Stage prospectus
A stage prospectus is part of the stage design . On the theater stage, it is often the rear boundary of a stage decoration or a set design . It traditionally consists of smooth and painted textile and hangs on a so-called pull rod. With the help of a prospectus hoist , it can be pulled up to the Schnürboden , where several ready-to-use brochures are often hanging.
function
Traditional brochures are painted to characterize the scene of the action, e.g. a rear wall of a room or a landscape. In addition, they can be used for projections or as a background with a gradient using different colored lighting.
Changing Brochures are since the 19th century for fast transformations used. To do this, they are "driven" vertically with the upper machinery of the stage technology .
variants
A special form of the stage prospect is the horizon prospect , which in many theaters hangs in a horizon line. This horizon encloses the stage space in an oval or semicircle. This form of prospectus is very complex in terms of stage technology, as it is difficult to stretch the large prospectuses without creases. The classic stage horizon is hardly used by stage designers today.
The convertible prospectus or the convertible panorama ( cyclorama ) also belongs to the special types of prospectuses. Its construction is reminiscent of an upright conveyor belt . Several subjects are painted side by side on a length of fabric sewn together to form an endless loop , which can be transformed by turning two vertical rollers. This is a possibility to simulate passing landscapes or movement of the stage like on a ship.
Similar technology was also used in the so-called winding or changing horizon . Running in guide rails, the horizon was drawn around the stage by winding cones that were mounted in the upper machinery. This changing horizon was fixed and illuminated for the respective performance.
In the diorama and also in the theater of the 19th century there was a prospectus that was painted and illuminated on both sides to simulate different times of the day, for example.
The projection foils (also called opera foils ), which are welded over a large area in different colors, can be considered modern forms of the prospectus . They can be illuminated from behind and enable special lighting and spatial effects.
Manufacturing
The classic production is the prospectus painting , which is carried out according to the specifications of the set designers in the theater workshops . The brochures are painted by theater painters lying on the floor of the painting room . Many well-known landscape painters once devoted themselves to painting brochures, even if this “ practical art ” is often not mentioned in obituaries and catalog raisonnés. The most famous representatives were Johann Ludwig Aberli and Jakob Philipp Hackert .
The choice of material depends on the effect that the prospectus should have on the stage. If the prospectus is only lit from the front, you use cotton nettle or so-called prospect nettle , which is primed and then painted. The “high school” of theatrical painting is the production of tulle and veiled nettle prospectuses , which, in conjunction with the theater lighting , achieve a transparent effect on the stage .
More modern methods are the airbrush method and the printing of brochures with large plotters ( Large Format Printing ). The latter is very effective because the print templates can be designed by the set designer with graphics software and implemented without any intermediate processes.
history
The stage prospect is an essential part of the peep show stage and had its heyday in the baroque theater . Until the 19th century, the painted background prospect was often the only decoration on the stage that had to characterize a picture . In the courtly regular drama of that time, the scenes were not allowed to change, so there was no need for more than one brochure per performance. Perspectively painted final prospectuses, which gave the stage space depth, belonged to the standard of every court theater .
Brochures that had gone out of use were repeatedly painted over and only disposed of when they were completely worn out. It is not uncommon for theater workshops to still have old brochures in their brochure magazines.
Some well-preserved specimens by Max Brückner come from the time of the Meiningen court theater and are shown with constantly changing exhibitions in the Meiningen Theater Museum in the city of Meiningen .
literature
- Bruno Grösel: Stage technology: mechanical devices, de Gruyter, Oldenbourg 2015, p. 192ff. ISBN 978-3-11-035172-9
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Heinrich Meyer: Hackert's art character and appreciation of his works, in: Karl Goedecke (ed.), Goethe's works, vol. 26, Cotta, Stuttgart 1868, pp. 199–204.