Stagecraft (or Technical Theatre) is the art of building, attaching, and rigging scenery for theater and television as well as other technical aspects of performance including sound, costuming, makeup, and lighting.

It comprises many disciplines, typically divided into seven main sections:

• Scenery, which includes set construction, scenic painting, theatrical properties, theater drapes and stage curtains, and special effects.
• Costume, or costume construction.
• Lighting, which includes both the design and actual operation of the instruments themselves.
• Sound, which can include musical underscoring as well as theatrical sound effects.
• Theatrical properties, or props, which includes furnishings, set dressings, and all items large and small which cannot be classified as scenery, electrics or wardrobe. Props handled by actors are known as handprops, and props which are kept in an actor's costume are known as personal props.
• Makeup, or the application of makeup to accentuate an actor's features.
• Production, comprising stage management, production management, show control, house management and company management

In its most basic incarnation, stagecraft may consist of a sole Stage manager, who sets up all the scenery, organizes the cast, and runs the lighting instruments. At the full-time professional end of the spectrum, for example in modern Broadway and opera, stagecraft for a production may include hundreds of skilled carpenters, painters, electricians, stagehands, stitchers, wigmakers, etc. In this form, modern stagecraft is a highly technical and specialized field, with many sub-disciplines and a vast trove of history and tradition. Theatrical scenery is that which is used as a setting for a theatrical production. ... Theatrical scenery is designed by a set designer, in collaboration with the director of the production. ... Theatrical scenic painting is a wide-ranging craft, encompassing virtually the entire compass of painting techniques and oftentimes reaching far beyond. ... Theatrical properties, or props, are items used in stage plays and similar entertainments to further the action. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The quality of this article or section may be compromised by peacock terms. You can help Wikipedia by removing peacock terms. ... Costume design is the design of the appearance of the characters in a theater or cinema performance. ... This article or section seems not to be written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia entry. ... Lighting at the 2005 Classical Spectacular Concert The role of the lighting designer (or LD) within theatre is to work with the director, set designer, and costume designer to create an overall look for the show in response to the text, while keeping in mind issues of visibility, safety and... This is an article about the film crew member known as a sound designer. ... In theater and film production, underscoring is the act of playing music quietly under a dialogue or a visual scene. ... Sound effects or audio effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds, or sound processes used to emphasize artistic or other content of movies, video games, music, or other media. ... Theatrical properties, or props, are items used in stage plays and similar entertainments to further the action. ... Cosmetics or makeup are substances to enhance the beauty of the human body, apart from simple cleaning. ... Stage management is a sub-discipline of stagecraft. ... Theatrical production management is a sub-division of stagecraft. ... Show Control is the interconnection of more than one entertainment discipline subsystem into a system of systems. ... Theatrical house management concerns the selling of tickets, the ushering of patrons, and the maintenance and management of the theatre building itself. ... Company management in a theater or traveling company entails all of the traveling, accommodation and day-to-day needs of the acting, design and technical company members. ... Stage management is a sub-discipline of stagecraft. ... Broadway theatre[1] is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ... The Teatro alla Scala in Milan. ...

The majority of stagecraft is practiced in an environment between these two extremes, with a dedicated crew of people of the various disciplines working together with the actors and directors to pull together a successful production. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A theatre director is a principal in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a play by unifying various endeavors and aspects of production. ...

External links

• "Blue-room" UK based forum for the discussion of technical theatre by its practitioners

• "Stagecraft" USA based mailing list for the discussion of technical theatre by its practitioners

• "Ukslc.org" Uk Based Sound and Lighting Community, News, Review, Chat and more...

• Handbook on technical theatre

See also

• Professional Stagehands (IATSE)
• Stage
• Stage lighting
• Performance
• Sound stage
• Samuel James Hume Organiser of the first exhibition of stagecraft in the United States.
• Technical rehearsal
• Technical week
• Stagehand
• Running crew