Technical Theatre

It comprises many disciplines, typically divided into seven main sections:

Scenery , which includes Set Construction , Scenic Painting , Theatrical Properties , and Special Effect s.

Lighting , which includes both the design and actual operation of the instruments themselves.

Sound Design , which can include musical Underscoring as well as theatrical Sound Effect s.

Props , which includes furnishings, set dressings, and all items large and small which cannot be classified as scenery, electrics or wardrobe. Props handled by actors are known as handprops, and props which are kept in an actor's costume are known as personal props.

Costume Design , or Costume Construction .

Makeup , or the application of makeup to accentuate an actor's features.

Production, comprising Stage Management , Production Management , Show Control , House Management and Company Management

In its most basic incarnation, stagecraft may consist of a sole Stage Manager , who sets up all the scenery, organizes the cast, and runs the lighting instruments. At the full-time professional end of the spectrum, for example in modern Broadway and Opera , stagecraft for a production may include hundreds of skilled carpenters, painters, electricians, stagehands, seamstresses, wigmakers, etc. In this form, modern stagecraft is a highly technical and specialized field, with many sub-disciplines and a vast trove of history and tradition.

The majority of stagecraft is practiced in an environment between these two extremes, with a dedicated crew of people of the various disciplines working together with the Actor s and Directors to pull together a successful production.

EXTERNAL LINKS

"Blue-room" an excellent UK based forum for the disscusion of technical theatre by it's practitioners

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Technical Theatre