of special effects (secrets)
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 3: A Brief History of Theatre Architecture & Stage Technology
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Medieval Theatre
Heaven Hell
Mansion Platea
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 3: A Brief History of Theatre Architecture & Stage Technology
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
1500-1650 Theatre
Theatres patterned after classical models…
Blame Vitruvius…
he’s the one who wrote about the classics!
Teatro Olympico in Vicenza, Italy
Theatre moves indoors!
Interest in scenic design
Key characteristics:Raked stageUse of forced perspective Stock sets Painted drops Lit by candlelight
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 3: A Brief History of Theatre Architecture & Stage Technology
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
1500-1650 Theatre
The Renaissance in England…
Shakespeare’s theatre – The Globe
Partial covering for the audience and players
Thrust configuration
Very little scenery
Some use of props
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 3: A Brief History of Theatre Architecture & Stage Technology
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Gallery
Stage
Pit
Inner above
Inner below
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 3: A Brief History of Theatre Architecture & Stage Technology
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
1500-1650 Theatre
Lighting in the Renaissance
Candle-lit chandeliers over stage and auditorium
Early 1600s – addition of reflectors
Introduction of footlights
Vertical rows of lamps hidden in the wings
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 3: A Brief History of Theatre Architecture & Stage Technology
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
1650-1900 Theatre
The Restoration StageSpread of interest in the spectacle
Standardization of stage designs / architectureApron performance space Painted perspective drops, wings, & bordersInterior sets
Multi-tiered boxes: NobilityGalleries: WealthyPit: Everyone else
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 3: A Brief History of Theatre Architecture & Stage Technology
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
1650-1900 Theatre
The influence of Kabuki
Kabuki emerges in 1603Originally performed outdoors
Moves indoors in 1724
Stage technology advances:Elevator trapsElevator stagesRevolving stagesConcentric revolving stages
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 3: A Brief History of Theatre Architecture & Stage Technology
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
1783 – Argang oil lamp
1792 – Beginning of gas lighting (William Murdoch) Brighter & cleaner than oil/candles Intensity was easily controlled Flexible distribution systems
1816 – Limelight (Thomas Drummond) The 1st spotlight
1st electric light = carbon arc
By 1860 – Paris Opera House had a projector, a followspot, and some lighting effects (all carbon arc)
1879 – Thomas Edison & the incandescent lamp
By 1900 – Theatres convert to electric light 1650-1900 Theatre
Lighting in the
Restoration
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 3: A Brief History of Theatre Architecture & Stage Technology
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
20th century Theatre
A change in the world…
With the emergence of realism comes a new style of theatre
Sets become environments for drama – not backgrounds!
The apron shrinks…Stage space becomes more confined…Audience space only faces the stage…
Movements form and dissolve quickly
Shift to ‘found spaces’ for performances
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 3: A Brief History of Theatre Architecture & Stage Technology
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
20th century Theatre
Technological innovations…
Refinements to the incandescent light
Development of various lighting fixtures / instruments
Introduction of dimmers in the late 1940s
Digital controls introduced in the 1980s
Recorded sound introduced in the 1930s / 1940s
Computers and technology invade the theatres in early 1980s