A BIG PART OF STAGE MANAGING IS SHOWING THE ACTORS
AND THE OTHER CREW MEMBERS THAT THEY'RE IN GOOD HANDS.
YOU DON'T WANT ANYONE SPENDING ANY ENERGY WONDERING
IF YOU'RE UP TO YOUR JOB AS A STAGE MANAGER.
YOU WANT TO MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR THEM
TO CONCENTRATE ON THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES
AND NOT WORRY ABOUT YOU.
YOU CAN ALLOW THEM TO FOCUS ON THEIR DUTIES AND THEIR ART
BY SHOWING THEM, RIGHT OFF THE BAT,
THAT YOU HAVE STAGE MANAGEMENT COVERED,
AND ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THEY WILL SEE FROM YOU
IS THE TAPE JOB ON THE FLOOR.
AS A STAGE MANAGER, IT'S ONE OF YOUR MORE IMPORTANT DUTIES
IN THE TIME BEFORE REHEARSAL, COMMONLY CALLED "PREP WEEK."
IT'S IMPORTANT FOR SEVERAL REASONS.
THE FIRST BEING IT'S THE ONLY FULL-SCALE REPRESENTATION
OF THE SET THE ACTORS WILL SEE UNTIL THEY MOVE ONSTAGE
AND ALSO BECAUSE IT'S OFTEN THE FIRST THING FROM YOUR HANDS
THAT THE ACTORS SEE.
OF ALL THE PREP WEEK DUTIES, TAPING THE FLOOR IS ONE OF
THE MORE TIME-CONSUMING AND TEDIOUS CHORES.
DOING IT RIGHT TAKES PREPARATION, A FEW MATERIALS,
AND SOME OF YOUR TIME.
MOST THEATER COMPANIES HAVE THE GROUNDPLAN AVAILABLE TO YOU
AT LEAST ONE WEEK BEFORE THE FIRST REHEARSAL.
IT'S MUCH EASIER TO TAPE THE FLOOR
BEFORE YOU BEGIN REHEARSALS.
ONCE YOU'RE IN REHEARSAL, YOUR TIME WILL BE EATEN UP
RATHER QUICKLY.
FOR THIS PROGRAM, WE ARE VERY FORTUNATE
TO HAVE THE GROUNDPLAN, MODEL, AND PICTURES
OF THE COMPLETED SET OF THE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL
OF ST.
LOUIS' PRODUCTION OF "MACBETH,"
WHICH WAS PERFORMED OUTDOORS IN FOREST PARK
IN ST.
LOUIS, MISSOURI.
THIS SET WAS DESIGNED BY AN EXCELLENT DESIGNER NAMED
CHRISTOPHER PICKARD, WHO HAS DESIGNED OVER 150
PRODUCTIONS NATIONWIDE.
FIRST, WE'LL TAKE A LOOK AT THE DESIGN
FOR HIS SET FOR "MACBETH," THEN SHOW YOU HOW THE REHEARSAL AREA
AT NEARBY FONTBONNE UNIVERSITY WAS TAPED OUT,
AND FINALLY, THE FINISHED PRODUCT.
THIS SET DESIGN IS ABOUT 70 FEET WIDE AND 50 FEET DEEP
TO THE UPSTAGE WALLS OF THE SET AND PLAYS ON
SEVEN DIFFERENT LEVELS, NOT INCLUDING THE GROUND
IN FRONT OF THE STAGE.
THIS DESIGN INCLUDES A TRAP DOOR ON THE STAGE,
A WITCHES' PIT THAT FEATURES A CAULDRON SPEWING FOG
AND SPECIAL LIGHTING EFFECTS.
ONCE THE DESIGN IS ON PAPER, IT'S TRANSFERRED TO
A 3-DIMENSIONAL MODEL SO THAT EVERYONE CAN VISUALIZE
THE DESIGNER'S CONCEPT.
I LIKE TO GRID THE GROUNDPLAN.
I DRAW A LINE PARALLEL TO THE CENTER LINE EVERY 10 FEET
USING AN ARCHITECT'S RULE.
I ALSO USE EITHER AN EXISTING LINE ON THE DRAWING
OR DRAW ONE IN MYSELF THAT RUNS PERPENDICULAR
TO THE CENTER LINE RUNNING STAGE LEFT TO STAGE RIGHT.
TAKE YOUR TIME WITH THESE.
YOU'LL BE USING THEM TO MEASURE FROM,
SO IF THESE LINES ARE OFF, THEN EVERYTHING ABOUT YOUR TAPE
WILL BE OFF.
LET'S GET STARTED OUT BY TAKING THE GROUNDPLAN
AND IDENTIFY EVERY MAJOR POINT -- NOT LINE, BUT POINT.
WHERE A WALL ENDS, WHERE THE DOOR IS,
WHERE THE CORNER OF THE ROOM IS,
WHERE THE PLATFORM ENDS.
START ON EITHER STAGE LEFT OR STAGE RIGHT.
FOR THE SAKE OF THIS DEMO, I'LL START ON THE STAGE RIGHT.
GIVE EACH POINT ON THE STAGE RIGHT SIDE
A NUMBER ON THE GROUNDPLAN.
IT'S BEST TO START ON THE DOWNSTAGE SIDE.
THEN, WORK YOUR WAY UPSTAGE AS YOU MEASURE
BECAUSE THIS IS THE ORDER YOU WILL EVENTUALLY LAY THEM OUT.
IF YOU MOVE DOWNSTAGE TO UPSTAGE,
YOU'LL WASTE LESS MOVEMENT.
NOW, ON THE GROUNDPLAN, MEASURE HOW FAR UPSTAGE
BY HOW FAR STAGE RIGHT.
ONCE YOU HAVE MEASURED AND LISTED ALL THE COORDINATES
FOR THE STAGE RIGHT SIDE, DO THE STAGE LEFT SIDE.
AFTER YOU HAVE FINISHED THE STAGE LEFT SIDE,
YOU SHOULD HAVE TWO GOOD-SIZED LIST OF COORDINATES.
START ON ONE SIDE OF THE STAGE AND NUMBER ALL THE COORDINATES
ALL THE WAY DOWN THE PAGE, THEN CONTINUE THE NUMBERING DOWN
THE OTHER COLUMN.
NOW YOU'RE READY TO TAPE THE FLOOR.
FIRST, SWEEP AND MOP.
IT'S DIFFICULT FOR THE TAPE TO STICK IF THE FLOOR IS DIRTY.
THE TOOLS YOU'LL NEED FOR THE ACTUAL TAPING
INCLUDE THREE TAPE MEASURES, AT LEAST 25 FEET LONG,
AND THE TAPE ITSELF.
I PREFER THE CLOTH-BACK TYPE.
IT STICKS WELL AND COMES IN AN ASSORTMENT OF COLORS.
SOME PLACES USE MASKING TAPE, WHICH WORKS WELL UNTIL
YOU HAVE TO PULL IT UP.
I'VE ALSO SEEN SOME THEATERS USE ELECTRICAL TAPE
THAT COMES IN SEVERAL COLORS AS WELL.
THIS PROCESS WORKS BEST IF YOU HAVE THREE PEOPLE INVOLVED,
BUT YOU CAN DO IT WITH TWO.
FIRST, LAY ONE TAPE MEASURE OUT ZERO FEET, ZERO INCHES
ALL THE WAY UP THE CENTER LINE AND TAPE IT TO THE FLOOR.
YOU WON'T NEED MUCH TAPE.
JUST A TAB EVERY 10 FEET USUALLY DOES IT.
THEN, BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO KICK OR STEP ON THE TAPE.
THEY BREAK EASILY, AND YOU DON'T WANT IT TO MOVE.
IF YOU'RE DOING STAGE RIGHT FIRST,
LAY A SECOND TAPE MEASURE EXACTLY 10 FEET TO THE RIGHT
OF THE FIRST TAPE MEASURE.
THIS SECOND TAPE MEASURE MAKES SURE THAT WHEN
YOU MEASURE FROM CENTER, YOU DON'T HAVE TO GUESS
AT MAKING RIGHT ANGLES.
ONCE YOUR TAPE MEASURES ARE TAPED DOWN TO THE FLOOR,
YOU'RE READY TO PUT SOME TABS OF TAPE ON THE FLOOR.
ONE OF YOU WILL CALL OUT THE DISTANCE UPSTAGE.
UPSTAGE -- 2 FEET, 3 INCHES.
AND THE OTHER TWO -- ONE ON CENTER
AND THE OTHER STAGE RIGHT -- MOVE THE THIRD TAPE TO
THE DISTANCE CALLED OUT.
THE PERSON ON CENTER HOLDS THE THIRD TAPE MEASURE
TO THE MIDDLE OF THE CENTER LINE.
THE PERSON WITH THE LIST OF COORDINATES CALLS OUT
HOW FAR STAGE RIGHT OF CENTER THE POINT IS.
STAGE RIGHT -- 5 FEET, 7 INCHES.
THEN, YOU MEASURE FROM CENTER STAGE TO STAGE RIGHT.
MAKE SURE YOUR TAPE MEASURE IS ON THE 2 FOOT, 3 INCHES --
BOTH ON THE CENTER LINE TAPE, AND THE TAPE THAT'S 10 FEET
STAGE RIGHT OF CENTER.
ONCE YOU FIND WHERE 5 FEET, 7 INCHES IS,
PLACE A SMALL SQUARE OF TAPE ON THE POINT
WITH THE SAME NUMBER AS THE POINT ON THE GROUNDPLAN.
ONCE YOU HAVE FINISHED STAGE RIGHT,
PULL UP THE TAPE MEASURE THAT'S 10 FEET FROM CENTER
AND LAY IT DOWN 10 FEET LEFT OF CENTER ON THE STAGE LEFT SIDE
AND REPEAT THE PROCESS FOR THE STAGE LEFT SIDE.
WHEN YOU GET TO THIS POINT, YOU'LL HAVE
A REHEARSAL HALL FULL OF TABS OF TAPE
WITH NUMBERS.
NOW IT'S TIME TO CONNECT THE DOTS.
USING THE GROUNDPLAN AS A GUIDE,
CONNECT ALL THE DOTS YOU HAVE PLOTTED ON THE GROUNDPLAN.