performing on a raked stage- Page 2
performing on a raked stage
PJ
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#25re: performing on a raked stage
Posted: 12/31/05 at 12:59amFor some people, it's nothing. But for others with neck or back problems, it can be pure hell.
Tag
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/19/05
#26re: performing on a raked stage
Posted: 12/31/05 at 2:09pm
The Lion King also rakes at times, does it not?
In regards to a rake in something like Wicked, you can not visibly (that I remember) see the defining line where the stage begins to rake upwards. So does that mean that the rake starts all the way downstage and the ENTIRE stage is slightly raked until its highest point upstage?
millie_dillmount
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/22/04
#27re: performing on a raked stage
Posted: 12/31/05 at 2:13pmI am kind of having a difficult time visualizing this...the question is...why? Why aren't stages just...flat? I'm assuming it has to do with scenary issues, no?
"We like to snark around here. Sometimes we actually talk about theater...but we try not to let that get in our way." - dramamama611
Tag
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/19/05
#28re: performing on a raked stage
Posted: 12/31/05 at 2:16pmI believe it has more to do with audience sightlines. Or rather is it easier for the audience to view the upstage area and the action that is happening there.
#29re: performing on a raked stage
Posted: 12/31/05 at 2:31pm
We had one for "1776," and it was truly freaky. Once we moved the show out of our rehearsal space and onto the main set with the raked floor, it took me (at least) several rehearsals before I wasn't staggering around like a drunken idiot on it.
But shows have been using them since the dawn of man. I think they can be very effective. Particularly if you want to make the set look larger or more expansive than it actually is. It's a great optical illusion from the audience's POV.
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
musicaltheater1
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/19/05
#30re: performing on a raked stage
Posted: 1/2/06 at 12:04pmOy...bad for the back...bad for the back..bad for the ankles! Completely designed for viewing purposes only, not for performers. Start doing Gyrotonic (almost like part Pilates, part Yoga) before, during, and after the show. This exercise should strengthen your back, stomach, and legs to help you with the rake. If you're in Manhattan, start searching for gyms or spas that offer that. Break a leg.
"I love acting. It is so much more real than life." Oscar Wilde
"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." Aldous Huxley
"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." Aldous Huxley
#31re: performing on a raked stage
Posted: 1/2/06 at 12:12pm
You know if you read the topic line wrong, it says "a naked stage".
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I remember days
Or at least I try
But as years go by
They're sort of haze
And the bluest ink
Isn't really sky
And at times I think
I would gladly die
For a day of sky
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
And Starbucks will use the words 'large' and 'small', not pretentious crap like grande and tall.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"You could get away with anything if you call it art and tell people who don't like it that it's cutting edge culture." --vmlinnie
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Updated On: 1/2/06 at 12:12 PM
I remember days
Or at least I try
But as years go by
They're sort of haze
And the bluest ink
Isn't really sky
And at times I think
I would gladly die
For a day of sky
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
And Starbucks will use the words 'large' and 'small', not pretentious crap like grande and tall.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"You could get away with anything if you call it art and tell people who don't like it that it's cutting edge culture." --vmlinnie
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
#32re: performing on a raked stage
Posted: 1/2/06 at 12:15pm
Ha! I also performed on a "naked stage" in the musical "Hair."
THREAD-JACK: Anyone else perform on a "naked stage?"
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
morosco
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/10/04
#33re: performing on a raked stage
Posted: 1/2/06 at 12:25pm
I've always heard that a raked stage helps creates the illusion of the actors being closer to the audience. More intimate.
Years and years ago, most every theatre had a permanently raked stage.
#34re: performing on a raked stage
Posted: 1/2/06 at 4:09pm
Raked stages started WAY back with the greeks. The Audience was ampitheatre style back then, so the advanage was really only to the first few rows, but in older OLDER theatres the audiences were totally flat. And the stage was raked so you could see the entire stage, and everything happening in the back of the stage. Now, we rake our audiences, and our stages are flat, because sitting in a nice coushy seat on an incline is MUCH easier than dancing on one, and performing for 2+ hours. 
that's a really big mic...
Plum
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/4/04
#35re: performing on a raked stage
Posted: 1/2/06 at 5:12pmFollies had a stage that was not only raked, but on multiple levels, which was pretty crazy for a show with elderly performers, tons of dancing, and some really humongous costumes.
