When going to the theatre, most people usually think only of the actors and the action, but there is much more to theatre than just these two aspects. Theatre-work also includes sounds; lights; and properties, otherwise known as props. All these other aspects make the theatre more complicated than it would seem to the unaware eye.
In order to create any type of tone, a theatre needs the appropriate sound and soundman. Sound includes any of the noises that are heard during the productions, such as talk, doorbells, phones, et cetera. Without the right sounds and sounds in the right places, the viewer would not understand exactly what is happening. For example, if the phone rings and the actor answers the door, the scene loses some of its effect. Also, the actor would certainly be in an embarrassing situation if his sound cue never occurred or came too late, because he would delay in waiting for it and appear to have forgotten his lines.
Another important aspect of theatre is lighting. Without lighting, the audience, naturally, would not know what is happening. However, with the lighting, the director can create a new type of special effect. If he uses squared pieces of different colored plastic, a device called “gels,” he can set the mood of the action. For example, when he uses a red or amber gel, he makes the moment one during the daytime and warm or hot; if he uses a blue gel, the moment becomes night and cool or cold; if he combines the two colors, the effect is a cool day maybe in the winter. By using special lighting, the director can also break the stage down into smaller sections, which will allow him to have the following scene already setup without the audience’s knowledge.
Properties, or props, are just as important to the theatre as any other aspect. Without the props, the actors would become “mimes,” which has a whole different place in the acting world. Obviously, props are necessary to the stage, because the actor would need something to answer when the phone rings and so forth, but they are also necessary because they are the setting. If a character’s personality is supposed to be flighty and disorganized, his house or office should be cluttered, symbolic to this personality type. However, if the props are not setup for this effect, it is a lost opportunity and the audience may not understand why this character acts the way he does.
These parts of the theatre are important to it, because they help the viewer know what to expect or to understand why certain things happen. Yet at the same time, they do not make the other parts of the theatre any less important. Each part that makes up a production is as equally important as the other, because without one, the others are, for the most part, useless.
So, next time you are at the theatre, look for the beauty of the theatre and the production by finding just what the director makes you see subconsciously, the remarkable blending of the parts and how well they work together.
©1987/Virginia Lynn Emrick