Stagecraft
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Stagecraft is a loose term that refers to just about anything that happens backstage before, during, and after a theatrical production.
It comprises many disciplines, typically divided into five main sections:
- Scenery which includes set construction, scenic painting, theatrical properties, and special effects
- Lighting design
- Sound design which can include musical underscoring as well as theatrical sound effects
- Costume design including costume construction and makeup
- Production, comprising stage management, production management, 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, modern Broadway and opera, stagecraft and tech for a production may include hundreds of skilled carpenters, painters, electricians, stagehands, seamstresses, 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.
The majority of stagecraft is practiced in an environment somewhat between those 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.