Date: Mon, 5 Jan 2009 04:08:42 -0500
To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] Toy Theatre: primitive approach ?



On Jan 5, 2009, at 3:17 AM, Alan Cook wrote:

> ... The stages with their own lights are the most successful since 
> they are after all, miniatures of larger proscenium Theatres. For a 
> larger audience, you can hav a wider proscenium opening---in a blue 
> print, the floor plan would not be a rectangular box shape----the 
> front edge would be wider than the backedge. Almost a fan shape which 
> improves sight lines.

   Isn't this pretty much a general rule of thumb, for live theater, 
puppet theater, dance, etc? Unless the audience area is the same width 
as the stage, it seems to me that your sight lines narrow as you 
approach the back of the stage. The deeper the stage and wider the 
audience area, in relation to the proscenium, the more your sight lines 
narrow as you approach the back of the stage. Scenery elements and legs 
often serve to create this "fan effect" of the playing area. For Toy 
Theater, being sort of a working scale model, these "rules" would still 
apply, but be more or less inversely proportional due to scale.

    I haven't worked much with Toy Theater, but it seems to me that, for 
sight lines, the proportions would be best if they were very 
rectangular - wider than tall, and certainly wider than they were deep. 
An open shoe box shape, but much larger, with the bottom being the back 
of the stage, comes to mind as a rough guideline. However, it seems to 
me that most of the Toy Theater stages that I can recall are fairly 
square, almost cube shaped. For those of you with more experience with 
this form, can you tell those of us with less experience if that is due 
mostly to following previous examples (echoing the model of live 
theater) or is there some deeper, more practical, reason that I am 
overlooking?

Christopher

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