theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

, a carpenter is a

stagehand A stagehand is a person who works backstage or behind the scenes in theatres, film, television, or location performance. Their work include setting up the scenery, lights, sound, props, rigging, and special effects for a production. General S ...

who builds sets and stage elements. They usually are hired by the

production manager In the cinema of the United States, a unit production manager (UPM) is the Directors Guild of America–approved title for the top below-the-line staff position, responsible for the administration of a feature film or television production. Non ...

, crew chief or

technical director A technical director (TD) is usually a senior technical person within e.g. a software company, engineering firm, film studio, theatre company or television studio. This person usually has the highest level of skill within a specific technical f ...

. In some less common cases, they may be hired by the director, or producer. They are usually paid by the hour. Carpenters receive drafting from the technical director who uses the designers' renderings, models, and/or drafting of the set to create the technical drawings for the production. Working mainly with

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...

s and

metal A metal (from ancient Greek, Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, e ...

s, they use techniques that include

woodworking Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinet making (cabinetry and furniture), wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning. History Along with stone, clay and animal parts, wood was one of the first mate ...

and

welding Welding is a fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by using high heat to melt the parts together and allowing them to cool, causing fusion. Welding is distinct from lower temperature techniques such as b ...

. They build set pieces, including some standard elements—

flats Flat or flats may refer to: Architecture * Flat (housing), an apartment in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and other Commonwealth countries Arts and entertainment * Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch * Flat (soldier), ...

, platforms and columns—as well as pieces of the

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

. For example, a carpenter may be responsible for building stairs and ramps on and off of the performance area and for leveling the stage floor itself. Only carpenters trained as riggers are trusted to do

rigging Rigging comprises the system of ropes, cables and chains, which support a sailing ship or sail boat's masts—''standing rigging'', including shrouds and stays—and which adjust the position of the vessel's sails and spars to which they ar ...

(see

fly crew Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

). Often union houses and some larger theatres make distinctions between carpenters and riggers, but most smaller theatres do not, due to staffing limitations. Professional carpenters do not work on anything with an electrical component (see

electrician An electrician is a tradesperson specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, transmission lines, stationary machines, and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the maintenance ...

). They also do not paint the set, as this is the job of a

scenic artist A charge artist (or charge scenic artist and also head scenic artist) leads and oversees the painting of stage, film or television scenery. In the United States such individuals are typically members of the United Scenic Artists union. The charge a ...

. Often, stage carpentry for a large production is organized with one "master carpenter" or "shop foreman" and many subordinate carpenters.

References

Stage crew Theatrical occupations Woodworking Carpentry {{Woodworking-stub

See also

References