Stage Machinery

Stage Machinery, mechanical devices used to make quick scene changes and increase realism. The Greeks employed the mechane for propulsion through the air, and the ekkyklema for movement forward. Machinery was also used by the Romans. The periaktoi which provided scene changes in Renaissance Italy were rotated mechanically, and ‘flying angels’ and the Paradiso could also be seen at this time. Giacomo Torelli invented the carriage-and-frame devices which moved scenery by means of carriages beneath the stage; he also pioneered the machine plays which specialized in elaborate mechanical effects. Philip de Loutherbourg, who worked for Garrick, was especially good at reproducing climatic effects and natural phenomena such as fire and volcanoes. The 19th century saw the introduction of traps below the stage, through which actors could emerge; the grid above, permitting scenery to be ‘flown’; and the revolving stage. Whole stages can now be moved into the wings and instantly replaced by new sets; individual sections of a stage can be raised or lowered. There is almost no illusion which modern stage machinery, together with modern lighting, cannot achieve.