Technical Theatre

What is ambiance?Ambiance is the feel of your production, or the mood and tone of it. One way you can shape the mood of a show is with lighting and sound. They are your best tools to portray the emotion of your story. You can directly connect your show’s mood to what an audience sees and hears. For example: if you’re doing a nursery rhyme themed show, what lighting and sound would you use? It depends on the story you’re trying to share with the audience. What emotions do you want to evoke? Joy or fear? Would you use bright colours or dark ones to accomplish that? Would you want the actors’ faces to be illuminated or shadowed? Would you use light-hearted, childlike, upbeat music or something more sombre, brooding, and slow? Music can play a large part in creating ambiance. It’s a common misconception that a play needs to be a musical to have music. Music not only sets the mood, but it can also ground your setting. Take a castle location. What music would you choose if the castle was the setting of Dracula? Alternatively, what music would you choose if the castle is the setting for a King Arthur comedy? Lighting and sound can also solve major set dilemmas. There is a famous scene in Les Misérables where Jean Valjean is travelling through the sewers of Paris. Perhaps In a movie you can build the cramped sewer pipes set, but on a stage that is impossible. The answer could be to use a variety grating style gobos, projected onto the floor to represent the light from the sewer grates above. A gobo is a metal stencil or a glass that when you put over a lamp projects the image onto the stage. It’s effective and creates a mood. Sound choices might include an echo or the sound of dripping water. You feel the dankness of the sewer and the desperation of Jean Valjean. That is ambiance. How can I use this in the classroom?• Take a picture of a location and project it onto a screen so that everyone can see (NOTE: A sample picture is included in the downloadable PDF version of this exercise) • Explain to students that this location is the setting for a play but there’s no play yet. • Play some music to set ambiance. Something upbeat and exciting (search online for adventure movie music). • Based on the music, ask students to describe the story that takes place in this location. Who is the main character? What will happen here? • Have students share their descriptions. • Ask students what kind of lighting would best suit the location, based on the music? • Keep the picture up, but play a completely different piece of music. Something brooding, dark, and slow (eg: Bach pieces). • Based on this piece of music, ask students to describe the story that takes place. Who is the main character? What will happen here? • Ask students what kind of lighting would best suit the location, based on the music? • Share and discuss how the change in music changed the story. How did music affect the ambiance?

Kristi Ross-Clausen, Production Stage Manager at the University of Wisconsin – Madison is constantly thinking about theatre safety. She’s taught drama and been behind the scenes for both local and Broadway productions. She did her master’s thesis on high school theatre safety, and she shares with us some basic theatre safety considerations. This should be required reading for all drama teachers! 1. Understand the equipment you have, and get training to maintain it properly.• It is important to know how to use and maintain your theatre equipment system, especially if it is a counterweight rigging system. If you don’t understand how that system works and maintain it properly, it’s very easy to have something go wrong. • Find somebody who’s an ETCP-certified theatre rigger to come in and take a look at your theatre. • No two theatres are exactly the same. Get training from the ETCP-certified rigger so you know how to use your stage’s equipment. 2. If your students are using stage aspects or equipment, make sure that it is age appropriate and skill level appropriate.• Teach students how to do tasks that are appropriate for their age level and skill ability. For example, younger students running a counterweight system might be allowed to move a 50-pound object instead of a 500-pound one. 3. Use pieces, equipment, and connectors that are made for theatrical purposes.• Buy from a theatrical supplier. The hardware that you buy at your local big-box store is not intended for theatrical use. • Look for domestically made pieces because manufacturing criteria are different in the US than in other countries. 4. Small spaces still have safety rules.• Ensure exits are clear. In case of an emergency, you have to be able to get out. Make sure there is an unblocked way for all audience members, actors, and crew members to exit. • Ensure that your sets and curtains in your theatre are flame-retardant. You can buy products that mix with paint for sets, or a flame-retardant spray to coat your curtains. Rosco is one supplier that makes great products for this purpose. 5. Don’t forget flat safety.• Use flame-retardant paint to treat muslin or Hollywood flats just like you would any other kind of set piece. It really doesn’t matter which kind of flat you’re using or what kind of set pieces you’ve got. The safety rules are the same. • Use good quality theatrical hardware designed for flats. 6. Make your scene shop safe.• Know your user’s manual and where to find it. • Ensure table saws have “saw stops.” • Use goggles, wear closed-toe shoes, and wear gloves for handling materials. Avoid loose clothing and tie hair back. Want to learn more? Listen to Kristi discuss Theatre Safety on the Theatrefolk Podcast!

Many modern teen plays can be easily costumed from the closets of the cast or (even more simply than that) jeans and show t-shirts. But if you’re moving into the realm of period pieces, musicals with large ensembles, or shows that have a specific look or aesthetic, then costuming has to play a much larger part. And that means that costumes have to be made from scratch or sourced from existing materials. In order to properly fit actors for costumes, the costume designer has to know each actress or actor’s measurements. Measuring a person is an exacting task, but guesswork often results in an ill-fitting look. Because of the time it takes to put costumes together for some shows, a production may ask actors to fill out a measurement worksheet before they start rehearsals. How can students make sure they’re measuring up? How do you take measurements correctly?Costume Measurement Guidelines 1. Don’t measure yourself. Get someone else to help so they can write down each measurement as you go. 2. Don’t estimate with measurements or sizes. Always use a measuring tape. 3. Don’t wear bulky clothes when getting measured. It sounds like common sense, but sometimes we need to remind ourselves of these things! 4. Do follow instructions. If a costume sheet doesn’t give specific measurement how-to’s, make sure to ask. The costume designer may have one criterion and you may have another. Alternatively, look up the most common instructions online. For example: • Waist measurements are always at the most narrow part of the waist. • Hip measurements are taken at the fullest part. • Head measurements are taken by measuring the circumference above the ears. 5. Do learn the lingo – many costume info sheets ask for a “nape to …..” Measurement. The nape is at the base of the neck at the back. Do you know the difference between the inseam and the outer seam? 6. Don’t put down the wrong measurements because you want to appear a different size or shape. You’ll get an ill-fitting costume, or worse, one that doesn’t fit at all. How can you use this concept in the classroom?See how well students follow instructions. Before you do this exercise, take the measurements of a few students yourself. Better yet, see if you have students not in this particular class that can act as models. You’re looking for measurement consistency, so you want something to assess students against. Divide students into small groups, give them the Costume Measurement Worksheet and the Measurement Instructions Sheet. (download button below!) Each group will take the measurements of the model and write it down. Do their numbers “measure up” to yours? NOTE: Some people are uncomfortable having someone else touch them while taking measurements. Be aware of this during the exercise. And when taking the inseam measurement, the model is always the one who holds the tape at the inside top of the thigh. Keep it safe!

So much emphasis in theatre and drama classrooms is placed on acting, that we often forget the unsung heroes of the theatre – the crew (also known as the “techs” or “techies”). This includes technical designers for sound, lighting, costumes, props and set; operators for all the technical aspects (sound, lighting, follow spot, wireless microphones, video projections, and so on); stage management team members (generally one stage manager and however many assistant stage managers (or ASMs) are needed); hair and makeup team members, scenic painters and set builders , production team members (producers, marketing, publicity); and front of house (including ushers, house managers, box office, and concession stand). It truly takes an army to produce a show! Being a crew member is often a thankless job. If their job is done well, then it’s smooth sailing. If something goes wrong, then inevitably the finger is pointed at the crew for taking audiences “out of the moment.” But…without the crew, actors are just standing on a bare stage in the dark in their street clothes! The following exercise will demonstrate just how powerful a tech is and how this team member can capture an audience’s imagination. Respect the Tech – ExerciseDivide students into small groups. Each group will prepare a one-minute long theatrical performance using aspects of technical theatre ONLY – sound and/or music (offstage vocals or spoken words are acceptable), lighting, props, costumes, video projections, special effects. NO acting is allowed! Focus on creating a simple story, mood, atmosphere, or feeling – like when the audience first walks into a theatre and they are instantly captivated by everything that surrounds them (i.e. sound, lighting, set). Each performance must include at least three different tech aspects (i.e. sound, lights, and props, or video projections, music, and special effects – whatever combination works for the story). Each performance must also have a title, which will be presented before the piece is performed. Students will have to adapt the technical aspects to whatever equipment or capabilities their classroom, auditorium, or theatre has. But don’t be limited to only the high-tech stuff – effective theatrical performances can be achieved with simple household items like flashlights, tinfoil, and cardboard cutouts! Here are some sample story ideas to get you started: • “A Holiday Surprise” • “It Was a Dark and Stormy Night…” • “My Favourite Childhood Memory” • “The Worst Day Ever” • “A Mixed-Up Fairy Tale” • “…And Then It Went Horribly Wrong” How will your group tell your story without the actors?

A vision board is a visual representative of the look of the show. Directors can use a vision board to illustrate their concept of the show to their design team. It can also be used to illustrate the mood of the show that the director intends to evoke onstage. A costume designer can use a vision board in a similar way; to illustrate their design concepts for the show. It clearly displays the overall image of what each character will look like and wear onstage, including costumes, hairstyles, and makeup. Each actors can even create their own vision board for their character to help them get to know the character. How do they visualize their character? What do they look like to the actor? What clothes does the character “choose” to wear? A vision board can inspire other aspects of the design, from the props and sets to the sound and lighting. The following exercise puts students in the role of costume designer. Assign each student a different character in a show they are currently studying, and follow the directions to create a vision board for that character. For a bigger challenge, have them go through the process for ALL the characters in the show to create an overall cohesive look! 1. Read through the script and make note of the following:• The year or time period the show is set in. • The location of the show. For example, a show set in Africa will have very different costume needs compared to a show set in Antarctica. • Any specific or essential costume notes included in the script. For example, a stage direction might say something like “Fred removes his hat and sets it on his desk” or “Minnie bursts into the room, dressed for bed.” You’d note that Fred needs a hat of some kind, and Minnie needs some sort of nightwear. (Pajamas? Nightgown? Bathrobe? What suits the character best?) • If the character changes clothes in the show or wears the same costume throughout. (How many costume changes? Are they all necessary?) 2. Think about your “vision” for costuming the show.Are you going to stick to the date and location stated in the script, or go in a totally different direction? I have seen productions of “The Scottish Play” performed in many different ways: traditional Scottish garb, black, witchy, and Gothic costumes, or Desert Storm fatigues. Describe your vision in five words or less. Perhaps your version of “The Scottish Play” will be “elegant, vintage, and flowy” versus “black, witchy, and Gothic.” Whatever you choose, make sure that every design aspect of the show supports your vision. Think about your costume details from head to toe. It’s not just the actual clothing that the character wears, but also specific hairstyles, makeup, accessories (hats, gloves, jewelry, belts, bags), and footwear. Although technically any item carried onstage is a prop, if an item is essential to the character (like a fan, a makeup compact, a weapon, or a book), include it in your vision board to illustrate that it is an essential part of the character. 3. Here’s the fun part – creating the vision board. Here are my two favourite ways:• Analog – Get some scissors, glue, a stack of magazines, a big piece of poster board, and start creating! Look for images of clothing, makeup, hairstyles and words that describe the character’s look. Cut them out and create a collage on the poster board. Include printouts from websites, sketches, colour palettes, and textile samples such as fabric swatches, ribbons, trims, and buttons as well. • Digital – Pinterest is a great website that can be used to create a digital vision board. It’s like a virtual bulletin board where you can “pin” images from around the Internet to your own curated profile – and it’s free to join! If you’d rather not join a website, collect appropriate images from the web that illustrate your vision for the show, and put them together in a PowerPoint slideshow, or create a digital collage using Photoshop or similar editing program. Whatever your concept, creating a vision board will help clarify and cement your ideas into an appealing visual display. Be sure to send us photos of the vision boards you create!

Awhile back, The Guardian compiled five of “the best video talks on theatre” and I wanted to share them with you as well. The article asks the question: “How can the performing arts compete against technology?” I wonder if that’s the right question to ask. In fact, it seems pretty odd to me because “compete” is really the wrong word. Theatre competing against technology, who would win that fight? The spry young whippersnapper, always moving, always bobbing? Or the elder statesman who knows exactly when to punch? My bias may be with the elder statesman, except for the fact that I love the technological world we live in today. Technology is an effective complement to almost every step of my playwriting process. I use technology for everything from helping with research, to writing drafts, to organizing workshops to posting production photos. And though many writers did just fine for hundreds of years before the technological age, I would not want to write without it. Why do theatre and technology have to be thrown into an adversarial role? Why do they have to compete? Why can’t the two co-exist? And within the question of how the performing arts can compete against technology, what kind of technology is being referenced? Technology today has a sprawling reach – it encompasses so many things, so many pieces of machinery, so many nuts, bolts and computer sparks flying through space, zinging up and down wires. What exactly about technology is in competition with the theatre? Is it idea vs idea? Is it machine vs building? Is it screens vs the stage? There are so many technological elements that have been such a help and support to the theatre – the light and sound areas alone are astounding. We can create worlds through pools of light, projections, and soundscapes like never before. Does technology here mean eyeballs on a medium? Does technology win because fancy bells and whistles capture more eyeballs than theatre does? The death of theatre has long been predicted and it hasn’t happened yet. Further to that, in some circles, to compete is to suggest a winner. But how can you have a winner when the two objects are apples and oranges? They aren’t on the same playing field, so to pit one against the other seems, well, useless and unproductive. What do you think? How can the performing arts compete against technology? Is the question viable? Or does the question miss the boat on the relationship between theatre and technology? Exercise :For our students, any competition between theatre and technology is a non-sequitur. Technology is a part of their life and they expect to see it as part of their theatre. To that end, use this exercise with your students. Divide your students into groups. All of the groups are going to get the same story: a storm. It can be a tornado, a hurricane, a blizzard. The characters have to be in the middle of the storm (so no hiding in a root cellar while a tornado passes by off stage) and we have to see the storm on stage. Decide on what kind of storm, the characters involved, and the location. Divide the groups in half. • The first group of students get the direction: No technology. They’re not allowed to use lights, recorded sound effects, music, or projections. The storm must be created using just the actors and raw materials (fabric would be allowed but printed pictures would not). They can’t use technology in any way. • The second group gets the direction: All technology. They must use technology to support their scene – projections, sound effects, lighting effects. They can’t use traditional theatre techniques (like using fabric to show waves). The actors can say their lines, but they can’t use action to create their visuals – it has to be shown through technology. The aim of the exercise is to go to the extreme on both sides of the coin : all technology or no technology. Students may get frustrated by what they can or cannot do and that’s part of the exercise. How do they meet the challenge? On the technology side, it’s important to emphasize that it’s not the sophistication of the final product that counts but the approach. Maybe you don’t have a screen for projections, but students could certainly create a slide deck on a computer. This is not an exercise to prove one method is better than the other. To that end, assess this as a process-over-product exercise with a participation rubric. Each group decides how they’re going to tackle the challenge, rehearses and presents. After the presentation, discuss the place of technology in the theatre. What worked? What wasn’t as successful? Is it more effective to use a piece of fabric to show a wave or to show a picture? Which is more theatrical? Why? Is it better to combine methods?

Came across this lovely article about costumer Jane Greenwood over at the TDF Stages website. She has been designing costumes since 1963 with multiple Tony nominations under her belt. She’s in the middle of designing the costumes for the upcoming Broadway production of Rebecca. Here’s what I took away from this article. First, the amount of prep work that goes into Greenwood’s process before she even meets with the production team. She is “immersed” in the world of the play. She knows everything there is to know about what the characters might wear. “The show won’t begin performances until October 30 or even start rehearsals until next month, but Greenwood is already making choices that will shape its future. For instance, she has filled several large binders with sketches and ‘inspirational photographs’ for every character.” Second, that she’s prepared to throw away that prep work if it doesn’t jive with the direction of production. She wants the costuming to be a part of the team and because theatre is a living entity, things change. Things change. If you are an actor, an artist, a writer, a dancer, that is the core of the creative process. Things change. If you are so married to your idea that you’re not willing to alter it when need be you’re not getting the most out of your creative process. This is not to say that you have to throw everything out the window on someone elses say so. But if the idea needs to change to make it the best work possible then you need to be able to make that change. Things change. But in order for things to change you need a start. You can’t change in a vacuum. You need a starting point, you need that idea. And you just can’t come up with something frivolous and slight. “What’s the point in putting work into my idea if it’s just going to change anyway.” No. I meet so many young writers who don’t want to put the work into an idea, they just want to jump into the deep end of the pool. And then they’re upset when the play starts to fall apart in the middle. The idea is as valuable a part of the process as the finished product. As Greenwood states: “Without the idea, you’re lost, so you have to have that. But then you have to take the idea and channel it through so many different areas.” Are your students flexible enough to go with the flow when change is suggested for a scene?

One of the stories covered in Shuddersome: Tales of Poe is The Masque of the Red Death. In this story, guests at a masked ball are overcome by the dread “Red Death”, a disease that is spreading throughout the land. The death is marked by sudden bleeding from every orifice. The premiere production (Listowel District Secondary School) solved this problem by making double-sided masks. The plain white side is the side the guests wore at the beginning, then the masks were flipped to reveal the bleeding on the other side. Here’s a photo and some video showing how it’s done: I love this simple and theatrical solution!

We saw a production of Football Romeo at Centre Dufferin High school and were mesmerized by this set piece. It’s a bench! It’s a bed! It’s a platform! It’s on wheels! It’s everything! The stage, as you’ll see in the video, was very small with negligible wing space. Simple creative solutions like this are what theatre’s all about!

Paul Overton is creating an instructional video on scenic painting for high school and middle school theatre. He posted a sample on his blog. Looks like a great start so far.

The McCarter Theatre in New Jersey posted a video on their website of the Stage Management Team taping out the rehearsal hall for their production of A Christmas Carol. If you want to see what goes into the set up of a BIG production watch this video. It takes Stage Managment 5 to 6 hours to tape out the floor! The final visual of the tape is pretty amazing…