The magic of theatre has fascinated children and adults since the 1600's. Behind some of the magic of the theatre is just a couple of guys pulling ropes. These people are called Riggers, because they rig cable and ropes to pulleys to make backdrops, people, or set pieces fly. When flying pieces or people, theatres will use a multitude of different things to fly. Unfortunately, stages are also built in a multitude of ways for the purpose of different experiences. For many theatres, stages have been too small to fly people or use a pulley system for rigging, but with a little more money theatres will be able to create a small fly system designed specifically for their theatre. The math for rigging a small stage is complicated but is possible
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A proscenium stage is the standard stage with a square acting area with an apron. The rail is either off stage left or stage right depending on what the theatre desires. The second most common stage is the arena stage, which usually does not have a rigging system because of how it is set together. If an arena stage has a rigging system it is usually in the air as they try to hide these systems as much as possible. A black box theatre will not have a rigging system because it does not use backdrops or fly people. "Stage and seating not fixed. Instead, each can be altered to suit the needs of the play or the whim of the director." (Alderson, 2002, pg. 7) It does not have a rigging system because a black box is used as an imaginary theatre experience since the actors have to make the audience believe everything they do and say with having little to no set or props. A thrust stage may have a rigging system since it uses back drops but is also seen on three sides by the audience rather than one. The rail will usually be behind the backdrop either to the left or to the right, but occasionally directly behind it. The most challenging or difficult part of the riggings system is the stage that the theatre is …show more content…
It is a small proscenium that has a problem with rigging systems and grids because of being so small and crapped in the wings. If people put the rail on one side of the stage and vault the ceiling by about seven feet this will give you the optimal position for both cost and space. At Liberty Charter High School their full stage is length from proscenium to back wall is thirty feet. Since pipes should be about sixteen to eighteen inches apart and pipe should have a two-inch diameter, seventeen pipes will be the optimal to put up. Since seventeen is an odd number a contractor would go with fifteen instead. Going with fifteen will put you at three sets of five ropes on the fly. Twenty-five square feet will give you plenty of room to be able to fit fifteen ropes with more than enough room for about nine and a half inches in-between each one. This is plenty of room if needed for two people to be on one line together. Since the ceiling is fifty feet when standing on stage, the load rail should be about thirty to thirty-five feet in the air giving at least twenty-five feet for the batten to rise up. Since you can have two pulleys for a single rope to make pulling the ropes easier, it will make it so that for every foot you pull on the rope will allow the batten go two feet. This will make it easier on the rigger since they will not have to pull as much. With the batten going up riggers will
A proscenium stage is the standard stage with a square acting area with an apron. The rail is either off stage left or stage right depending on what the theatre desires. The second most common stage is the arena stage, which usually does not have a rigging system because of how it is set together. If an arena stage has a rigging system it is usually in the air as they try to hide these systems as much as possible. A black box theatre will not have a rigging system because it does not use backdrops or fly people. "Stage and seating not fixed. Instead, each can be altered to suit the needs of the play or the whim of the director." (Alderson, 2002, pg. 7) It does not have a rigging system because a black box is used as an imaginary theatre experience since the actors have to make the audience believe everything they do and say with having little to no set or props. A thrust stage may have a rigging system since it uses back drops but is also seen on three sides by the audience rather than one. The rail will usually be behind the backdrop either to the left or to the right, but occasionally directly behind it. The most challenging or difficult part of the riggings system is the stage that the theatre is …show more content…
It is a small proscenium that has a problem with rigging systems and grids because of being so small and crapped in the wings. If people put the rail on one side of the stage and vault the ceiling by about seven feet this will give you the optimal position for both cost and space. At Liberty Charter High School their full stage is length from proscenium to back wall is thirty feet. Since pipes should be about sixteen to eighteen inches apart and pipe should have a two-inch diameter, seventeen pipes will be the optimal to put up. Since seventeen is an odd number a contractor would go with fifteen instead. Going with fifteen will put you at three sets of five ropes on the fly. Twenty-five square feet will give you plenty of room to be able to fit fifteen ropes with more than enough room for about nine and a half inches in-between each one. This is plenty of room if needed for two people to be on one line together. Since the ceiling is fifty feet when standing on stage, the load rail should be about thirty to thirty-five feet in the air giving at least twenty-five feet for the batten to rise up. Since you can have two pulleys for a single rope to make pulling the ropes easier, it will make it so that for every foot you pull on the rope will allow the batten go two feet. This will make it easier on the rigger since they will not have to pull as much. With the batten going up riggers will