THE FLOOR PLAN
Another preproduction responsibility is the laying of the floor plan in the rehearsal hall (and or stage - some theatre rehearse on their stage. I would not encourage this as it creates havoc on your load in schedule.) Generally, there are two kinds of scenic plates developed for a production. The first is the designer plates developed by the scenic designer. This set of plates includes a floor plan and a section. The plates following the floor plan and section are the details of each scenic element and built prop in the production. The stage manager is entitled to their own complete set of designer plates from the scenic designer. Another set of designer plates then go to the technical director where they use that information to create the technical plates necessary to build the production. It is not necessary for the stage manager to have the technical plates, though I often find it useful to get the detailed plates on any mechanical operations for my production. This information is often useful when I am trouble shooting when the information provided by rehearsals is applied to the actual physical production being built.
The first thing you want to notice when you get the designer plates is the title block in the bottom right corner (usually) of the first plate. It lists the production, the director, the designer, the draftsman (if there is one), the date of any revisions, and most importantly…the scale it was drafted in. You will want to note this information as you will be using a scale ruler to recreate the floor plan in your rehearsal hall.
The top plate is most often the floor plan. Your production analysis has given you the essential information regarding your production. You know what space is required and what the show needs in terms of the physical lay out of the space. You will want to spend some time studying this plate as it applies to your production. For example, if you are doing a production of Fences you will note how the designer has created the yard of the Maxson household. You will note the house where the Maxson’s live, the porch on which they sit, the door and the window called for in the stage directions. You will note how the actors get on and off the stage. You will note any staircases and changes in elevation. You will note the physical relationship of the set as designed and how it fits into the stage space. You will want to see that it conforms to local fire codes. In every theatre I have worked in it is against fire regulations for any fixed scenery to break the plane of the smoke pocket. You will want to familiarize yourself with your own local fire regulations to see what is allowed and what isn’t in your own theatre.
Once I have given the floor plan a thorough study I then look through the following plates being sure that I read all the designers notes on construction. The section plate is a side view of the design. It is as if the stage has been cut in half and you are looking at it from 'the side'. It should also tell you which side you are looking from. It gives you the elevations of all the masking, the line sets used, the line sets that are dedicated to lighting and any other pertinent information necessary for the production. The detail plates list the construction information and concerns for each piece of scenery on the set. If the props are significant enough to warrant it you will see a detail on those particular props and how they are to be constructed. This is very important information and you will want to study it carefully. For example, in a recent production a vending cart was called for by the stage directions. There was not enough time to construct a rehearsal cart so a small rolling tea tray was substituted for rehearsal purposes. The actual cart was a good seven feet tall and about three foot by four foot square. It was important to remind the director while they were staging the show that the rehearsal cart was significantly smaller than the actual cart. This gentle reminder saved time in the transfer of the staging from rehearsal to stage as the director was able to avoid staging anyone behind the cart.
Check sight lines. These will be indicated by two circles with 'X' in the middle to denote the side line from extreme right and left in the audience. There will also be one on the section to note sight lines for those sitting in the front row.
Once you have familiarized yourself with all the plates in the packet you should plan on a visit to the theatre you will be loading in the scenery Bear in mind that those pesky fire regulations mentioned above apply to areas of egress. You can't block doors, access channels, fire extinguishers, roof door access, fire curtain access, etc. All of these need to be taken into account. On multi-set musicals the packing of the offstage scenery needs to be carefully considered. A visit to the theatre with your floorplans is a very good plan.
You will need a few supplies prior to laying down your floor plan. You will need a scale ruler. Bear in mind there are two types of scale rulers. One is an architect’s scale ruler and the other is an engineer’s scale ruler. You want the architects scale ruler. You will need a straight edge, scale ruler, pencil, and a large triangle (I find it helpful to have two triangles, one an Isosceles triangle and the other a 30-60-90 degree triangle. You will want large enough triangles to reach from your reference line to the back of the set on the floor plan. These are to take measurements on your floor plan prior to laying the floor plan down in the rehearsal hall. In actually laying down your floor plan you will need marking tape, tape measures, and chalk.
The reference line is the line I create on the floor plan that I take my downstage measurements from. It does not have to be the smoke pocket. You won't indicate the smoke pocket in rehearsal anyway The designer should have supplied you a center line on your floor plan. You take measurements from stage left and stage right from that line. The reference line at the bottom of my floor plan I create my self. Often it is the smoke pocket line as that is the easiest straight line available on the floor plan. But this is not always the case. I work in one theatre where there is no smoke pocket. What is important to remember is that you create the downstage reference line that is easiest for you to take measurements. It is important to note that these plates are yours to mark on. A lot of my stage managers feel uncomfortable in the beginning marking up their floor plans. It is as if there is something sacred about them and they dare not mar them. There is not. Please feel free to use your floor plan in any way necessary to further your production. This includes writing on them.
Lay your straight edge (I actually use a drafting T-Square and place the floor plan on my drafting table at home) along your down stage reference line. I like to use masking tape to secure the straight edge and floor plan to the drafting table so they don’t move while I am taking my measurements. Then, with my triangles I plot the key points on my floor plan by taking measurements both to the center reference line and to the downstage reference line. I write the measurements right on the plan so I can refer to them in the rehearsal hall while I am laying down the floor plan.
It is important to include all the information the actor needs to rehearse the play. All doorways, stairs, windows, platforms, ramps, legs, etc. need to be included in your lay out. It is not important to lay out the backstage array as the actor will have plenty of time to familiarize themselves with that when they arrive on stage. I also only plot the key points, for example; if I am laying out a wall on which there is a door and a window, I will lay out the two ends of the wall then measure along the wall for the correct placement of the door and window on that wall rather than try to drop all the points to a reference line. The fewer points I have to take to the reference line means I have fewer opportunities to be off in my measurements. You want to be a reasonably accurate as you can in laying down your floor plan. However if I am an inch off I won’t fret too terribly hard. Actors will refer to your layout though rarely do they understand totally the relationship. By that I mean an actor will stand nearly on top of line in the rehearsal room little realizing that on the set their body is actually partially through a wall. The important thing is to be as accurate as possible while not spending abnormal amounts of time being verbatim with your floor plan. Also bear in mind that tape has dimension. Always align your tape to the same side of the measurement. For example, while plotting my dimensions in the rehearsal hall I always put the onstage side of my tape to the measurement. That way I am consistent in both up and down stage measurements as I am in my left to right measurements.
Depending on the kind of production you are doing you may want to also include the physical space of the theatre. The proscenium arch and legs may need to be included if they play a part in staging the production. In musicals they often define the entrance and the exits so you will need to have them in your rehearsal hall. If I am laying down both legs, prosceniums, downstage edges, etc. I try to use the same color of tape for all of those aspects of the design. For me it is always a dark blue. I want colors that pop off the floor for the scenery. A dark blue indicates to me that it is a leg or other physical obstruction of the performance space.I almost always include masking elements in musicals. I make certain that my masking elements are all in the same color of tape (usually a neutral color) and I allow my brighter color tapes for the scenery units. It is also useful to mark the center line as a dotted line up and down stage. I have a habit of using blue as my masking and stage elements and white as my center line and dance number colors. It is not important to include borders in your floor plan as they have little effect on the actors movements on and off the stage. Legs have a direct relationship to the actors, entrances and exits, and moving scenery so I make certain to include those. Also, with drops I make certain to label which drop is which on both sides of the rehearsal room right on the dotted line that represents them. This is beneficial in the staging process as it is a quick reference to what playing space is available to the director and the choreographer.
In older musicals you will come up with "in one" scenes. The definition of "in one" comes from being in the "in one alley" or the space between the downstage most masking legs and the next set of legs upstage. That alley is called the "in one" alley. Each alley between the legs and moving upstage is a different "in" alley. Five alleys up and downs stage would give you in one, in two, in three, etc. It was common to fly a drop in the "one" alley and change the scenery behind it. Thus the name an "in one scene".
The kind of tape you use depends on the surface you are laying the tape down upon. Our rehearsal spaces in my school are sprung wooden floors. I find the adhesive quality of cloth tape to be too gluey to put down on these floors therefore we use colored electrical tape instead. The cloth tape can actually pull some of the wood up with it on a sprung wooden floor thereby damaging the floor itself. (It IS the stage managers responsibility to remove the taped floor plan in the rehearsal hall once rehearsals have moved onto the stage, so keep in mind that others will be using the space after and remove your taped floor plan at the earliest possible convenience once you are through with it. My stage managers need constant reminders of this fact.)
Deciding which color tape you use is simply a personal choice. If your production has different levels you will note this by using different colored tapes. It is also traditional to put heights of platforms as well. At the downstage corner of each platform height I indicate in white the height of the platform. White three inch transfer letters are very useful for this and can be found at any art store. I like the three inch size. I find it useful to use a color of tape that will stand out in the rehearsal room. For example; blue stands out well on a blonde wooden floor. On a black rubber or masonite floor a brighter color such as yellow may be a better choice.
On multi-set productions it is important to denote each set with a separate color tape. I include all flying pieces and drops as dotted tape lines. If each flying piece is used to compliment a specific set on stage I use the same color tape for that flying piece. When the show warrants, I also highlight the paper floor plan in the same color as the tape I use. I then pin the floor plans behind my stage managers desk in rehearsal for easy reference for the director, choreographer and myself.
Dance numbers are numbers placed downstage in the rehearsal hall to assist the choreographer in staging the musical numbers for the show. Usually in two foot increments, I use three inch white transfer letters placed at the further most downstage part of the set facing so a dancer standing upstage can look down and read them. 0’0” is placed on the center line and every two feet to stage right and stage left I place the appropriate number. This continues until the dancing area of the floor plan is covered. Be consistent in the way you place the numbers. If each number is bisected exactly by the foot measurement be sure to place it the same way to both stage right and stage left.
Sometimes these measurements are transferred to the stage as well. While designers don’t like to see numbers gracing the front of their scene designs on stage, there are ways to conceal the numbers from the audiences view. Be sure to work with your designers if this is the case. Precision dancing needs a lot of help. Marking the stage the same way as the rehearsal room is marked may be an important part of your transfer from the rehearsal hall to the stage.
Vocabulary:
Floor Plan
Section
Designer Plates
Technical Plates
Smoke Pocket
Kinds of Tape
Reference Line
Center Line
"In One" Scene