Stagehands (1950s)

[Applause] the curtain is down and for an appreciative audience the show is over spotlights yield to house lights after a show there's a special Buzz of conversation under the Marquee theater goers speak glowingly of what they saw on the stage completely unaware of what must go on offstage to make the performance [Music] possible before the show there's an altogether different Buzz this is the busy active sound of the stage hands to toil in the land behind the scenes Americans at work setting the stage for countless evenings of of entertainment in the theater with skills bordering on Magic they build the world actor must have for his performance a theatrical world of scenery lights shadows and effects without which no show could go on when a new show arrives in town wooden boxes stand outside the ticket window like so many theater Gores W in line stage hands move them quickly inside no small feet when you consider how much paraphernalia is used in today's Productions moving this particular attraction from town to town requires 6 70t baggage cars the largest size in use on the railroads moving it to another continent required seven cargo planes much of the scenery consists of drops these enter the theater rolled up in a size that stage hands can manage when they are spended from overhead they can suggest enormous VIs great open Plains with mountains beyond the sea and a Blue skyed Horizon or simply a city street retreating between towering buildings drops are cloth painted to resemble whatever scenery is desired they provide ground for the action on the stage like a sailor the stage hand rope he must be Adept at tying kns stage hands call these hemp houses to hang the drops for this particular show they must use over 12 mil of rope in an earlier the clo hitch and the Bolan some theaters suspend drops by wire cables others like this one use rope today experience in the Navy or in the merchant Fleet is good training for the craft many of the trade Expressions behind stage come from the sea the rod from which a drop is suspended is called a Batten ropes are tied around belaying pins though the theater May Be many miles from the salt [Music] water actually the system by which drops are suspended was developed from the techniques for rigging a sailing vessel like sails unfurled before the wind drops are drawn upward to an area the stage hands called the flies in the theater of today the space above the stage should be at least twice as high as the prenium opening the part the audience sees lights as well as scenery drops are suspended in this area the stage hand who works this job is called a fly man the trained fly man prepares his work carefully before the show flying backdrops and borders above the stage waiting them with sandbags and and securing them in place he positions them with care because everything must be in place when the show starts backgrounds are switched sometimes in no more than 5 to 10 seconds between scenes a good stage crew can convert the Great American desert into the canals of [Music] Venice [Music] oh a stage hand must also be an electrician lighting the stage is one of the most important phases of his work this is no small job to be accomplished by switching on a light here and another one there stage hands must control enormous amounts of electricity they often use as much as 5 miles of cable one theater Spotlight Burns as much electricity as an entire home and the total amount used to light this show would light the average small town when the stage hand works with lighting he is working with an element that touches every aspect of theater production it affects the scenery costuming makeup even the action of the play itself with lighting he can suggest the hour of the day the season of the year and the weather he can bring out the color of scenery and create the play of light and Shadow he can even reinforce the mood of the play making it gay and happy or heavy and somber he is Master of the theater's Illusions some lights are stationary others are attached to pipes and moved up and down to create whatever effect is needed these moving lights are called x-ray units for reasons long since lost in the lore of stagecraft lighting by electricity is a fairly recent art in the theater of antiquity light was produced from Pine knot torches oil lamps and Tallow candles this method prevailed till the 19th century the first theater lighted by gas was the Chestnut Street Opera House in Philadelphia in 1816 the first use of electric stage lighting came in 1846 in the Paris Opera House Eve ho working on the bull line is no oneman job but then nothing in the stage hands craft is stage hands working together as a team assemble a world of fantasy quickly deftly a real Workhorse in modern theatrical lighting is the 1,000 watt lamp with filters the electrician can bathe the stage with any color light that is desired along the balcony are placed lights that bear an odd name Leos a combination of the names of The Men Who first developed them these lights contain masks that enable the stage hand to angle light rays into even the smallest of areas some Leos are placed on booms again the stage hand turns to the language of the sea these box boom lights are not moved during the show they are usually usually placed at the sides of the prenium opening invisible to the audience but vital to the [Music] show damage frequently occurs to Scenery moved from one city to another the stageand is trained to repair the flats when they arrive at his theater with competent stage hands backing him up the actor can perform confidently in New York or with a road show in a city he never saw before close cooperation prevails between stage hands from different cities thus assuring standard stage techniques for touring companies stage hands have always worked closely together and in fact owe the formation of their International Union to Friendly relationships built up through the road shows the Chicago Stage hands were the first to organize in 1887 other cities followed suit and in 1893 local alliances from 10 American cities formed a national labor organization today it is international including stage hands from [Music] Canada flats are the most common variety of painted scenery made up of a frame covered with material the walls of an interior setting usually consist of a number of such pieces set edged to Edge most of them are 14 to 16 ft High the standard professional flat does not exceed 5'9 Ines in width anything wider than this is difficult to handle in the fast- based world of Show Business those that have no openings are called plane Flats a door flat is one that contains an opening for a door and a window flat of course is one that has a window from these stage Crews can build the inside of a home or the the outside of a [Music] building The Men Who construct the sets and fly the drops belong to the grip Department this is the largest group numerically among the stage crew in this particular operation 22 men are needed for this work as compared to nine in the electrical department and seven in properties to the stage hand this busy setting up period is show in when the show is over the process of taking down the sets packing up and making ready to leave is called show [Music] out at the bull line the work goes on for an institution that is universal all cultures no matter how primitive have developed some form of [Music] theater thorough testing of electric circuits and lights is essential electricians must be completely familiar with the equipment with a dimmer the electrician can regulate the intensity of light in any unit of the theater bringing it up in one area dropping it down in another the electrician works from an intricate Q sheet like a musician's score and like the musician he must hit the right key at the right instant a sour note from him might mean semi Darkness at a moment when all should [Music] see final touches are added by the property men in Motion Pictures they're called the prop men but the theater older rooted more deeply in Tradition uses the more formal designation property man either way it's work that must be done with skill if a scene is to come to life Cur time a moment Supreme for the stage hands union members of the International Alliance of theatrical stage employees and moving picture machine operators of the United States and Canada AFL CIO Americans at work for you Americans at work presented as a public service by the AFL CIO next week another story of Americans at work Americans whose skill and effort help keep our country great and [Applause] strong