History of Technical Theatre

Theatre has been part of this world since the Greeks. In Grecian culture, they were known for putting on shows about the Gods, as a way of appeasing them. We all know that the Greeks were very inventive, and created many objects that are still used today. This sentiment is the same in theatre.

The scenery or Greek word ‘skene‘ was typically a one story house that actors could act in front of, on top of, and enter and exit through. They also had flats which would have scenes painted on them. To create different scenes, they would paint something different on both sides and rig a system that would turn them around for the new scene. This evolved even more into a three sided object that was on wheels called a ‘periaktoi’. Now there was the possibility for three different scenes on one object that was turned.

https://gevajournal.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/periak.jpg

At this time there was no light besides the sun, so plays happened where they was daylight, and it was a nighttime scene, they would wait until dark.

The next time we see theatre innovation is in the 15 and 1600’s in England. This is when the famous Globe Theatre was built.

The Globe Theatre http://shakespeareboys.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/globe-theatre.jpg

As time passed, the scenery and lighting continued to evolve. The lighting reached a point where they were using limestone, which when burned put off light. To contain this light, the Fresnel lens was created. After this limestone and of course candles, gas lights were introduced. These posed a major fire hazard, but were still used for many years.

Technology has only become more advanced, and in this day and age we have everything from electric lighting (to the point where a majority of the lights are LED’s), to automated scenery.

This is a very brief overview of the history of theatre technology.

Backstage Life

Participating in the actual run of the show depends on what role you have in the company. Normally, during the run of a production, the jobs involved are the actors, the run crew/wardrobe crews, the assistant stage managers, the stage manager, and the light board/sound board operators.

Without the actors, the show would not be a show. Some would argue that they have the most important job. I would not agree, as every job in the theatre is an important one. One of my theatre teachers once told me “There are no small parts only small actors.” This holds true for all jobs in a theatre company. Although the actors may be the face, there are so many parts moving backstage that no one else sees.

During the show, the run crew is backstage changing scenery on stage in between scenes, flying in pieces of scenery and drops, and generally keeping the show running smoothly. The wardrobe crew handles the costumes and sometimes the props while the show is going on. In between scenes or even during scenes there are quick changes. These quick changes are rapid switches of clothing, ranging from as fast as mere seconds to a couple of minutes. They will typically happen backstage with little to no light.

The assistant stage managers and the stage mangers have an extremely important job. The SM is the person who sits at the back of the theatre in the booth and ‘calls’ the show. The act of calling the show is talking to the run crew, ASM’s, light/sound board operators, etc over headsets and giving them cues to do the shift of scenery or lights or another change. The ASM’s are the ones running the backstage area. They relay problems to the stage manager, and handle the actors and crew who are backstage.

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The light and sound board operators simply push a button to change the lights and create a sound. They are typically in the booth with the stage manager.

That’s a brief overview of the organized chaos that is the backstage life!

Check back next week for another update!

Jobs in the Technical Theatre World

There are many jobs in the theatre world that make the show go on. From an electrician to a member of the board of directors, everyone is necessary to make the show a rousing success.

http://www.controlbooth.com/attachments/prof-theater-management-jpg.71/

Starting at the top, there’s the board of directors. They are the ones who are in charge of overseeing what the theatre does as a whole. They could also oversee budgets and money allocated to each department. In some cases they may also be the ones picking out the shows that will bring in the most revenue.

Next, there’s the Artistic Director and the Executive Director. These two people (It doesn’t always have to be two, there could be more or less) are typically the ones who have the vision for the show. They’re the ones who will hire managers for all the departments, and will typically oversee the production of the show.

Then, there are the managers of the all the different departments. The production manager will look after the technicians, the actors, and the people directly involved with the show. The company manager oversees the entire company from technicians to the box office. The business and marketing managers will stick to their own corners and handle the business side (payroll, etc) and the marketing side (PR, box office, etc).

After that there are shop supervisors, who oversee their respective shops. The costume shop supervisor will take care of the sticher’s, wardrobe crew, and sometimes makeup. The scene shop supervisor will handle the carpenters, and at times, props.

The supervisors and directors have productions meetings every week (sometimes more frequently) to discuss how everything is going, if there are any major problems, etc.

Finally there are the lovely technicians and actors. They are the carpenters, electricians, run/wardrobe crews,  fly system operators, light/soundboard operators, stage managers, assistant stage managers, and a multitude of others.

Without all of these roles, the shows that are produced for the audiences viewing pleasure would never happen.