Backdrop (stage)

Backdrops (from French coulisse ) were originally the sliding tracks in which the sliding walls or the parts of the decoration were moved during theater performances or film recordings . Today the term backdrop is used for the sliding wall, and the French term glissière is also used for sliding track . In historical stage sets , these were mostly parallel to the ramp and covered with painted fabric or paper. Stage sets in modern theaters consist of a variety of objects and materials, which are usually not called backdrops.

Historical meaning

In the Baroque era , the " peep-box stage " was created with a fore stage, a proscenium that can be closed by the stage curtain and a deep main stage, the backdrops that can be pushed in, staggered in depth and perspective painted scenes and the likewise painted prospectus (stage background) alternating scenes with (intensified by painting) illusionistic scenes , made possible a strong spatial effect. The stage machinery with its cables allowed the scenery to be changed in seconds ("open transformation ") and dramatic effects to be achieved.

Its inventor is Giovanni Battista Aleotti , who probably developed it for his Teatro Farnese in Parma, built in 1618/19 .

Backdrops underlined the action in traditional theaters with an artificial, mostly model-like background that corresponded to the location of the action . They could also convey certain symbols , e.g. B. a color symbolism. Backdrops could even be entire building facades or streets ( Lindenstrasse at GFF Cologne).

In the theater, backdrops were made by the workshops according to the drafts of the stage designer, in the case of films from the construction stage according to the production designer. When the scene changed, the scenery was mostly rebuilt behind a closed curtain. Props (individual items) and special effects complemented the scenery.

Derived meanings

The term “backdrop” can also generally mean a background , another term is the background noise . The term behind the scenes figuratively describes something that is hidden from the public.

literature

Walther Unruh: Theater technology. Klasing, Berlin / Bielefeld 1969.

Individual evidence

^ Andreas Kotte: History of the theater. An introduction . Böhlau, 2013, ISBN 978-3-8252-3871-1 , p. 259 ff ( books.google.com ).
^ Andreas Kotte: History of theater: an introduction . Böhlau, 2013, ISBN 978-3-8252-3871-1 , p. 258 ( books.google.com ).
^ Gregor Scherf: Giovanni Battista Aleotti (1546–1636): “architetto mathematico” of the Estonians and the Popes in Ferrara . Tectum Verlag DE, Marburg 1998, ISBN 3-8288-9011-3 , p. 194 ( books.google.com ).

[1] Andreas Kotte: History of the theater. An introduction . Böhlau, 2013, ISBN 978-3-8252-3871-1 , p. 259 ff ( books.google.com ).

[2] Andreas Kotte: History of theater: an introduction . Böhlau, 2013, ISBN 978-3-8252-3871-1 , p. 258 ( books.google.com ).

[Scherf1998-3] Gregor Scherf: Giovanni Battista Aleotti (1546–1636): “architetto mathematico” of the Estonians and the Popes in Ferrara . Tectum Verlag DE, Marburg 1998, ISBN 3-8288-9011-3 , p. 194 ( books.google.com ).