#backstagetour

Seeing from a different perspective 

As part of the Rep backstage tour, we get to go into the main auditorium of the theater and stand on the stage.

The House – main auditorium of the Rep

I asked our tour guide which part of the tour people respond to and impress by the most and she replied that it was the moment when they get to stand on the stage. This is also true for me.

As a common audience, the only interaction I have with the theatre is just sitting in the auditorium and viewing the stage from that perspective. Although the stage is within reaching distance from me, it always feels distant and unapproachable. 

So, when I finally got the chance to stand on the stage and look out into the auditorium, I was engulfed with a strange emotion. Seeing the auditorium from the stage was a surreal experience. The separation between audience and the stage was gone, and the simple change of perspective made it feels like that I was transported to a completely different space although we are still in the auditorium.

Additionally, when seeing hundreds of closely packed empty seats right before you in such a close distance, it felt extremely overwhelming. And from that, I can understand how the actors onstage would feel in every performance when these empty seats become individuals faces of their audience and they can clearly see their expressions and responses to their performance. However, it made me grasp that maybe it is this feeling of anxiousness in the beginning and the rewards of appreciations from the audience after they’ve put on a successful performance is what motivate the actors to pursue what they are doing.

I think being on stage has such an impact on me because the new perspective was so different from how I have always seen the theatre. As an audience, I have always just seen the final product presented right before me and as a stage designer, I have always just thought and designed from the perspective of seeing it front on, never the other way around. Because of this perspective, I have never really considered the feelings of the people on stage and what do they see. This makes me question my approach to design. Yes, my main target is the audience as I’m designing an experience for them, but the actors are equally as important because they are the one who are going to use and interact with the design.  Hence, I should consider the user’s experience as well as the audience’s experience when designing. I need to think about:

-          How would my design affect their movements?

-          Would it affect their character building?

-          What about their interaction with the stage, with the audience or with other actors?  

The Birmingham Repertory Theatre (The Rep) was founded in 1907 by Barry Jackson and it is the only producing theatre base in Birmingham.

For my current exhibition design project, I decided to go on a backstage tour of the Rep to experience the atmosphere of a theatre’s backstage and to see the natural working environment of a producing theatre. Additionally, as a theatre-lover and a regular Rep-visitor, it is simply exciting and fun to enter the “forbidden ground” of the theatre.

Reception at the Stage Door entrance. As we are not allowed to take photographs during the tour, so I do not have many exciting photographs to show.

The Littles stories of People

The backstage is exactly what I expected and unexpected as well. It is the same as how I imagined the theatre’s backstage would be like- a large tall space with workshops, studio lights, equipment, and mechanism etc.

However, it is also surprisingly messy. For example, I can see props and tools that were piled on top of each other on an embellished armchair and cables everywhere that could be potential trip hazards.  But it is this chaotic sense that made me feel that this place is “alive”. The imperfect and disorganised environment reflect the fast nature of working in the theatre, and most importantly for me, it also reflects that the people work there are just normal common people who make mistakes and mess, people who are no different from me (the audience). This realisation causes a phenomenal feeling for me as the wall between the audience and the theatre was suddenly broken and immediately, theatre feel more approachable and “human”.  Therefore, when being in this environment and seeing these mess, the experience felt a lot more intimate and engaging for me.

Throughout the tour, I noticed a lot of details that indicate little stories of the peoples that work in the theatre. My favourite would probably be the gigantic bag of Tetley Teabags that sat on the top shelf of the staff cupboard. It was probably the biggest bag of teabags that I have ever seen, this just shows the incredible amounts of tea consumed by staffs every day which further indicate the huge number of people that were needed in order to create a production.

Another highlight for me is the old, dainty biscuit tin with a masking tape handwritten label saying “Gold Leaf” on the workshop table.  I love the randomness of the object and how it juxtaposes with the surrounding bulky heavy power tools. It is also something that myself can relate to a lot because I tend to keep empty biscuit tin and use it to store things as well. All these little traces of people amplify the experience of the tour and made it special for me.