New Poll - Stage design
Sun, 16 May 2004, 08:41 pmcrgwllms7 posts in thread
New Poll - Stage design
Sun, 16 May 2004, 08:41 pmNew poll topic - what style of stage design (proscenium, traverse, etc) do you prefer ?
The Poll-tergeist
The Poll-tergeist
crgwllmsSun, 16 May 2004, 08:41 pm
New poll topic - what style of stage design (proscenium, traverse, etc) do you prefer ?
The Poll-tergeist
The Poll-tergeist
Walter PlingeSun, 16 May 2004, 10:11 pm
Re: New Poll - Stage design
I like versatility. That's why, as a director, I will always give preference to venues that give me the freedom to choose.
If I ever get to run my own theatre, it will be a black-box studio theatre.
So there.
dm.
If I ever get to run my own theatre, it will be a black-box studio theatre.
So there.
dm.
crgwllmsMon, 17 May 2004, 01:43 pm
Re: New Poll - Stage design
The Meddoes wrote:
>
> I like versatility. That's why, as a director, I will always
> give preference to venues that give me the freedom to choose.
Thanks dm. Added a voting category for you - 'no preference'.
The Poll-tergeist
[%sig%]
>
> I like versatility. That's why, as a director, I will always
> give preference to venues that give me the freedom to choose.
Thanks dm. Added a voting category for you - 'no preference'.
The Poll-tergeist
[%sig%]
Walter PlingeWed, 19 May 2004, 08:34 pm
Re: New Poll - Stage design
A well-lit stage of course!
Sorry I couldn't resist !
Ray
Sorry I couldn't resist !
Ray
crgwllmsFri, 4 June 2004, 01:38 pm
Re: Poll results - Stage design
What Type of staging do you prefer?
156 participants in 3 weeks
Proscenium arch - 48 votes (29%)
No preference - 34 votes (20%)
Thrust - 31 votes (19%)
In The Round - 22 votes (13%)
Non structured - ie street theatre - 13 votes (8%)
Promenade - 7 votes (4%)
Traverse - 7 votes (4%)
Poll didn't specify whether 'prefer' meant as a performer, a director, designer, or audience...I suspect there could be varying responses depending on which 'hat' you are wearing at the time, and also depending on the type of show and whether it was successfully utilised in that instance.
But a clear overall preference to Proscenium compared to all the other options apart from 'no preference'.
I remember attending a theatre conference in the US about 16 years ago where the 'breakthrough' topic of the day's discussion was introducing the notion of non-proscenium staging... I was fascinated in a bored sort of way because the last two shows we'd devised had been in-the-round and traverse...(the latter of which wasn't even presented as an option!).
Not that there's anything wrong with the Pros arch, but it WAS quite amazing to hear this presented as 'new' information. It struck home to me how ingrained some styles can be, and largely due to the limitations of many venue designs.
I'd agree with Meddoes that flexibility is the key; suiting the staging to the production...unfortunately not a lot of venues allow so many options.
The Poll-tergeist
PS I've just remembered another sometimes effective option that could have been included...is there a name for the type of staging where the audience sits in the middle and the action happens on all sides around them..?
[%sig%]
156 participants in 3 weeks
Proscenium arch - 48 votes (29%)
No preference - 34 votes (20%)
Thrust - 31 votes (19%)
In The Round - 22 votes (13%)
Non structured - ie street theatre - 13 votes (8%)
Promenade - 7 votes (4%)
Traverse - 7 votes (4%)
Poll didn't specify whether 'prefer' meant as a performer, a director, designer, or audience...I suspect there could be varying responses depending on which 'hat' you are wearing at the time, and also depending on the type of show and whether it was successfully utilised in that instance.
But a clear overall preference to Proscenium compared to all the other options apart from 'no preference'.
I remember attending a theatre conference in the US about 16 years ago where the 'breakthrough' topic of the day's discussion was introducing the notion of non-proscenium staging... I was fascinated in a bored sort of way because the last two shows we'd devised had been in-the-round and traverse...(the latter of which wasn't even presented as an option!).
Not that there's anything wrong with the Pros arch, but it WAS quite amazing to hear this presented as 'new' information. It struck home to me how ingrained some styles can be, and largely due to the limitations of many venue designs.
I'd agree with Meddoes that flexibility is the key; suiting the staging to the production...unfortunately not a lot of venues allow so many options.
The Poll-tergeist
PS I've just remembered another sometimes effective option that could have been included...is there a name for the type of staging where the audience sits in the middle and the action happens on all sides around them..?
[%sig%]
Walter PlingeFri, 4 June 2004, 06:16 pm
Re: Poll results - Stage design
crgwllms wrote:
>
> I've just remembered another sometimes effective option
> that could have been included...is there a name for the type
> of staging where the audience sits in the middle and the
> action happens on all sides around them..?
Annoying?
But seriously, folks.
Maybe the above scenario is a close cousin to what I call "environmental" stagings - where the play is staged in the actual environment specified in the text, and the audience and performers mingle. "Steel Magnolias" has been done in an actual hairdressers salon, with the (rather small, I should think) audience seated as though they were customers.
"Barmaids" could work done in an actual pub, with the audience sitting where your everyday pub customer would. Conor McPherson's "The Weir" could work like this, too.
Much of it would also depend on how much audience interaction is required of the text.
Has anyone ever done this?
>
> I've just remembered another sometimes effective option
> that could have been included...is there a name for the type
> of staging where the audience sits in the middle and the
> action happens on all sides around them..?
Annoying?
But seriously, folks.
Maybe the above scenario is a close cousin to what I call "environmental" stagings - where the play is staged in the actual environment specified in the text, and the audience and performers mingle. "Steel Magnolias" has been done in an actual hairdressers salon, with the (rather small, I should think) audience seated as though they were customers.
"Barmaids" could work done in an actual pub, with the audience sitting where your everyday pub customer would. Conor McPherson's "The Weir" could work like this, too.
Much of it would also depend on how much audience interaction is required of the text.
Has anyone ever done this?
crgwllmsSun, 6 June 2004, 08:57 pm
Re: Poll results - Stage design
The Meddoes wrote:
>
> Has anyone ever done this?
It's rare, but there are a couple that spring to my mind;
John Curtin did a version of The Wizard Of Oz years ago (Jake Newby design) where various scenes were played in all four corners and the audience (in the middle) needed to turn around to see.
Manitoba Theatre for Young People's "Comet In Moominland" was a puppet show staged in a small tent where the audience sat in the centre and watched the show as it travelled full circle several times.
There was a brilliant show staged at PICA which I unfortunately don't remember the title of, nor the company...they were a visiting Youth Theatre company... While the show was mainly promenade, with the audience travelling from room to room, in each location the action often happened all around us as we stood in the centre.
Barking Gecko's "Voyage Of Vasco Pyjama" was a combination of in-the-round and 'round-the-outside' ...audience sat around the outside, but also on a small island in the middle, leaving a circular track where the performance took place.
Obviously, not every play could be staged like this, and it would lend itself more to plays specifically devised around that staging...but effective nonetheless.
Cheers,
Craig
PS. Back in Perth....where did all this rain come from?
[%sig%]
>
> Has anyone ever done this?
It's rare, but there are a couple that spring to my mind;
John Curtin did a version of The Wizard Of Oz years ago (Jake Newby design) where various scenes were played in all four corners and the audience (in the middle) needed to turn around to see.
Manitoba Theatre for Young People's "Comet In Moominland" was a puppet show staged in a small tent where the audience sat in the centre and watched the show as it travelled full circle several times.
There was a brilliant show staged at PICA which I unfortunately don't remember the title of, nor the company...they were a visiting Youth Theatre company... While the show was mainly promenade, with the audience travelling from room to room, in each location the action often happened all around us as we stood in the centre.
Barking Gecko's "Voyage Of Vasco Pyjama" was a combination of in-the-round and 'round-the-outside' ...audience sat around the outside, but also on a small island in the middle, leaving a circular track where the performance took place.
Obviously, not every play could be staged like this, and it would lend itself more to plays specifically devised around that staging...but effective nonetheless.
Cheers,
Craig
PS. Back in Perth....where did all this rain come from?
[%sig%]