The Magic of Theatre Design: Crafting Stages that Tell a Story

Whether you’re an event planner, a theater manager or any other position that requires a stage and a theater, crafting the perfect stage is one of the biggest challenges in the process. It’s also fun and exciting, but you’ll have to do it right or you risk losing points for the décor.

This isn’t all about functionality, but also about the actual design. All the scenes will be captured in different photographs from all angles. You want everything to testify to your perfection.

And to win at all these, you’ll need the stage design to stand out. While each event will have its own requirements, here are a few ideas that can make your stage design theater stand out in the crowd.

Your Mindset Before Starting

You have to be creative in order to make your stage design for theater stand out. That means what works for some people won’t work for everyone else. To succeed, you must think out of the box.

Your production is unique, so feel free to think out of the box. A stage is the same in every theater. They’re all the same, no changes whatsoever. Instead of decorating a stage, try transforming it into the space you require.

Got a play that’s supposed to be outdoors? Turn the stage into a garden. You get the point, right? It’s not a stage, but a space.

Get Rid of Irrelevant Clutter

Sure, you want some clutter when your play is a mad scientist’s monologue and you need to create a busy laboratory with all sorts of random things. But otherwise, chances are you’ll need to get rid of anything that could be considered clutter.

Irrelevant clutter isn’t the one that’s part of the play, but the one that makes the performance look like an actual performance. Your goal is to transpose your audience to a different world, rather than show a performance.

This means no lights should be visible. Maybe masks some of the speakers. There should be no cords or laptops around either. And this isn’t necessarily about the stage, but about everything in the theater.

For instance, you could get some hanging plants on the walls of the theater, too, if the action takes place outdoors. Maybe chuck some old school posters on the walls if the action is in France during the 1940s.

Any small bit of decoration can turn the theater into part of the play, giving your audience a more authentic experience.

Plants Can and Will Help

No matter where the action takes place, chances are you’ll do well with some plants. And this isn’t really about big heavy pots that will stay on the stage forever. Instead, it’s about small details that give the theater a more comfortable feeling.

For example, you could get some faux hanging plants on the walls, as well as a few trees in each corner or maybe some tall pots. Once the lights go off, they become irrelevant. But if you play your cards right, they can also become part of the play.

You could enhance such decorations with some ambient lighting. Again, make sure there are no cords ruining the décor. Also, the lighting fixtures should match the era of the play. If the action takes place during the 1930s, you could do with some industrial lighting fixtures with warm light by each artificial plant.

Lighting Can Make the Difference

Lighting isn’t just suitable for ambient spots, but it also changes the whole design of a stage design theater.

There are more things to consider here. Good lighting can make poor quality props look professional.

Think about the lens color, the texture and the intensity, not to mention whether you need cold or warm light.

If you’re in charge of the lighting, make sure you get second opinions from professionals. If you’re not, find the person dealing with it and make sure every little aspect is taken into consideration.

From an environmental point of view, LED lights are preferred because they produce less heat compared to traditional lighting. You’ll save money on energy and the stage won’t get too hot. However, consider the action and play as well.

If the action takes place 100 years ago, warm traditional lighting is more authentic and can showcase your stage design for theater in a more effective manner.

Perfect Props from Every Angle

Whether it comes to faux or real plants, decorations, pieces of furniture or other things in terms of stage design theater, you need to make sure everything looks great from every angle.

Certain things may look great from the first few rows in the audience. They may look great while you’re on stage. But from the wrong angle and with the wrong light, they could look cheap from a longer distance. Even worse, some people in the audience may not even be able to identify small things.

That’s why once your décor is ready, hang around different locations in the seating area and view it from more angles. If something looks wrong from an angle, change it and see how it looks from other angles too. You’ll need to consider everyone in there.

Check the Sound

Based on the size of the theater, you may need to amplify it. If it’s a small stage, you could probably do without it. If it’s a big one, you may want some amplifiers, not to mention speakers all around the seating area to ensure everyone can get it.

The thing here is to perform repetitions and see the level of sound all the way to the back. If you can barely hear, chances are elder members of the audience won’t hear a thing. Plus, think about the murmur, which may reduce the sound.

Professional testing gets the job done. If it’s not perfect, work on it. And once again, hide it well, rather than leave wires everywhere.

Wrong Angles for Technical Issues

Once again, if people in the audience see things like cords, staff dressed normally or modern technology behind curtains or by the stage, your event will lose its authenticity.

Stage design theater isn’t a general thing, but it must consider every guest. For instance, while everything looks perfect from the distance, people in the first rows might be able to see cords, people hiding behind curtains, small things like bottles of water for hydration and so on.

All these things cancel the authenticity of your play. You’ll also need to think about microphones and how they’re incorporated. Consider anything that people may see, but it’s not related to the play.

All these things will ruin the overall feeling. It gets even worse when the action takes place in a different era, but people get to see modern props.

In the end, a stage isn’t just a platform but a magic bridge where stories come alive. Crafting it thought fully can turn words into worlds.