The distinct power of theatre is that it is a living, breathing, organic, expression – never twice the same. It can only happen live, in person, in real time, and in a shared space. Fortunately, that shared space can be found most anywhere – on a fully equipped proscenium stage, or in the intimacy of your family room. Theatre can happen in a gym, cafeteria, classroom, fellowship hall, or sanctuary. It can happen indoors or out, in the round, in a thrust configuration, or standard proscenium style. We’ve seen Drama in the Driveway, The Playground Players, and Broadway in the Basement. Theatre can happen anywhere.
In any location, directors have a good deal of control over the physical environment they create. The key is to allow their directing choices to be greatly informed by their playing spaces. A musical on a gym floor has very different directing demands than a musical on a classic proscenium stage. Directors must thoroughly assess the elements of their spaces and plan accordingly.
Assessing physical elements involves a barrage of questions: Indoors or out? How are guests greeted? How are guests seated? How much space between audience and playing area? What is the configuration of the room and playing area? What is the sound situation? The wing and backstage cross-over options? The ability to drape and mask? And on and on. This blog will focus on 3 major questions of the many factors to be considered:
What Will Our Audience See?
What Will Our Audience Hear?
What Will Our Audience Feel?
What Will Our Audience See?
We often describe blocking, staging, and choreography as telling the story to those who cannot hear. So, if we watch our show without the ability to hear a sound, will we catch the gist nonetheless? Will we see the closeness of connection? The joy of dance? The frustration of obstacles, etc? Because we live in an image-driven culture, our first priority is to be strategic about what our audience can see. What we see trumps all other senses.
Our audience must know where to focus at all times, but especially during the tent-pole moments of our story, or when key information must be conveyed. In our screen-obsessed culture, we’ve been programmed to rely on the camera to tell us where to look. As directors, our blocking choices serve as the audience's “camera lens.” We are telling the audience, “Pay attention here.” “This is the one to watch." This is particularly challenging in major ensemble shows such as COME FROM AWAY, where dialogue and focus must shift quickly and constantly. Lighting can also help to direct focus.
Generally, what needs to be in focus needs to be closest to the audience. It is possible to pull focus to a major moment upstage, such as EVITA’s iconic, “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina.” However, consider the set, lighting, costumes, and ensemble blocking (they face upstage) required to pull this off. A rare success.
Ideally, our actors are also blocked so their faces are as open as possible. “Bring it down!” “Open up!” and “Cheat out!” are among our most common director mantras. Even if a student does not project well, we learn a lot (hopefully) by watching their face. Remember Covid theatre, with masked faces? So much is lost when we cannot see faces.
Continuing our discussion of focus and what is seen, let’s now consider levels and elevations. If the audience and actors are on the same level, everything below the actor's waist is largely lost except for the first few rows. In these situations, our directing, staging, and choreography must focus on the upper body. Avoid blocking or choreography that requires floor work, sitting, or lying down. If actors must sit, have them sit on a cube.
Regardless of our playing space, we recommend multi-purpose stage cubes as a priority investment. These are a must for a one-level performance space, but even on an elevated stage, cubes add much interest and dimension, not to mention allowing all faces to be seen. This is especially important in academic theatre. Ensure that the cubes are light-weight, but sturdy. Unless we are blessed with fully realized sets, with levels built in, stage cubes can be used for practically every show we produce.
If our stage is elevated, double check audience sight-lines. Test and consider all sight-lines from various seats in the house, especially the extreme sides in the front rows. Make sure costumes are appropriate for the front row view, including skirt lengths, with actors both standing, and seated.
If our playing area is wide and shallow, we block, stage, and choreograph in left-to-right patterns, to take advantage of the given performance space. If narrow and deep, we use elevations to take full advantage of upstage real estate. Staging and dance that moves in a forwards and backwards motion can have a powerful effect when used strategically.
2. What Will Our Audience Hear?
Juxtaposed with what can be gleaned by those who cannot hear, we strive to direct the audio aspects of a show – dialogue, vocals, accompaniment, and sound effects – so our story can be fully grasped by those who cannot see. With eyes closed, test that dialogue and vocals can be not only fully heard, but that the action of the story can be followed from any seat in the house. Our cast and crew will not be able to be fully objective, since they already know what’s happening. This exercise is most effective with guests.
Directors must fully assess the mic situation in their performance spaces. Projection, bringing actors downstage as far as possible, elevating if possible, blocking to force faces downstage, opening up, and cheating out are some of the many devices directors might employ. Remind students to project like there is a hard-of-hearing grandmother in the back row.
Outdoor productions present unique audio challenges. Dialogue is often lost in outside spaces. For those without access to a stadium-grade sound system, we recommend selecting more familiar titles for outdoor performance spaces. Fairy tales and Disney classics are great options because the stories are widely familiar. Audiences don’t have to catch every word. We advise against producing complex, highly cerebral, or verbally driven stories outdoors. Even classics such as OUR TOWN, though universally familiar, are verbally driven. Much to hear in its brilliance, not so much to see.
If audio is a consistent problem in your venue, another option is to lean into more physical storytelling. Consider titles that don't depend on the audience comprehending every scene and lyric. Dance driven shows such as THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE and 42nd STREET are largely told visually. You might also note the visual drive of the current Broadway hit WATER FOR ELEPHANTS. FBSM offers THE PARABLES, a highly visual show that helps us to imagine and internalize the Parables of Jesus in contemporary settings. Within the show is “Castles,” a dance-driven retelling of the Parable of the House Upon the Sand. These types of projects are a great option for venues with audio challenges.
3. What Will Our Audience Feel?
What our audience feels begins the moment they walk in the door. The greeting, environment in any “lobby” area, the seating configuration, distance from and shape of the playing area, the dimming of the lights, the smell of any refreshments, etc. These all contribute to the visceral experience of our guests, subconsciously cueing what they can expect, and how they are to behave. Strategic and creative environments will help directors to achieve their goals.
Community building – both onstage and off – is a major objective of faith-based theatre. However, traditional theatre seating is not communal. How might it be possible to encourage community building in our venues? Maybe we leave time and designate a space for a few minutes of socializing at some point in the show? Or, might community be created with our seating configuration? Audience configuration has a powerful effect on the visceral experience. Will tables fit? Tables force eye contact and interaction. There’s nothing like refreshments to create community. Even in standard theatre seating, maybe chairs can be turned toward the playing area for the show, with more communal seating during the “social” time? To test various audience experiences, consider trying theatre in-the-round, with the audience encircling the playing space, set dead center. Maybe try a thrust configuration, with the audience on 3 sides.
Your work as a director – telling God-honoring stories – is of eternal significance. For you, for your students and their families, for your school community, and beyond. Those stories can be well-told in a Broadway theatre, or in our family rooms. Transformation happens when humans connect to one another and to the Almighty, regardless of performance space. Wherever the Lord has you in this season, we are here to support you in your important work.
*Blog Edits by James Dawson Fobes.
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