A Guide to Studying the Relationship Between Engineering and Theatre

by Debra Bruch


Home

The Experience of Theatre

How Theatre Happens

Directing Theatre

The Relationship Between Engineering and Audience

-- Introduction

-- The Space

-- Technical Conditions

-- Climate Conditions

-- Safety

-- Theatrical Conventions

-- Performance Conventions

-- Style Conventions

-- Creativity

Climate Conditions

Are the stage and house enclosed?

Is the performance dependent on natural environment?

Do the climate conditions change during the performance?

Does the engineering product function to gain audience comfort?


Is the Performance Dependent on Natural Environment?


Very rarely does a performance depend on natural environment, but sometimes it does. Several years ago, there was some discussion about producing the drama K2 during the dead of winter, outside. K2 is about two men who run into trouble while descending K2 of the Karakoram Range located in northern Pakistan and India, the world's second highest mountain peak. The plan was to build a snow statue against a building to look like the mountain as the performance space. It would be dependent on the availability of snow (quite abundant here) and the temperature. While I thought it was a good idea (not my own), it was scrapped due to the outside temperature needed for the production. The audience would probably freeze to their metal chairs. Not a pretty sight, but it would have been interesting.


© Debra Bruch 2005