A Brief History of Theatre Architecture & Stage Technology
(1650-1900 Theatre: Lighting Advances)
– The intensity of gaslight could be easily controlled with
valves and pipes.
– This system was called a “gas panel” or “gas table.”
– Altering the flow of gas allowed technicians to control the
brightness and intensity of light on stage.
– This was, in effect, the first dimmer board (light board)!
–
Group master controls (submasters) are in theory identical to the
control methods used on gas tables.
– Gas light still offered challenges, though:
– Obviously, it was a fire hazard…
– Gas lamps produced a significant amount of heat
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– Gas also released unpleasant odors in the theatre
At the gas table, lights around the theatre could be
carefully controlled for brightness/intensity.
Image:
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1w2jvx/how_elaborate_were_special_effects_on_stage/
A Brief History of Theatre Architecture & Stage Technology
(1650-1900 Theatre: Almost Modern!)
– Thomas Drummond, a British engineer, invented
limelight in 1816.
– Limelight is created when a sharp jet of flame is focused
against a block of limestone.
– As the limestone incandesces, it produces light that is both
very bright and relatively soft.
– When coupled with a mirrored reflector, limelight
produced a cohesive beam of light that could reach the
stage from the house and still be brighter than other areas
of the stage. This was the first follow spot!
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– How Limelight Works:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=4Iw6Hzu0hcQ
A Brief History of Theatre Architecture & Stage Technology
(1650-1900 Theatre: Almost Modern!)
– The first electric light used in theatre was the carbon arc
lamp.
– Light is produced when electricity arcs between two
electrodes.
– This light is extremely white and bright.
– By 1860 the Paris Opera had developed a projector,
followspot, and several effects using carbon arc lamps.
– Thomas Edison developed the practical incandescent
lamp in 1879.
– Europe and North America rapidly adopted electricity
after this point.
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– By 1900, almost all theatres had converted to electricity.
A diagram of the carbon arc lamp.
Image: http://www.kbrhorse.net/streetlights/glossary01.html
A Brief History of Theatre Architecture & Stage Technology
(1650-1900 Theatre: Almost Modern!)
– Conversion to electricity did not immediately change the
methods or techniques of stage lighting.
– Footlights, borderlights, and winglights were all still used in the
same way as gaslight, just with electricity instead.
–
Borderlights – any lights hung above the stage, behind the border
curtains. In this context they were striplights (long, narrow, troughlike fixtures usually containing 8-12 lamps).
–
Winglights – lights hung on either side of the stage, usually
concealed by leg curtains. In this context, they were striplights (long,
narrow, trough-like fixtures usually containing 8-12 lamps).
– Intensity was controlled with resistance dimmers, using the
same methods developed with gas tables.
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– Resistance dimmers continued to be standard until the late
1940’s.
That’s a light board with resistance dimmers. YEAH.
Image: http://iangrey.org/Mercia/?p=169
A Brief History of Theatre Architecture & Stage Technology
(A note on the evolution of theatre architecture.)
– The various shapes of theatre spaces have been
determined in large part by the values of the sponsoring
society.
– In ancient Greece, everyone except slaves was considered of
equal rank, so seating was democratic and unsegregated.
– In the southern Renaissance in Europe, most theatres were
built by the aristocracy for their own enjoyment.
–
The visual illusions of forced perspective scenery were best seen
from a single point in the center of the house, called “the Duke’s
seat,” located in the second-level box in the back of the house.
– Around the time of the French Revolution, seats began to
appear in the pit (for commoners) as various societies
became more democratic.
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–
These seats are the more expensive ones today – go figure!
Seats in the “pit” are now common. Can you see
“the Duke’s seat” in this theatre?
Image: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/242209286182411685/