The Organizational Structure of Technical Theatre Production/Technical Departments – Scenery • Scenic Art (sometimes its own department, sometimes not) – Props – Costumes • Hair and Makeup (sometimes its own department, sometimes not) – Lighting – Sound – Video (Almost Absurdly Simplified) Organizational Chart for Non-Profit Theatres in the USA Board of Directors Artistic Director Artistic Managing Director Production Business (Almost Absurdly Simplified) Organizational Chart for Commercial Theatre in the USA Producer(s) Theater Owner General Manager Author/Rights Holder House Staff (Technical and FOH) Artistic Production Business (Almost Absurdly Simplified) Production Department Organizational Structure in the USA Head of Production Management Department Heads Scenery Dept Head Scenic Art Dept Head Props Dept Head Costumes Dept Head Sound Dept Head Lighting Dept Head Video Dept Head Crew Scenery Crew Scenic Art Crew Props Crew Costumes Crew Sound Crew Lighting Crew Video Crew A Sample Org Chart (Non-Profit) From William J. Byrnes’ Management and the Arts, 3rd ed. A Sample Org Chart (Non-Profit) Department Heads Technical Staff From William J. Byrnes’ Management and the Arts, 3rd ed. A Sample Org Chart (Commercial), 1/2 House Staff work for the theater building From Carrie Silverstein’s Technical Supervision for Broadway Theatre A Sample Org Chart (Commercial), 2/2 Production staff work for the production From William J. Byrnes’ Management and the Arts, 3rd ed. Technical Department Heads (An imperfect list) – Regional/Non-profit: • • • • • • • Scenery: Technical Director Lighting: Master Electrician Scenic Art: Scenic Charge Sound: Audio Engineer Costumes: Costume Shop Manager Props: Props Master Video: Video Engineer • • • • Production Carpenter Production Electrician Production Sound Production Props – Commercial: Technical Department Jobs (An incomplete list) • Scenery: Carpenters, Flymen, Automation Technicians • Lighting: Electricians, Spot Operators, Programmers, Board Operators • Scenic Art: Scenic Artists • Sound: Sound Technicians, Sound Mixers (A1), Backstage Sound Assistants (A2) • Costumes: Cutters, Drapers, Stitchers, Wardrobe staff • Props: Props Crafts Staff, Props Runners • Video: Video Technicians, Programmers, Video Operators Technical Department Heads – Execute the artistic team’s vision within the available resources • Work to deliver the best show possible • Handle the very real limitations of “available resources”: money, time, regulations and the laws of physics – Plan, organize, schedule, budget, make technical decisions – Manage crews, distribute responsibilities – Are not part of the team running performances The Production Process – Design – Budget – Plan – Build – Tech – Run – Strike Theater Buildings Types of staging spaces – Proscenium/End-stage • Horseshoe • The oldest surviving proscenium: The Teatro Farnese, Parma, Italy • Palais Garnier/Paris Opera House Types of staging spaces – Thrust • Audience around 3 sides of the stage • Adds to audience-performer intimacy • Reduces scenery, adds emphasis on costumes and lighting • Examples: – – – – The Globe, then and now The original Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis The new Guthrie The Vivian Beaumont at Lincoln Center Types of staging spaces – Arena • • • • • Audience all around Adds even more to intimacy Reduces scenery even further Audience definitely part of the environment Examples: – Arena Stage, Washington DC – One former version of Casa Mañana, Fort Worth Types of staging spaces – Flexible spaces • Adjustable theaters that can be made into different configurations A flexible space Types of staging spaces – Flexible spaces • An initial concept: Walter Gropius’ Total Theater • The Dorfman Theatre (formerly the Cottesloe) at the National Theatre, London • The Wyly Theatre, Dallas Some staging vocabulary – – – – – – – – – – Proscenium Proscenium arch Center line and Plaster line Centerstage/upstage/downstage/stage right/stage left Wings Backstage House Balcony Front of House Vomitoria Fly system - Manual and automated fly systems - Battens in use And to wrap up - The Wyly Theatre, again - The 40 Broadway theaters THA142 Scenery Construction Materials - Wood and wood products - Metals I. Characteristics of Wood Wood is the material most commonly used in scenery construction for several reasons: - It is very easy to cut and shape. - It is very easy to apply finishes to. - It is strong for its weight. - It is cheap. - It is the material of choice in common construction, and theater is great at stealing borrowing from other disciplines. A couple of considerations about wood that influence how to use it when building scenery: - It has a grain, which makes it heterogeneous. Wood reacts differently when a load is applied to it with the grain than when it is applied against the grain. Wood splits with the grain and breaks against it. - Wood is organic: Its strength and characteristics vary from one species to the next and one stick to the next. It is not the same thing to use red oak or white pine or spruce. - Even if they are from the same tree, no two pieces of wood are the same. Wood grows on the outside, envelops things that are attached to it, breaks and grows around the stumps developing knots. II. Wood Products The wood products used in theater can be divided in four categories: - Sawn or dressed lumber - Plywood - Other sheet products - Moulding Sawn or dressed lumber: Wood sold in sticks, by the foot. Called sawn or dressed because it has been cut on all four sides. Commonly referred to as stick lumber, or linear lumber. Commonly available in 8, 10, 12 and 16 foot lengths. Sawn lumber is classified by: - Species: The tree or group of trees that the wood comes from. Theater uses softwoods (Spruce, Pine, Fir, mostly) as opposed to hardwoods (Oak, Maple, Walnut) because they are cheap and easy to work with. The exact species used in a theater will usually be a factor of local availability. - Size: The dimensions of the stick’s profile. 1x3, 1x4, 2x4, 2x8, 4x4, etc, where each number is supposed to mean inches. These are called nominal sizes. There is a difference between the nominal size and the actual size of stick lumber: Common lumber sizes Nominal Actual 1x2 ¾” x 1 ½” 1x3 ¾” x 2 ½” 1x4 ¾” x 3 ½” 1x6 ¾” x 5 ½” 1x8 ¾” x 7 ¼” 1x12 ¾” x 11 ¼” 5/4 x 6 1” x 5 ½” Common lumber sizes Nominal Actual 5/4 x 8 1” x 7 ¼” 5/4 x 10 1” x 9 ¼” 2x4 1 ½” x 3 ½” 2x6 1 ½” x 5 ½” 2x8 1 ½” x 7 ¼” 2x12 1 ½” x 11 ¼” 4x4 3 ½” x 3 ½” - Grade: Sticks are “visually graded”: inspected for visible knots, splits, warps and erratic graining. As is to be expected, the higher the grade the stronger and more expensive the piece. Grades in descending order: o Select A o Select B o Select C o No. 1 o No. 2 o No. 3 Different sources recommend using different grades, and in the end the decision must come down to budget and personal preferences. Because of the way stick lumber is cut and prepared, and because it is an organic material, it can bend in multiple directions (see figure). Some of these issues can be worked around. Some cannot. And the lumber may still be changing shape when you are working with it! From http://www.leancrew.com/all-this/images2010/wood-handbook-fig43.png. Plywood: Sheets of 4 ft x 8ft layers of wood laminated together. Adjacent layers have the grain running perpendicular to one another. The outer layers always have the grain running the long way, therefore most sheets of plywood have an odd number of layers. Because plywood is a manufactured product, its structural characteristics are much more predictable than those of sawn lumber. Plywood is classified by: - Thickness: 1/8”, 3/16”, ¼”, 3/8”, ½”, 5/8”, ¾”. Commonly used in theater: ¼”, ½”, ¾”. Interior vs Exterior: Whether the glue used to laminate the layers is water-soluble or not, respectively. Surface finish: The appearance of the outer layers, ranked from A to D, with A being the best and D the worst. Typical plywood ratings are: o AA: Highest quality finish on both sides o AB o AC: High quality on one side, rough on the other o BC o CD Other Sheet Materials: Plywood is not the only wood product that is manufactured in 4x8 sheets. Other common examples are: - Lauan: 1/8” thick, very flexible material, with a very smooth surface, used as a finishing layer. Very lightweight and not structural at all. Has a grain, so it can be stained. - Tempered Masonite: Commonly available in 1/8”, 3/16” or ¼” thicknesses. Masonite is a brand name, the generic name is tempered hardwood. Very heavy, very hard and very smooth surface, used mostly for floors and other horizontal surfaces. Has no grain. Made of compressed wood pulp. Takes paint extremely well. Not structural. - Medium density fiberboard, MDF or Medite: Similar uses to Masonite, available in a wider range of thicknesses. Used commonly in scenery for top finishes and floor surfaces. Made of wood chips, sawdust and a bonding agent. Not structural. - Homasote or Hush Board: used for padding and sound deadening. Available in 3/8”, ½”, 5/8” and ¾” thicknesses. Made of compressed vegetable fibers. Typically used under Masonite or MDF to make stages quieter. Moulding: Decorative, shaped sticks, used for trim around doors, window casings, kickboards, chair rails, cornices, etc. Moulding is sold in sticks (8, 10, 12 ft long). It is made out of any number of species. Whatever the species, most of the time the wood will be clear of knots and imperfections to allow the moulding to be stained. Some examples, from the Shell Lumber catalog: III. - Characteristics of Steel Steel is the second most common material in scenery, after wood, because it has become common in construction elsewhere. It is stronger than wood, with less actual material. It is homogeneous. It is manufactured to industrial standards. It is available in a wide variety of shapes. It is sold by weight. Steel has some drawbacks: - Requires specialized tools and equipment. - Requires more precision than wood. - It is heavy. - It is expensive. IV. Steel Products - Tubes: Specified by outside dimensions and wall thickness. 24ft lengths. o Round tubes (not the same as pipe!!!) o Rectangular and square tubes  Notable: 1” 16g box tube; 1.5” 14g box tube - Pipe: Specified by nominal diameter and “schedule” or wall thickness. Rated for plumbing. Also known as “black pipe”. 21ft lengths.  Notable: 1.5” schedule 40 pipe (actual diameter is very close to 2”; used for fly systems) - Angle Iron: Specified by the length of the flanges and the wall thickness. Available in 20ft lengths.  Notable: 1”x1”x1/8” - Channel: Specified by actual depth and weight per linear foot. For example, a C5x9 is 5” deep and weighs 9lb per foot. - I-Beams: Three types: W, M, S. Specified by type, nominal depth and weight per linear foot. For example, a W8x15 is a Wtype, 8.11” deep, 15lb per foot beam. Not commonly used in scenery construction, but widely used in theaters. - Plates and Bars: Specified by actual dimensions o Plates or flat stock o Round bars o Square bars - Sheet goods: o Solid sheets o Expanded steel o Perforated steel (see www.mcnichols.com) V. Aluminum - A third of the weight of steel. Three times the price of steel. Available in the same shapes as steel (except for pipe). Does not rust. Commonly used for decorative purposes. More examples of metal shapes can be seen at http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?id=849&step=2&top_cat=849.
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