Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 1987 - 27

down beneath the stage and up to the two floors or bridges
for thc operatOrs who work abo\'c thc "ta~c. As thc~c stairs
arc on thc oppositc sidc of thc stagc, thcy arc indicatcd herc
b\- a dottcd linc.
~. First floor or soffit [i.c. bridgc] which, among othcr uscs, is
used for thc opcration of thc coul1lcrwcights to mo\"C the
bordcr of thc stagc.
h. Second floor or soffit [i.e. grid] in which the machines arc
madc to turn to raisc and lowcr the borders of thc stagc.
i. -'\achines for raising thc bordcrs of thc stagc. They are
compriscd of a whccl with a typc of spoked whcel [It.,
rocchettol'- attached to thc axlc of this whccl around
which thc ropcs arc wound whosc end run from placc to
place in thc uppcr part [i.c. thc grid] and hold the pail1lings
in place below by mcans of iron rings sct behind thesc
paintings, whose ropcs pass throngh picces of turncd wood
so that thcy will not wear out and will run bcttcr. Othcr
similar ropes arc wrappcd around the wheel then, which
arC tied to the side beam of the grid to make the
countef\\'eights movc.'" In short, they are a type of axle in
peritrochio'" which is a typc of winch. The sizcs of thesc
vary according to thc size of the weight which is to make
thcm movc.
k. Beamwork of thc roof.
I. Back stagc [rooml which is conncctcd to thc rest of the
stagc which is uscd whcn grcatcr dcpth is necded.

Ele\.nion oi Te.nro :\uo\·o.

3.
...

9.
10.

II.

12.

narrow technical connotation a sociated with the term "engineer" today. It refered to people who created mgegnlJ. or
"ingenious things" which could be anything ranging from
hydraulic machine to pyrotechnical displays.
Umranslated abbre\'iation for local ruler's title.
Of the te,,· known eighteemh-cemury works de\'oted to
stagecraft, thi "'ork is unique in gi\'ing both illustration
and a description of the technical parts of the stage.
:\ames of machinist from this period are found in Diderot
and D'Almben' fnC\·c1opedie. Pari, 1770. Also, an Italian
machinist, Donato Stopani, created the machines for the
Drottningholm Theatre in Sweden. See Phillip I. Lorraine,
The DrollnJllgholm Coure Theaere. Stockholm, 196...
The old Paris Opera, "'hich is repre cmed in Diderot and
D'Alamben's fnC\-dopedie. burned in 1 7 63. The rebuilt
Opera opencd fan. 26, 1770.
Bridges (It. pontil, are usually referred to as "corridors" IFr.
corridor!.
A sloat is a very narrow trap, usually reaching all the way
across the stage, which was fitted with a cassette-type elevator mechanism. It was used to raise flat scenery, such as
ground rows, to the stage.
Sevemeemh-cemury Italian document, as early as Sabbartini, show traps on the stage.
This device is found in .\IS. 370 ,Biblioteca Pallatina, better known as the "Pallatina Collection," and in Fabri=io
Carini .\Iotta, Costru=ione de Teatri e _\lachine Teatmli.
,\lantUa, 16" lunpublished!.
Shutters were the legacy of the Renaissance sta e and continued in usc throughout the seyenteenth and into the eighteenth century. It is not certain when dropcloths were
introduced.
The earliest mention of this type of side lights is in :\icodemu Tessin the Younger's journal of his travels in Italy,

16 '.

All the mechani m in wood, invention of the machines to raise and 100\'er the paintings and the lighting,
and everything else pertaining to the craft of the
machinist is the work of the distinguished and worthy
\laster of i\lachines, Signor Petronio Nanni of Bologna.

I. Antonio Calli-Bibiena, 17 00-177... C,mlliIero lalso spelled
Cdl'dlllerel, is an Italian title equi\',deIll to the English title
SIT.
1 /n~<,gllll'rl'. tran"lated here 'IS "engineer", did nor ha\'e the

13. ,\Iost seventeenth century Italian theatre ground plans
show a prospella. some larger and ome smaller than the
one in this theatre. Details oi the prospella may be iound
both in Nicodemus the Younger and Fabri=io Carini I\10tta
(op. ciLI, though I\10tta shows permanent machinery installed in the grid O\'er the prospella.
1-+. C.f. the Pallatina Collection (Op. ciLI and the San Salmtore
Folio. ational Library, Paris.
15. There are actually only four orders oi wings shown in the
ground plan and elcvation unless one also includes the single set of wings iust upstage of the proscenium arch.
16. Such an arrangement at the Dresden Opera House in 17 .. 9
may be seen in I\lartin Hammir=ch, Der ModemI' Theater·
ball. Berlin, 1906.
17. :\icodemus Tessin the Younger (Op. ciLI gives a detailed
description of setting the prospe 11 a with wings mounted on
stakes.
. C.f. San Sall·atore Folio. Pallatina Collection, Diderot and
D'Alamben's fnC\'Clopedie lOP. ciL!.
19. Oificials at the Community Theatre oi Bologna claim that
the stage there actually is the largest in Italy.
20. Ferdinando Calli-Bibiena, 16,7-1739.
21. The author appears to be referring to Ferdll1ando, not Antonio. If so, he probably mean that AntOnio's design is in
the style of his father. The Calli-Bibicna definitely had an
established Style. Some of their \"ork is so ,imilar that e\'en
today attriblllion of some of their stage de~ign~ to IIldi\'idual members of the family is difficult.
22. The orchestra Ipitl is on the same level a, the 1'1,1/1"1. not
lowered.
23. The author is a little confusing here. He is rderring to the
narrowing of the cemral \'ista of the stage a, the orders in
the strects are set closer and closer to the cemer line as they
recede up stage. The orders are SCt following "degradation
lines" (not shown on the ground plan1, which establIsh the
lateral perspective lines on either side of the stage.
TD&T

FALL 1987

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 1987