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Concept drawing shows how adding multiple levels can create the perception of depth, making a stage look bigger than it actually is. (Photo of Blue Ridge Community Church, Forest, Virginia)
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After final construction, with lighting elements added, the stage offers striking visual element that conveys a creative, dynamic emotion. (Photo of Blue Ridge Community Church, Forest, Virginia)
Staging is one of those things that we take for granted. I mean we walk on it all of the time and never give it another thought. However, staging can be an integral part of both weekly worship as well as special productions.
So what do we mean when we talk about staging? In it's most basic terms we mean the stage or platform that the speaker or performers are on. Generally staging takes on the utilitarian purpose of getting a speaker or performer higher then the audience allowing them to be more easily seen. Such is the case of a general stage or platform. Additional platforms or risers on the main stage help to place a performer higher then others around so they can also be seen. This is common with drum, keyboard, and guitar risers.
Another common general use of staging is to use it to make your stage larger by expanding it out into the audience or filling areas such as the baptistery to make it useable acting space.
Staging can also be used to create visual interest on a stage. Depth is created by adding multiple levels for performers to play on, making the stage look larger than it really is.
One example of creating depth and adding a different acting level was at a church I recently visited that was getting ready for their Easter Passion Play. They had built risers on their stage and painted the front to look like it was a rock wall. However the front of the riser wasn't flat it was actually stairs. It created a great effect on stage as you didn't know it had stairs on the front until an actor actually came down them. The risers allowed for a main acting area higher than the main stage while the steps allowed a mass of people to stand on different levels making it easy to see their faces during the big chorus numbers. The amount of construction that was required wasn't that great, but the effect was pretty stunning. In addition to the wall and stair effect they also had several risers and ramps that were dressed to look like a riverbank, adding to the theatrical look of their presentation. While their platforms were custom-built by the church, a rental house could have supplied the equipment.
If you plan on renting staging, the first thing that you should check on is what size platforms your local company can provide. Typically rental decks come in 4x4-foot squares or 4x8-foot rectangles and at various heights. Being able to design in a way that fits your space using only the stock platforms available for rental is your most cost effective rental option. Generally rental companies can supply custom sizes given enough lead-time, but it will cost you extra. In those situations it might be best to use as much rental staging as you can and build the custom filler pieces in-house.
The other option is to build the staging yourself. If you plan to build your own risers, here are a few things to think about. First remember that you are going to have to store whatever you build. Staging built out of 2x4 and 2x6 lumber while strong, is also heavy and bulky. Steel framed decks are as strong and generally lighter and require less room to store, but are more time consuming and expensive to build.
Regardless of what style platform you decide to build, be sure to build your staging strong enough to support the load that you are putting on it. If you are only putting one or two actors standing on a riser it can be built with a much lighter construction then a deck that is going to have 20 people on it. Also remember that people dancing and jumping on decks create a “live load” that puts much higher stresses on the staging. If in doubt play it safe and consult a structural engineer.
Recently a school in California had a stage collapse during a theater competition dropping the students onstage into the orchestra pit. Thankfully no one was killed but many students were injured, some with broken bones. While the final accident report hasn't yet been released, preliminary reports indicate that the fifty or so students dancing in unison on the collapsed portion of the stage stressed it to the point of failure.
Given the number of stages that are in the world, accidents like this are fairly rare, but we always want to keep safety in mind. We don't want to read about a stage collapse at your church.
Two books that are a great resources for building staging are “Stock Scenery Construction: A Handbook” by Bill Raoul and “The Backstage Handbook: An Illustrated Almanac of Technical Information” by Paul Carter and George Chiang.
The “Stock Scenery Construction: A Handbook” is probably a bit better when it comes to building staging, but “The Backstage Handbook” is a great all around technical manual that covers building basic risers. Either or both are excellent additions to your technical library and staples in the theater technical community.
So as you prepare for Easter (or just another week of worship), quit taking your staging's support for granted and consider making some changes that will give your service or program a new and unique look.
