Stage Settings

GROUP MEMBERS
MALABAGO, ELLA RICA D,
ECHAVEZ, STEPHANIE
TOÑACAO, FEMIELYN L.
BANDA, JENECEL D.
 Stage Terminology
• Art Curtain- the curtain, hung upstage of proscenium, that opens or closes each
act or scene.
• Acting Area- the portion of the stage used by the actors during the play.
• Apron- the section of the stage used by the actors during the play.
• Asbestos or fire curtain- a fireproof curtain closing off stage from the auditorium.
• Auditorium- where the audience sits.
• Backdrop(drop)- a large piece of cloth upon which scenery is painted, fastened, at
top and bottom top battens, and hung at the back of the stage setting.
• Backing(masking)-flats or drops behind scenery openings to mask the backstage
area.
• Backing(masking)- flats or drops behind scenery openings to mask the
backstage area.
• Backstage- the part of the-left, right and rear- that is not seen by the audience
also the dressing room, greenroom, prop room, shops, and storage areas.
• Batten- a long piece of wood or pipe from which scenery, lights, and curtains
are suspended also used at top and bottom of a drop.
• Book- to hinge two or three flats together so that they will stand free or fold
up also the script in a musical play.
• Border(teaser)- a short curtain hung across the stage above the acting area to
mask the overhead lights from the audience also refers to overhead strip lights.
• Box(set)- a two-wall or three-wall set composed of flats representing an
interior of a room often covered by ceiling.
• Brace- an adjustable, polelike support for flats.
• Clout nail- a special, soft , self-clinching nail used in flat construction.
• Convention- an accepted rule or tradition.
• Counterweight system- a system of lines and weights that gives mechanical
advantage to the raising and lowering of scenery.
• Curtain- playbook instruction to close the curtain.
• Curtain line- the imaginary floor line the curtain touches when closed.
• Cyclorama or Cyc: A background curtain hung around the three side of the stage.
• Dutchman- A canvas strip 4 to 5 inches wide to cover the gap between flats.
• Elevation- An eye-level-view drawing showing the flats arranged in a continues row
to be used in a set.
• False Proscenium- A frame built inside the proscenium to reduce the size of the
stage opening.
• Flat- A wooden frame covered with cloth used as a basic unit of structure of a box
set.
• Flies or Loft-The area above the stage in ehich every scenery is hung.
• Floor plan- A drawing of the overhead view of a set showing the exact location of
all entrances, walls and furniture.
• Fly- To raise or lower scenery.
• Gauze or Scrim- A drop, usually a seamless, made of special fabric that seems
almost opaque when lit from the front and semitransparent when let from behind.
• Grand drape- A curtain at the top of the proscenium, usually made of the same
material as the curtain , used to lower the height of the stage.
• Greenroom- A backstage lounge used as a reception or waiting room for the actors.
• Gridiron or Grid- A series of heavy beams or metal framework just under the roof
of the stage to which we attached the pulleys or blocks through which lines pass to
raise or lower scenery.
• Grip- A stagehand who moves scenery.
• Ground cloth or floor cloth- A canvas covering for the floor of the acting area.
• Ground row- A low profile of scenery that can stand by itself, used to mask the
bottom of the cyc or backdrop
• Jack- a triangular brace for supporting scenery
• Jigger- a board used as a spacer in three-fold flats.
• Jog- a narrow flat, usually less than 2 feet in width, used to form such things as alcoves
and bay windows.
• Lash line- rope used for lashing flats together
• Legs- pieces of cloth, usually hung in pairs, stage left and stage right, to mask the
backstage area.
• Parallel- a specially constructed collapsible platform.
• Permanent setting- a setting that remains the same throughout a play, regardless of
change of locale
• Perspective- a head-on view of a set having the illusion of depth.
• Pit- the part of the auditorium where the orchestra may be located—often an area
below floor level.
• Places- an order for actors and crew to get to their positions
• Plastic- a three-dimensional article or structure
• Portal- a drop that has its lower middle section removed so that the drop ill mask only
the top and sides of the stage
• Practical-usable- a term applied to such parts of the set as doors and windows that must
open and shut during the action, a rock that can bear persons weight, and lamps that
can be turned on.
• profile (cut-out)- a two-dimensional piece of scenery ,such as s hedge or bush.
• Proscenium- the arch or frame enclosing the visible stage, the opening between the
stage and the auditorium.
• Rake- to slant or set at an angle. A raked stage is incline from the footlights to the rear
of the stage
• Ramp- a sloping platform connecting the stage floor to a higher level.
• Returns- flats placed at the downstage edges of the set extending into the wings right
and left
• Reveal- a thickness piece placed in door ,window, and arch openings to give the illusion
of the third dimension to walls.
• Set pieces- individual pieces of scenery, such as tress, rocks and walls, that stand by
themselves
• Sight line- a line for the side walls and elevation of the set established by taking a
sighting from the front corners and upper balcony seats
• Sky cyc- smooth cloth hung at the back and sides of the stage and painted to give the
illusion of the sky
• Stage- the space where the actors perform, usually a raised platform
• Stagecraft- the art and craft of putting on a production
• Strike- the stage managers order to remove an object or objects from the stage or to
take down the set
• Tab- a narrow drop
• Theater- a building used for the presentation of plays
• Tormentors- side pieces—flats or drapes—just back of the proscenium used to narrow
the opening
• Trap- a door or opening in the stage floor
• Traveler- a stage curtain upstage of the act curtain that opens to the right and left rather
than moving up and down
• Trip- to double a drop for raising when there is insufficient fly space
• Wagons- low platform on casters
• Wing setting- a set made with pairs of wings on both sides of the stage, used with
matching backdrop
• Wings- the offstage areas to the right and left of the set; also one or more
flats, usually hinged at an angle but sometimes parallel to the footlights, used
as entrances but which conceal backstage areas.
• Working drawing- a detailed drawing showing how a piece of scenery is to be
constructed.
 PURPOSES OF SCENERY
• The first and most important function of scenery is tom provide
a place to act, a place designed to emphasize action and conflict.
• The setting should define the locale of the play in terms of time:
the era or historical period, the time of day, the season of the
year, and the changes in time that may occur during the play.
 SCENIC DESIGN
• Scenic must be in keeping with the author’s intent and the director’s
interpretation. It must always serve the actor, never dominate.
• Scenery must not clash with costumes or become an obstacle course when
blocking.
• Scenery should never be distracting, inconsistent, or pretty for pretty’s sake.
 SCENIC DESIGN AND THE STUDENT
OF DRAMA
• The basic high school drama course is concerned more with the principles
of design and scenic construction than with the actual building of sets.
• In bringing a play to life, the scenic designer is next to the director in
importance. The aim of both is to create a world of illusion that theatregoers
will accept and enjoy.
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCENIC
DESIGN
• From primitive campfires to the modern theatre house, devoted theatre
technicians have improved scenery and light design in the desire to convey
meanings through visual sensations.

• The first important step was the “skene” building, which the Romans
subsequently enlarged. Later came the ‘stations” of the miracle plays, with
the special mechanical affect of Hell’s Mouth.
Renaissance Design
Restoration Stages
The Nineteenth Century
The Twentieth Century
Major Twentieth-Century Styles
 Symbolism

• In scenic design, symbolism is the visualization of a play’s idea or

atmosphere through a visible sign of an idea or object.
 Expressionism
• Expressionism is exaggerated symbolism that strives to intensify the
emotional impact of a play by distorting a major scenic element.
 Impressionism
• The impressionistic style seeks to make the audience reacts and see as a
character does when stirred by intense feelings such as anger, horror, and
fear.
 Constructivism
• Constructivism is a technique that uses an architectural or mechanical
skeleton as a background.
 Theatricalism
• Theatricalism is a style of a scenic design that makes no attempt to be
realistic, but simply says “This is a stage set.”
 Stylization
• Stylization is a non-realistic approach to design that strives to set the mood
or pattern for the play.
 Formalism
• Formalism is a style of designthat has been with us for 2500 years. It
depends mainly upon a neutral background that can become whatever the
players suggest it might be.
 Types of Sets
Box Sets- the box set has beenthe most common type of interior set since it
replaced the old wings and drops of the nineteenth century, although it, too,
has been replaced by other forms in recent year
- The box set consist of two or three walls built of flats and often covered
by a ceiling.
Unit Sets- the unit set utilizes certain basic structural unit to create several
settings. Unit sets are quite practical for school to wish to present multiset plays
or a program of one-act plays, or to build units for a little theatre that can be
arranged to fit the needs of almost any play.
• Several Kinds of Unit Sets
• One type uses door or window flat units, which may be completely rearranged for each scene
change.
• A second important type unit set consist of many openings, some of which are quite large.
• A third type of unit set uses scenic units mounted on movable flatforms
The Permanent Set- Another type of staging is the use of permanent set, one that never
changes during the play except in some instances when a set piece, stairway, or flown unit may be
brought in.
Profile Sets- Screen and profile sets, sometimes called cut-down or minimum sets, provide further
opportunities for scenic variations.
Prism Sets- Prism or periaktoi allow for fast changes with a minimum of equipment and space
Curtain (Drapery) Sets- In many forms, curtain sets have frequently been used as substitutes for
constructed scenery.
 NEW TECHNIQUES OF STAGING
• The Thrust Stage (horseshoe staging) has stirred the imagination of scenic artists
to develop new techniques of set design
• Arena Staging (theater-in-the-round) uses a different approach. Since the audience
completely surrounds the stage, no scenery can be erected, for it will block
the view of the audience.
 PROCEDURES IN SCENIC DESIGN
• The basic goal of scenic design is to enhance the production bybcreating a
functional background for the action that does not intrude in the action.
• Before making any plan, the designer reads the play carefully several times and discusses
the play and its style of production with the director.
• The director will provide a foundation for design, including a basic door plan.
• The designer then makes a pencil sketch or watercolour that scenically expresses the
meaning and spirit of the play.
• After considering available equipment and material and the budget, the designer
enlarges the sketch into a perspective drawing.
• Next the scenic designer works out adetailed door plan.
• The final step in design is the drafting of an elevation and working drawings, which are
detailed construction illustrations or blueprints.
 PROCEDURES IN SCENIC DESIGN
Predesign Considerations
• Before designing a set, the scenic designer must obtain certain important information.
• First of all, the designer should know the size and shape of the auditorium, whether the
floor is raked, and the type of seating arrangement .
• Next, the designer must determine the space, including storage areas, will be available for
the production.
• If there is fly space, the designer must know if the flies are high enough to handle a drop
without tripping and whether the system is manual, sandbagged, or counterweighted.
• The budget for the production may greatly affect the elaborateness of the design as well as
the number and kinds of sets to be used.
 PROCEDURES IN SCENIC DESIGN

Basic Principles
Artistic Considerations
The Use of Color
The Other Aspects of Design
 CONSTRUCTING THE SET
• The most common set involves draperies, flats or drops. The flat is the basic
unit of construction for box sets, screens, prisms, and cut-down scenery.
Since the majority of the plays require an interior set, you should learn the
procedures in flat building, assembling and painting.
Construction of a Flat
 the materials needed to build a flat consist of lumber, fabric, hardware, rope and glue.
• ERECTING THE SET
• PAINTING SCENERY
• SHIFTING AND SETTING
 Changing Scenery
 Special Set Pieces
• COMMON SCENERY PROBLEMS
• THINGS TO REMEMBER