The result is a fascinating view from the stage that few audience members will have seen before.
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
15 Photos Of What Actors See When They’re On Stage
The result is a fascinating view from the stage that few audience members will have seen before.
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I must say that I love this website. This article combines two of my three favorite things: theater and buzzfeed. Though it could be due to my bias towards time-sink websites, I loved this article. Not because it was intellectually challenging or informative, in fact, this article provides very little in the way of information. I fell for these photos because they reminded me of the beauty of an empty stage. My favorite moments in high school were always the quiet times when everyone else had left and it was just me. I could just stand on the stage and breathe in the potential that the space held. I guess that's why I am so attracted to this industry, we are dripping in the potential. Potential stories, potential emotions, potential beauty. A blank slate, like the theaters depicted here, show the start of that process. No people, no problems, just the silence and the heavy anticipation of what will come. The second of calm before the storm hits. I still love the plays and the bustle of production, but, for me, the meaning of life lies within a few stolen moments alone in a place where literally anything can happen.
This photo series reminds me of the fact that while theatrical performance is an art of showing, technical theatre is as much an art of showing as it is one of concealing. As the photographer Klaus Frahm describes, his photos give a view unseen by the audience, but familiar to those who work on- or back-stage. It is this “workspace hidden behind the red velvet curtain” in which actors, designers, and technicians make the magic of theatre. A considerable aspect of this art is the ability to conceal the manner in which the product is reached. Audiences are meant to be uninformed on what goes into the spectacles created: the hours in rehearsal studios, the careful locations of speakers and lights, the support structures of a set (or the legitimate thickness or walls, destinations of staircases, or functionality of appliances). Theatre production is an art form where the process is concealed behind a fourth wall; the quality is shown not only in the resulting work but the work’s ability to prevent any the audience’s conscious thinking of what they are not meant to see. While there are many cases of theatre productions veering from this standard form, such cases possibly only inform the significance of such attempts at breaking through the fourth wall. In doing so, theatre-makers recognize the abilities of the tools of concealment in theatrical storytelling, and pull the velvet curtain back to ask audiences to consider a piece as it truly is, a performance fabricated for their viewing.
These photos are really just a case study in "all of the things that goes on backstage that the audience has no idea about". Sometimes it feels like I'm speaking an alternate language to people who don't know anything about theatre when I just try to explain the sheer amount of equipment that we use to put on a show. Theatre is an interesting industry in that people know very little about what is actually happening to make everything happen, both on stage and backstage. From a management standpoint, I laugh at the fact that even my mother continually fails to understand what exactly a "stage manager" or "production manager" does, more or less company managers, artistic directors, producers do, etc. I feel like these pictures really do capture that spirit. The theatre itself is so dressed up and beautiful, in stark contrast to the harsh metal and industrial look of backstage.
First of all, it is really cool to see all of these different photos of the backstage areas of different theaters. I like being able to look at them all and compare the way they are set up. Each photo on its own just looks like a theater, but being able to look at them all at once makes the similarities and difference obvious. However, what this article really made me notice is that when I hear the word “theater”, I picture images like these. I picture the line sets and fly rail. I picture the lighting instruments in the sky. I picture prop tables and set pieces in the wings. However, the sentence “The result is a fascinating view from the stage that few audience members will have seen before” made me think about the fact that most people probably picture the view from the house, maybe even the house itself. I tend to be conscious of how little the average person knows about the theater world since I need to explain what I do to people, but I never really considered that the disconnect is to the point that when I say the word “theater” we might be picturing the same building, but we certainly don’t have the same mental image.
I always love looking at photographs of theaters from around the world. These ones really stand out in my mind because they show a view that very few people ever get to see. I feel like you get as much of a sense of the theatre from both sides of the fourth wall, which is extremely abundant in these pictures.Just looking at the stage floor of each venue tells a different story. The photos are especially stunning because it seems like they are taking a snapshot of a portal to another world. The stark difference between front of house and backstage is simply amazing. I love how they both oppose and compliment each other; the dark, mechanical backstage to the elegant and opulent house. It just shows how complex theatre really is. On the outside, it is showy and pristine, while at its core, theatre actually has rough edges, with a lot of work put into it.
Just to get it out of the way, these pictures are absolutely stunning, specifically my favorite, the one at the end with the fallen chandelier. Also before I get off my soap-box, I would just like to quickly state the technicians, designers, and managers also see this view. Anyways, this article was a great realization for me that I need to remind myself more often to step back every now and again, not all the time but occasionally. All too often we get attached to our work and fail to see the larger picture, as in with this post. We become so close to projects, which isn't necessarily bad, that when we need to most, we are unable to step back and see problem. I think that anyone who works in a theatrical setting should look at this post because I believe that it would inspire a unique thought about the work we do in everyone.
These photos are absolutely gorgeous, but they also serve as a reminder that the world of theatre is vastly unknown to most of the world. Most people would have never seen a theatre from this perspective if this photographer hadn't taken these photos. Some of the photographs that stood out the most to me were the Margravial Opera House, Semper Opera House, and Cuvilliés Theater. These theatres all have a very obvious and stark contrast between the house and backstage. All the areas the audience sees are covered in ornate, colorful decorations and chandeliers, while backstage is dark and sometimes cluttered. People usually don't realize that everything that goes into creating theatre is not always beautiful and glamorous. The final product that the audience sees is put together through countless hours of hard work and collaboration. When everything comes together, even if it's not perfect, it can be as beautiful as the theatre it's in.
These pictures are awesome! I have always been the kind of audience member that looks for the details of the production, leaning to the very side of my seat to try and get a glance at backstage, trying to figure out how they made something seemingly magical happen on stage, or wondering if the actors in the background are actually having a conversation about their plans for later tonight or if they are mouthing 'watermelon' over and over again. those kinds of things fascinate me so when i saw these pictures I got excited. yes, this article is called "What Actors See When Their On Stage", but i think that these pictures do a great job of illustrating all of what goes into the show from behind stage, all of the equipment and special attention to detail that is needed to create a show. It show the typical audience member the technical hard workers that are the magicians that make the magic happen on stage. I think that this article will do a great job of sparking peoples curiosity of all that it takes to put on a show.
I saw this article on Facebook a few days ago and I thought that the pictures were absolutely breathtaking. I think that theaters are so gorgeous (I guess I would have to spend my entire life in one right?) but I think people do have this sort of unrealistic expectation of what actors can see when they are on stage. This year is the first year I haven't performed in some sort of show since I was 6 or 7, and while I'm glad to not be acting anymore, I know what it is like to stand on a big stage and perform. The truth is that even though those pictures are beautiful most of what you see on stage is light, and a few faces in the front rows. These pictures are awesome because the give people looking at them insight into what actors see but they are also subtly showing people all that goes on behind what they can see. Look at all those lights! So yes this about the actors and what they see but we get to see a little of the other work also.
As beautiful as these pictures are I think the title of this article is misleading. Like other people have said, these are not pictures of what actors see from the stage. When you’re no stage during a show most of what you see is bright light and maybe a few faces in the first few rows. You do not see the entire house and the catwalks and lighting structure back stage. This is really more of what technicians see when they’re on stage. That being said I don’t think that makes these pictures any less stunning or takes away the value that people can get from it. After all, like the paragraph at the beginning of the article says most audience members have never seen a theater from any perspective but that of an audience member. If nothing else, they could at least be used to give people an idea of where the better seats in a theater are.
I saw this article a few days ago and I thought it was beautiful. I absolutely love being in theaters. I really love standing on stage or sitting in the audience and staring at the stage when no one else is there. I find it so peaceful and it makes me very happy. There are so many little and big things in a theater that you often take for granted or overlook when you are focused on running a show in tech week. If you just stop and look around every once in a while you will notice different things and learn more about whatever theater you are in. Broadway houses are especially beautiful because there is so much history in them and intricate designs in the house. When I’m in a Broadway house I love looking around at the walls and the ceiling because there was so much effort into those designs and they are so beautiful.
These photos, though they may seem so novel to anyone who does not live in our world, have such a lovely familiarity to me. It is from this perspective that I fell in love with theatre, that I realized I was right where I belonged. Not as an actor looking out on an audience, but as a designer with an armful of changes to pre-set, running around chaotically as if I were actually performing some strange pre-show entertainment for a bunch of empty seats. The view of the empty theatre, the muscle memory which guided me to and fro as I looked out upon the purity of that ocean of chair backs - that is what has followed me from show to show to show. I have never not felt on top of the world with this picture in front of me, and so often, because of this, I forget that the fourth wall exists. I forget as I watch from the wings that there are people out there who did not see the joy in that actress' eyes when she first found out she was going to be playing that role, who never smiled over her shoulder while zipping up that dress for the umpteenth time. What those people are watching is only one fraction of the story. And the view from the other side of things, the view which Frahm seeks to celebrate - that view to me tells a far, far more interesting tale. I feel truly lucky every day to live within the fourth wall.
Good God, the theater is beautiful. Looking at these photographs, of the various rigs that houses have set up, of the beautiful clash of classical (or otherwise) house architecture and impeccably industrial design execution, I am reminded constantly of the line I walk, between audience fantasy and my own gritty backstage reality, about how it is my unique and fortunate duty to cater to both. That feeling, is of itself a beautiful sentiment, which I am blessed to experience (or so I tell myself, for fear of what disbelieving that thought would bring). Looking at these photos, and finding myself moved by things I see all the time, brings me hope and joy. Even though the going is tough, and college is not all fun and games, I can still get excited by a picture of a well-constructed set up, by a glimpse of what could be, by a hint of what is. I am reminded that as much as I enjoy analyzing my own motives, of attempting to find and understand any deeper meaning, I am still just a child hungry to create, to play, to discover, in this marvelously convoluted sandbox that is theater.
Hot diggity damn. These photographs are stunning. I wonder how wide his lens must have been to be able to catch such wide angles of the theatre! My favorite theaters featured were those that were very ornate and reminiscent of a different time; the one in Potsdam was especially eye catching to me because of those luscious red velour curtains. It's always so magical seeing the stage from behind the scenes. There's always this feeling of spunk and pride that comes with knowing what a production looks and operates like from behind the scenes. While the audience will always see the magic that is the performance, actually being involved in the process and knowledge of getting to the point of practical magic is an irreplaceable feeling. Also just speaking from a technical standpoint, those photographs are exposed pretty well, but I can totally see all the post-editing that was required to get it to the point that they're currently at. Shooting photos in a dark theatre is a very hard task and in many cases post-editing really is the only way to properly get a photograph to that point,
This article surprised, but not because the view was novel to me but because it was so ordinary. Theater has always been a huge part of my life, I was having coffee with someone today and they asked me how I first got into theater and I literally couldn’t remember a time when it wasn’t there as a part of my world. That being said I’ve been on many stages and seen this view (maybe not as well-lit) a million times over. So, to me, the idea that someone might come across this and be seeing this view from the stage for the first time ever on a Buzzed article is frankly kind of shocking. In the end, even though it was just a series of pictures on a site that caters mostly silly quizzes and fluff news, this reminded me to not take the community I get to be a part of and the exciting experiences I get to have on a day to day basis for granted.
Agh, beautiful! These photos remind me a lot of whenever, after a late night of set painting and building, or during a break, I would walk across my high school auditorium’s empty stage and look up and around at the hanging lights, the empty seats, and the bare stage. There is something strangely cathartic about being in a large space that is made to be filled with many people (theaters, stadiums, other venues); I love that these photos show a point of view of theater that most people won’t get to see. Look at all those lighting and rigging fixtures! So much is going on upstage of and above the proscenium arch! Don’t we all dream of designing for/ managing a show in a venue as beautiful as this!? As others have said, this really isn’t what actors would see from the stage, however, the intent is clear. Photos like this not only prompt the intruige of non theater-goers, but they remind all of us of the magic of theater, and why we love what we do.
These pictures are amazing. Not only because of what the different theater houses look like, but for the feeling each one provokes. It's so insane that as an actor, especially one on tour, you have to adjust to the different environments and theaters and this post really lets us visualize the differences. It's so incredible that this article shows a point of view that a lot of people don't really get. These pictures sort of create a lot of pressure because though the backstage area is massive and a whole other world is created on the stage, the other side of the proscenium holds so many people just glaring down at your performance. It's a scary view but it's also a rewarding view because when you finish your performance, hoping it was good, the audience will applaud and the view from the stage into the house is nothing but exciting and wonderful.
I have seen this collection of photos before, and it never ceases to amaze me. Not only are the theatres stunning, I think that view evokes a very real feeling of "home" for a lot of us. Someone above wrote that it reminded them of walking through their high school theatre after a work call, and it brings the same memories back for me. Before each performance, I used to sit on the stage in the dark and take a moment to center myself before the house opened. And just before they opened the doors, I would stand looking out at the house before turning back and going to take care of whatever was left to be done. It was a very important ritual to me, and even though my high school has a tiny proscenium theatre that seats about 180-200 people, I feel the very same feelings looking out into the Chosky house, or into each of these houses. They are all so beautiful in so many ways, but I think the most important part is that we are able to look out, and see on our left and right all the technology and skill that makes the magic happen, and see in front of us the place where so many people we may or may not know are going to experience the place we take them to. And that is the magic of theatre: that we are able to take empty seats, fill them with people, and transport them to another world. That is why it is so awe-evoking for us to look out at a theatre house: we know exactly what is to come.
I love photos like these. I love seeing a house from the stage perspective. Having worked in theatre very little before CMU, I'm very much used to seeing a theatre from the audience's view. I remember a year or two ago, Bryce Pinkham from A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder posted a video that he filmed while performing "I've Decided to Marry You." At the time, I was extremely excited, since I don't think I had seen a house from the view of a professional stage before. A lot of my classmates are commenting on this article saying that these photographs give them the feeling of home because it's a view that they're very used to. For me, I still get the feeling of home, even though it's not necessarily a view I'm particularly familiar with firsthand. Apart from that, these photos are just beautiful on their own.
The architecture of these theaters photographed in this collection is all so beautiful. Being a technician, I find myself looking at theater's from the stage, but, never really stop to absorb the beauty of what is in front of me.
These photos make me appreciate what actors do so much more. From an audience perspective, I don't usually think about how much pretending a cast must do. There is so much to be distracted by from behind the curtain, rigging, lighting fixtures, quick change areas, props tables, spot lights blaring on you, the list goes on. These photos remind me that acting takes so much more than just memorizing lines.
These photos also make me sad. Architecture like this is not longer constructed and is truly a lost art form. Newer, more contemporary theaters do not look like this. When you look at these pictures, one cannot help but feel nostalgic.
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