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Course: THEA 272 Stagecraft

Scenery Handling and Shifting (for 4/8/99)

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Lecture notes for April 8, 1999

Page references are to:
Gillette, J. M., Theatrical Design and Production (3rd ed) Mayfield.

Assembly

Flat walls may be created by combining flats using:

1. Cleating (keystones)
2. Battens and stiffeners
3. Joining styles (Hollywoods)

Corner and angled wall meetings may be joined by:

1. Lashing
2. Hinging
3. Joining styles

Note: special construction needed for hard covered flats for outside corner assemblies. The cover of one flat must overlap the style of the joining flat.

If scenery must be disassembled and reassembled:

1. Doors and windows may be made removable if specified in construction.
2. Trim may be made detachable if specified in construction.
3. Units may be constructed for folding.
4. Units may be assembled in place.

-Loose pin hinging is a common method for securing removable components.

Units may be stabilized in relation to each other by:

1. Stiffeners, attached permanently (with brackets) or temporarily (with hinges).
2. Battens: loose battens in batten hooks, turn-battens.

Units may be supported by:

1. Adjacent units that meet at angles
2. Braces
3. Jacks
4. Rigging

Shifting scenery:

Types of shifts:

Avista – in full view of audience

• Often mechanical
• Sometimes crew or actors
• Best when choreographed as part of action

Masked or hidden shift:

• Action continues while shift occurs in a masked part of playing area.

Blackout shift:

• During blackout or very low lighting
• Mark placement with glo-tape; technicians adjust to darkness before shift.

Curtained shift:

• At act or scene breaks when an act curtain is used.
• -All except curtained shift must be brief; require planning and rehearsal.
• -Technicians are always dressed in black or other neutral clothing.

Methods:

1. Running
   • Includes techniques of gripping, walking up, edging up, floating
2. Flying and rigging
   • Rope-line, counterweight, winch, spot line, and combination systems
3. Wagons and rolling
   • Wagons, revolves, tip and lift jacks, tracking and channeling
4. Elevators and traps

Rigging and flying: (pp. 52-57)

• All scenery must be flown parallel to the proscenium.
• Scenery can play in an alternate position if breasted into place.
• Scenery too tall to fly out fully can be tripped and picked up on two lines.
• Careful planning is required to coordinate flown scenery with lighting equipment needs.
• Scenic weight must be balanced across the lines in the line set for proper operation.

Wagons: (pp. 232-238)

1. Jack knife
2. Slip stage
3. Free roaming
4. Revolve

Castering:

• Casters must be tied into platform structure, not just surface.
• Weight rating of casters is important
• Casters may be rigid or swivel
• Casters may be mounted on floor (wheel up) or on wagon
• Tracking is important concern:
  • Embedded tracking or "channeling"
  • Surface tracking

Locking methods:

• Chocks/blocks
• Pins, barrel bolts, door stops

Off-Caster methods (pp. 238-239):

• Lift jacks
• Tip jacks

Vocabulary:

Jackknife stage Slipstage Revolve	Trap Elevator	Running Gripping
Stiffener Brace Jack Batten Tumbler	Bridling Breasting Tripping	Rope line system Counterweight system Gridiron Sheaves Line set Spot line Hand line Arbor Lock rail Trim

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