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How to Build a Small Stage

You are viewing an Expert Village Video Series:

Learn how to build a small stage & put on a play anywhere in this free stage set design & construction video series for actors, directors & tech crew.

There are 14 videos in this series:
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Views: 47,615 Videos in Series: 14

Tags: construction, tools, stage, acting, play, build, center, drama, act

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Summary: As the saying goes, all the world’s a stage—in life, we play a part in the drama of human history. Yet some of us prefer the smaller stages of the theatre. Acting is an ancient tradition of human storytelling, relating important moral and cultural values, teaching lessons, asking fundamental questions about the nature of man and his purpose on Earth. Actors and actress use their craft to deliver their characters’ tales center stage to a captive audience.

In order to create a sense of the “other,” stages are used as a means of separating the dramatic action from everyday life. This helps to eliminate distractions for the audience and focus the attention on the events in the play; in other words, the stage acts as a portal to another world, usually not so unlike our own.

In this free stage design and construction video series, learn how to build one of those small “portals.” Our expert—a director, actor, and producer himself—will show you tips and techniques for building a small, mobile stage that can be set up anywhere you or your acting troupe decide to give a performance. This step-by-step guide to stage construction includes clips on what tools and materials to use, how to measure and cut the frame, what type of bolts to use for ease of tear down, and how to build a secure decking. Let the theater come to its audience!

About the Expert

Expert: Grady Johnson is an actor, director and producer who has performed and worked in the theatre for over 25 years. Grady’s first company, Table and Chair Productions, created the comedy troupe Public Domain, which became the foundation of his career. Performing in Tampa, Florida for over five years, Public Domain worked in small clubs and theaters around central Florida. Grady moved to California in 1996 and created Strange Company with his business partner, Ray Wickel. Strange Company produces edgy and experimental theater in Los Angeles. “Theatre is where you make it happen; any place can be a theatre if people show up.”

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