Revolving stage
Encyclopedia
A revolving stage is a mechanically controlled platform within a theatre
that can be rotated in order to speed up the changing of a scene within a show. A fully revolving set was an innovation constructed by the hydraulics engineer Tommaso Francini
for an elaborately produced pageant, Le ballet de la délivrance de Renaud, which was presented for Marie de Medici in January 1617 at the Palais du Louvre and noted with admiration by contemporaries.
Accounts of revolving stages in the eastern parts of the world actually come almost one hundred years before the invention of the stages in the western world. In Japan, revolving stages were used in some Kabuki
performances. The first revolving stage as a permanent feature of the theatre was in the Nakamura-za in Edo in 1793. Not only were rotating stages used in Kabuki but they also had the technology to lower or lift stages and sets. This technology would later be used in the western theatres in the nineteenth century.
The very first revolving stage in the western world was build by Karl Lautenschläger (1843–1906) in 1896 in Munich, Germany. Lautenschläger studied under Carl Brandt at the court theatre in Darmstadt from there he went to Munich, where he worked for 22 years and became the head machinist at the Royal theatre. He is known for his revolving stage, sometimes called the Lautenschläger stage, which later acquired the legacy of being called the new Shakespeare stage. The stage was installed at the Residenz Theatre for a performance of Don Giovanni
, an opera by Wolfgang Mozart. The revolve at the Residenz Theatre
was fifty feet in diameter and was raised slightly off of the regular stage floor. With the proscenium a little less than a fourth of the revolve was visible to the audience. Lautenschläger used electricity to power the turntable, with the table turning on rollers, which run on a circular track. This particular revolve was split into quarter sections and allowed four scenes to be set at the top of the show. The rotating stage allowed for depth, like landscapes with views in the distance and more three-dimensional set in front of the walls of the revolve.
For theatres like the Dresden
, that did not have an underside to their stage, each sector of the revolve would have “wo wheels operating directly on the stage floor and propelled by a small motor fixed to the underside of the turntable. Some revolves had only two separate sections while some had as many as seven. Not all sections had to be split into equal proportions. Sections could be very shallow or very deep according to what the scene required. Rectangle sections were even used many times for indoor scenes. Some revolves had sections that connected to each other to give the appearance of travel and help give the set perspective. Eventually traps, elevators and rotating stages combined in some theatres. The individual sections of the turntable could be lowered and raised to and from the underneath the stage to make scene changes even more efficient.
In 1889 the Munich court theatre hired Lautenschläger to design a stage that was more efficient for Shakespeare productions. His rotating stage seemed to be the perfect solution to Shakespeare. Other theatres and other companies performing Shakespeare quickly began to use the rotating stage and it started to become known as the new Shakespeare stage. This was probably the biggest role for the rotating stage in its history.
Today rotating stages are still in use. ''Les Misérables'
' is probably one of the most notable modern uses of a rotating stage. It was recorded to have made sixty-three rotations each performance during its original run in London.
It is common practice to reverse the rotation of a rotating stage as frequently as possible to prevent cables from becoming twisted, and eventually breaking.
In the retail and exhibition industries movement adds a dynamic dimension to product display. For the events, film and TV industries a Movetech UK revolving stage can create spectacular film sequences, TV commercials or impressive product launches or reveals by moving the audience or the merchandise as required.
With revolving stages from 1m to 33m from stock, a range of ring and double revolves and scissor lifts, you can be sure we’ll have the right product for you. Revolving stages by Movetech UK. Rent/Hire/Purchase/Buy! A Movetech UK revolving stage is built to a unique design that provides a stable, high capacity rotating platform. In the retail and exhibition industries movement adds a dynamic dimension to product display. For the events, film and TV industries a Movetech UK revolving stage can create spectacular film sequences, TV commercials or impressive product launches or reveals by moving the audience or the merchandise as required.
The American Architect and Building News. Volume 53. Boston: American. Architect and Building News Co, 1896.
Ackermann, Friedrich Adolf. The Oberammergau Passion Play, 1890. Fifth Edition. Munich: Friedrich Adolf Ackermann, 1890.
Fuerst, Walter René and Hume, Samuel J. Twentieth-Century Stage Decoration. Volume 1. New York: Dover Publications, 1967.
Hoffer, Charles. Music Listening Today. Fourth Edition. Boston: Schirmer Cengage Learning, 2009.
Izenour, George C. Theater Technology. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996.
Ortolano, Benito. The Japanese theatre: from shamanistic ritual to contemporary pluralism. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1990.
Vermette, Margaret. The Musical World of Boublil and Schönberg: The Creators of Les Misérables, Miss Saigon, Martin Guerre, and The Pirate Queen. New York: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, 2006.
Williams, Simon. Shakespeare on the German stage: 1586-1914. Volume 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
Revolving stage compony (Coventry)
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
that can be rotated in order to speed up the changing of a scene within a show. A fully revolving set was an innovation constructed by the hydraulics engineer Tommaso Francini
Tommaso Francini
Tommaso Francini, Thomas Francine in France, and his younger brother Alessandro Francini were Florentine hydraulics engineers and garden designers who worked for Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, above all at the Villa Medicea di Pratolino, where Francesco de Vieri described the...
for an elaborately produced pageant, Le ballet de la délivrance de Renaud, which was presented for Marie de Medici in January 1617 at the Palais du Louvre and noted with admiration by contemporaries.
Accounts of revolving stages in the eastern parts of the world actually come almost one hundred years before the invention of the stages in the western world. In Japan, revolving stages were used in some Kabuki
Kabuki
is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...
performances. The first revolving stage as a permanent feature of the theatre was in the Nakamura-za in Edo in 1793. Not only were rotating stages used in Kabuki but they also had the technology to lower or lift stages and sets. This technology would later be used in the western theatres in the nineteenth century.
The very first revolving stage in the western world was build by Karl Lautenschläger (1843–1906) in 1896 in Munich, Germany. Lautenschläger studied under Carl Brandt at the court theatre in Darmstadt from there he went to Munich, where he worked for 22 years and became the head machinist at the Royal theatre. He is known for his revolving stage, sometimes called the Lautenschläger stage, which later acquired the legacy of being called the new Shakespeare stage. The stage was installed at the Residenz Theatre for a performance of Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
, an opera by Wolfgang Mozart. The revolve at the Residenz Theatre
Residenz Theatre
The Residence Theatre or New Residence Theatre of the Residence in Munich was built from 1950 to 1951 by Karl Hocheder...
was fifty feet in diameter and was raised slightly off of the regular stage floor. With the proscenium a little less than a fourth of the revolve was visible to the audience. Lautenschläger used electricity to power the turntable, with the table turning on rollers, which run on a circular track. This particular revolve was split into quarter sections and allowed four scenes to be set at the top of the show. The rotating stage allowed for depth, like landscapes with views in the distance and more three-dimensional set in front of the walls of the revolve.
For theatres like the Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, that did not have an underside to their stage, each sector of the revolve would have “wo wheels operating directly on the stage floor and propelled by a small motor fixed to the underside of the turntable. Some revolves had only two separate sections while some had as many as seven. Not all sections had to be split into equal proportions. Sections could be very shallow or very deep according to what the scene required. Rectangle sections were even used many times for indoor scenes. Some revolves had sections that connected to each other to give the appearance of travel and help give the set perspective. Eventually traps, elevators and rotating stages combined in some theatres. The individual sections of the turntable could be lowered and raised to and from the underneath the stage to make scene changes even more efficient.
In 1889 the Munich court theatre hired Lautenschläger to design a stage that was more efficient for Shakespeare productions. His rotating stage seemed to be the perfect solution to Shakespeare. Other theatres and other companies performing Shakespeare quickly began to use the rotating stage and it started to become known as the new Shakespeare stage. This was probably the biggest role for the rotating stage in its history.
Today rotating stages are still in use. ''Les Misérables'
Les Misérables (musical)
Les Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo....
' is probably one of the most notable modern uses of a rotating stage. It was recorded to have made sixty-three rotations each performance during its original run in London.
It is common practice to reverse the rotation of a rotating stage as frequently as possible to prevent cables from becoming twisted, and eventually breaking.
See also
In the retail and exhibition industries movement adds a dynamic dimension to product display. For the events, film and TV industries a Movetech UK revolving stage can create spectacular film sequences, TV commercials or impressive product launches or reveals by moving the audience or the merchandise as required.
With revolving stages from 1m to 33m from stock, a range of ring and double revolves and scissor lifts, you can be sure we’ll have the right product for you. Revolving stages by Movetech UK. Rent/Hire/Purchase/Buy! A Movetech UK revolving stage is built to a unique design that provides a stable, high capacity rotating platform. In the retail and exhibition industries movement adds a dynamic dimension to product display. For the events, film and TV industries a Movetech UK revolving stage can create spectacular film sequences, TV commercials or impressive product launches or reveals by moving the audience or the merchandise as required.
- StagecraftStagecraftStagecraft is a generic term referring to the technical aspects of theatrical, film, and video production. It includes, but is not limited to, constructing and rigging scenery, hanging and focusing of lighting, design and procurement of costumes, makeup, procurement of props, stage management, and...
The American Architect and Building News. Volume 53. Boston: American. Architect and Building News Co, 1896.
Ackermann, Friedrich Adolf. The Oberammergau Passion Play, 1890. Fifth Edition. Munich: Friedrich Adolf Ackermann, 1890.
Fuerst, Walter René and Hume, Samuel J. Twentieth-Century Stage Decoration. Volume 1. New York: Dover Publications, 1967.
Hoffer, Charles. Music Listening Today. Fourth Edition. Boston: Schirmer Cengage Learning, 2009.
Izenour, George C. Theater Technology. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996.
Ortolano, Benito. The Japanese theatre: from shamanistic ritual to contemporary pluralism. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1990.
Vermette, Margaret. The Musical World of Boublil and Schönberg: The Creators of Les Misérables, Miss Saigon, Martin Guerre, and The Pirate Queen. New York: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, 2006.
Williams, Simon. Shakespeare on the German stage: 1586-1914. Volume 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
Revolving stage compony (Coventry)