Wingspace?
- Thread starterBlake
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techieman33
Well-Known Member
Not enough, almost no matter how much you have it's never enough.
Some would consider that a luxury.
MarshallPope
Well-Known Member
Our larger space has ~20' on each side. The smaller theatre has maybe 30' SL and 10' SR.
EDIT - And yes, for larger productions we store set pieces in the hallway, the scene shop, and sometimes out in the loading dock.
EDIT - And yes, for larger productions we store set pieces in the hallway, the scene shop, and sometimes out in the loading dock.
shiben
Well-Known Member
Caution to ya, a great deal of theaters, from podunk lets make theater buddies operations to professional, AEA/IA/USA venues are kind of... shall we say... Nuts. For example, one I work in regularly was designed for 10 year olds to play the flute in, and now is used for full dramatic productions of various sorts. The wings are about 8'x12' with 3 levels so max item height in a wing is like 10', and 75% of the deck is DS of PL with no wings. Also no fly or anything either, so that stinks. Another is pretty much the interior of your local sunglasses hut minus the racks and stuff to display sunglasses. One has a second floor in the building made of theatrical decks. Another literally is in a school gym that is no longer used (they build a lot of full surround sets, and thus they often have no wings at all as such. And then other venues in this city range from church basements to gigantic opera houses and everything in between. I would be hesitant to classify a "real" theater by the things that are built into it vs. the things that people do in it. Its worth noting that theater was for a great while performed on a platform with some sheets or bushes behind it, and some dudes jumping up on stage singing songs.
misterm
Active Member
less than 3' on either side, no backstage access from SL side, the only access to our SR backstage area is a small corridor through a small door, no fly system. if you want scenery, it stays out on stage. actors choreograph their movements in the wings almost more than they do their movement on stage.
BillConnerFASTC
Well-Known Member
This might be a little more useful if we defined wings as from hard proscenium opening to obstruction. I'm always pretty careful to describe clear, unobstructed depth and width, because a pilaster or radiator on the US wall effectively defines the stage depth - kind of like plaster line (or pilaster line as someone mentioned). Width is a little harder, as it is not unusual to have a wider proscenium for music than the dram trims an auditorium and stage is designed for. So while a shell for music and hard proscenium my open to 55-60'; drama trim may be only 40-48'. And in general, I try for 100' wall to wall - clear - and often end up with 90-95 - which with a 45' drama trim doesn't seem too bad. Yes, those 25' wings - 95 less 45 divide by 2 - include 12' legs - but that is useable wing space in most cases.
MPowers
Well-Known Member
The Stage I'm installing track and curtains in next month, all dead hung, is wedge shaped. The precast concrete walls taper together as they go up stage. Proscenium arch is 42', the back wall is only 24' wide. The swivel legs are about 6" from the concrete walls on their off stage edge. So, no wings at all. An unusual design for a stage!
Even with what you think would be enough wing space, designers somehow come up with a way to fill it. On one production of The Music Man, there was a set swap with what was being stored in the shop moved to the stage and the first act stuff going off during intermission.
kiwitechgirl
Well-Known Member
My old theatre, a little to none, depending on the set. It was a 3/4 thrust stage and sets varied hugely. Still not sure how we managed to pull off The Producers given the massive space constraints. Now? Well, I'm orchestral management rather than stage management these days, but still have to deal with wingspace when we have offstage musicians. You'd think the Opera Theatre of the Sydney Opera House would be well-designed, but it's not - this is the theatre where for certain ballets they have to employ catchers so the dancers don't hit the side walls if they leap from onstage to off. Minimal wingspace, basically. What there is is a scenery lift upstage (the stage is on the third floor) which is where set pieces tend to be stored.
kiwitechgirl
Well-Known Member
Don't get me started! We occasionally work in the Concert Hall and every time I get into their nice big service lift or wheel timpani up the ramp to the stage, I curse the politicians who changed it all over so I have to use a props lift only just big enough for our harpsichord to move gear up and down, or carry our extremely heavy timpani up the stairs. Not to mention our disastrous orchestra pit. We're constantly experimenting to see if there's a better way of laying out the orchestra, to which one of the brass players keeps telling me that all we're doing is "shuffling the deckchairs on the Titanic"...
(and it's only been the Joan Sutherland Theatre since October last year
)themuzicman
Well-Known Member
When touring with Broadway tours I routinely hit theatres that don't have enough wing space for even the amp racks and dimmers to sit comfortably (not to mention safely) with a full scenery show and actors entrances/exits -- often times we have to shoehorn our show into a theatre, cutting out the larger scenic elements and such to make a show stay safe. Be careful what you ask for - A "real theatre" is a very ambiguous term!
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