The Back Stage Pages

Stage Construction

Stage construction normally takes place on the two weekends before the production is staged. It is quite a labour intensive job and new crew are always welcome - just wear some old clothes! This is usually coordinated by Eric Fisher and Don Wilkinson.

The first job is to pull apart the small stage, which all has to be moved out of the way. Then the trestles are brought down from the loft (you definitely need a head for heights). These are set out with the stage tops placed, in the correct sequence, on top. The whole things then has to be bolted togehter - by crawling underneath.

Next the metal framework that supports the curtains and the flats goes up, if you liked Meccano then you'll enjoy this part! Again the metalwork is stored in the loft and requires some skillful handling down.

The flats are kept in a shed at the bottom of the car park and have to be carried in, then assembled. Again it's a bit like a big flat-pack kit.

At the same time, the boards that for the proscenium arch above the stage are delicately hung. This requires some more fearless ladder work. Finally the main curtains and side tabs can be hung, at which point we usually find the opening/closing mechanism has snagged again!

Over the following week or two the flats are painted under the direction (usually) of Terry Tooby. You don't need to be Rolf Harris to join in, just reasonably accurate with a paint brush and good at following instructions. It's good fun and very rewarding.

At the end of the production the reverse process happens, usually in just one morning! Click here to see some photos of this in action.