Label the Stage Trivia Quiz

In the olden days (and some theatres still may do this) stages were raked upward toward the back. Today it is the audience that often goes upward as the seats go to the back. Therefore, upstage was literally in the back and higher. So downstage was toward the front, and the second part of the position name describes where it is from left to right, which is in the center; so number one is downstage center.

Designing a set takes a lot of work. The scenic designer has to work with the director, the technical director, the customer, and others who may be involved to figure out what is needed as far as the style, the colors, how much room is there, where the actors need to walk (since there can't be things in the way), etc. Also, there is a concern about where the lighting is, as an actor never wants to be in the dark, unless there's a reason for it such as to get off the stage.

Flats can be permanent on the set such as house walls, in plays that are braced so they stand the whole show. Often in musicals, they are flown in through the fly system above as there are multiple sets. In this case, they are connected to the battens (in the US) or bars (in the UK) with strong ropes or cables.

The flats are often made using some plywood to create the frame, and muslin (a type of cotton fabric created from a plain weave). There can also be windows or doors and made as a window or door would be.

Center stage is as it sounds, it's right in the middle of the stage. Center stage is where a lot of big solos will start or end (or both) in a musical production, when only one or two people are singing the number.

This is such an important part of the stage that theatres all over have even been named Center Stage Theatre (sometimes spelled Theater as well).

Since the stage was originally raked up, the front of the stage is considered downstage. The directions are always given from the point of view of the actor facing the audience so while it looks like it's left to the audience, it would be right to the actor on the stage when he is facing the audience.

According to tradition, actors were not known for being very bright, so they made the directions simple for the actors so they would not have to think as they acted. Having been involved in theatre since the mid-1990s and having known actors all my life, I can say there are many very intelligent actors, but that is the tradition.

An actor enters from what is called the wings. They will see on their scripts, "enter upstage left" or sometimes "enter USL." It will tell them upstage, downstage, or centerstage, and then left, right or center. From there the actor knows where to stand in the wings while waiting to enter backstage for their cue when it's time to go on.

Backstage is often associated with the part of the stage that is not on the set. However, the backstage is actually anything that is not onstage or in the house (where the audience sits). So the green room (where the actors hang out when not onstage, the light booth, the sound booth (they are sometimes together), and the fly system, that is all considered backstage technically. People think of backstage as being behind the stage, but it may be to the side; sometimes the green room can be in another part of the building.

The lights and sound may be upfront above the audience, so they can see what is going on when they do the light and sound depending on how the theatre is set up.

A platform is sometimes also called a riser or a rostrum. Sometimes different levels are needed for different scenes, such as to create the illusion of a different room in a house. They are usually composed of a frame, a piece of plywood for the actor to walk on, and the legs to stand on.

The set and prop line is a fuzzy one. Looking at the set right now, one could assume that everything is a set piece without the clue that the actor will pour something out of it. A set piece is something there, but not used by the actor. However, once the actor uses it (picks it up and pours from it) it is now a prop. It's a fine line. As far as unmoveable items (walls, furniture, etc.) that is all set. This is regarding the moveable items.

Usually, backstage the person in charge of props will have a table set up on each side of the stage with the props needed for actors who enter with props on that side of the stage. They will often be labeled with tape that glows in the dark so the actors can see where their props are easily and quickly when it's time to go on.

One of the cardinal rules in theatre is not to touch other people's props. And most prop people (sometimes referred to as "prop Nazis" if really bad) will tell you not even to touch your own props until you need them to go on the stage. And the second rule, after not touching props, is to always put them back where you took them from when you come off stage, or hand them off to someone so they get put back. These may seem trivial, but having done props for shows, I can tell you it's one of the hardest jobs I have done in the theatre. It takes a lot of time and work to gather the props, and the last thing you want is to have the props destroyed or lost.

On a stationary set (used in most plays) there are three walls. However, the fourth wall is not there because if it was the audience could not see what was going on, but it's assumed (imagined) there would be a wall there. Actors on the stage typically do not interact with the audience because in character their characters see the wall that would be there as if the house is completed.

In musicals, there are not always walls, but that fourth wall concept is still there.

Occasionally, actors will break the fourth wall. For example, in "Peter Pan", when Tinkerbell is dying Peter Pan pleads with the audience to clap to save her. Or in "Rent", when Maureen asks people to "Moo with me."