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Audrie Pryor
Ms. Tillery
British Literature
28 October 2011
Basics of Technical Theatre
Technical Theater is a part of theater, but it does not consist of acting in plays or
musicals. This kind of theatre is where groups work the sound, lighting, special effects, build
props, make costumes, do the make-up, and the set design or construction. Learning how to
work the sound and light boards are very simple. The light board is much easier and more basic
to learn, just because there is usually a layout of the setup where the lights are located to work
with them. With the sound board there are many more keys to work with and much more that
may be needed like having to adjust to the volume the singer is singing at and if there is a use of
wireless microphones then someone needs to make sure the adaptors are set up to the right
person with the right microphone.
There are many projects that go one when a play is getting ready to be performed.
Building platforms, flats, and stairs for the props is one of the many things that go on when there
is a performance. One may paint, use some of the power tools to make or build something, or
start getting the set ready. Platforms are used for acting space. Flats are used to create the
illusion of interior and exterior walls. Stairs are generally used for necessary access from the
ground or another platform. Other things that might be built are doors, trees, benches, and more.
Lighting on the stage is a very important part of the performances. It sets the mood or
atmosphere of the performance. There are many different types of lights that are used to direct
light on a character who may be performing solo, direct lights on multiple characters at a time, or

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set the mood for the scene. Plain white light can be very difficult to look into and harsh on the
characters when acting. Most people know that the primary pigment colors are red, yellow, and
blue. Red, green, and blue are the primary colors of light. Complementary colors are those that
are opposite of one another in their makeup. An example of that is pure blue is the complement
of pure amber. Blue is made up of only blue while amber is made up of the opposite colors,
green and red. When there is a mixture of the red, green, and blue the outcome is white. If there
is a mixture of red, yellow, and blue the outcome is black.
Filtering light is very popular, but has been very difficult to figure out because plastic gel
tends to burn after a while of being on the light. The recent technology for color filtering that
has been a recent development is called dichroic filters. These are glass filters with thin layers of
metallic oxides deposited in them, which transmit certain frequencies of light while reflecting
others. Filters are expensive, but the filtersdo not burn after being on the light for a long period
of time making them a good investment and making it easier on those who have to work with the
lights so there is not a change in them after every use.
A pattern is a very common technique used for effect. The pattern is cut into a small
piece of metal and then placed into the focal point inside of an ellipsoidal reflector spotlight.
When the light is focused, the pattern will then be enlarged and projected. This effect is very
useful in plays where there are props that cannot be made. Dimming has also had a big
improvement since the early 20th century. Hard patching is a process of connecting individual
lighting instruments to the dimmer channels in which each channels allow for independent
control. Dimmer units that can run multiple channels of light in a single box usually have a front
panel. With each panel are some controls and indicators for each channel. A common thing to

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find with the box is a circuit breaker, bump switch, and many different LED indicators for each
channel.
Most light boards allow a form of soft patching which is signing more than one
individual dimmer channel to a board channel. It allows more instruments to be controlled as a
logical until. The more advanced light boards provide the ability store scenes, record sequences
in a cue stack, and record light chases. With the standard X-Y board, each fader in a scene has to
be set to a level and recorded on a piece of paper. Scene storage boards allow the operator to
record a scene and assign it to one fader.
The sound board is much more complicated. The overall job of a mixer is to take
multiple inputs and combine them into a small number of outputs. The changing of the tone of a
sound is called equalization. Equalization, volume level adjustment, and muting are generally
features offered on the board. Mixers are referred to by the number of output and input channels
they have. An output channel is a path for sound to exit and the input channel is a single audio
signal can be connected into the sound board. The most noticeable part of the mixer is the set of
channel faders. The faders on most mixers are linear faders also known as sliders, control the
level of the signal sent to the output of the mixer.
Microphones are the simplest input devices used in the audio system. They convert
sound energy to electrical energy. There are many microphones in which they come in different
shapes, sizes, and operating characteristics. Dynamic microphones are the simplest types. The
microphone consists of a small coil of wire attached to a diaphragm. Different microphones pick
up the sounds from different directions. The omnidirectional microphone picks up sound from
every direction.

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It is very important to know the theatre environment when working. Knowing how to
create sound effects that complement the production is extremely important. The nature dictates
the type of sound system that is needed. The first thing an audio designer does is to determine
what effects the production may need with the production design staff. Having a list of
suggested sounds always helps find a good starting point for the audio designer. After the types
of effects have been determined, the audio designer has to acquire or create the effects. Once the
effects have been acquired, they may need to be edited to suit the production. Some effects may
be too short or too long and need to be fixed. With some sound cards comes simple software to
edit the audio files. Some provide features such as fading, panning, reserving, slowing down,
speeding up, pitch changing, equalization, reverb, flanging, and delay. After the sound effects
have been edited, and both the audio designer and director of the production are satisfied, the
effects can be cued off the computer. Learning to use the editing software is a very useful thing
for the audio designer to do.
Inputs to a sound system are different from one production to another. Productions are in
demand of a wide variety of components. Such things as wireless body microphones for the key
actors, CD players for music, a computer or digital sampler for effects playback, and offstage
microphones are all components needed for a production. Many of the productions use an
equalizer to EQ for the speakers and the room. Compressors and limiters are very useful for the
microphone inputs. They provide a more consistent volume level making the job of the audio
operator less difficult. Also, they are used to help protect the sound system from transients like
the dropping of a microphone.
A task such as choosing the speakers and amplifiers for a production can be very
daunting. The first step is to determine if the sounds are to be loud enough to shake the audience

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and scare them or quiet and in the background. Then determine if there is a multi-channel
scheme. After everything is chosen, the speakers need to be picked. If there are very quiet
sounds then the smaller speakers should be used. The smaller speakers are very easy to mount
and the sound is good for their size, but does not reproduce bass frequencies. After the speakers
have been picked, their locations need to be specified. Depending on the speaker design and
how the audience seating is arranged will depend on where the speakers are placed.
Learning about technical theatre can be very easy at times, but at others it can be one of
the most difficult things. Building, working with the different boards, and programing effects for
a production are all parts of the learning process. The light boards are usually very simple and
having a layout to follow can make things very easy. The sound board having more to it is very
difficult. With the components of the microphones and the sound effects needed in the
production is a very long process. Selecting the speakers and their placement can be a very
difficult because it is dependent of multiple components.

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Works Cited
"Color and Light."Lime Light. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2011.
<http://www.limelightproductions.com/educational/color_and_light.html>.
Lighting Trainer.N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2011. <http://www.lightingtrainer.com/
stage_lighting_basics_overview.html>.
Lighting Trainer.N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2011. <http://www.lightingtrainer.com/basic.htm>.
Rev. of Stage Lighting Super Saturday 2011.Stage Seminars.N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2011.
<http://www.hstech.org/>.
Rev. of Stage Lighting Then and Now.About.N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2011.
<http://performingarts.about.com/od/Lighting/a/Stage-Lighting-Then-And-Now.htm>.
R. Iacobucci, Dr. Rev. of Stage Lighting Basics. Red Pages.N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2011.
<http://www.roctronics.com/slbsics.htm>.
"Sound Board Basics."DSB.N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2011.
<http://www.ingodsfamily.com/sounddocs/ basics.html>.
"Stage Lighting Basic Vocabulary."UBC.N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2011.
<http://www.theatre.ubc.ca/ design/crslib2/ltg/ltg1.htm>.
Williams, Bill. Stage Lighting Design.N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2011. <http://www.mts.net/
~william5/sld/sld-500.htm>.
"WPI Technical Theatre Handbook." Rev. of WPI Technical Theatre Handbook, by Steven Scott
Richardson. Perfect's Pages.N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2011. <http://www.gweep.net/~prefect/
pubs/iqp/>.