Stagecraft

Stagecraft is a loose term that refers to just about anything that happens backstage before, during, and after a theatrical production.

It is comprised of many diciplines, typically divided into five main sections:

• Scenery which includes set construction, scenic painting and special effects)
• Lighting design
• Sound design which can include musical underscoring as well as theatrical sound effects
• Costume design including costume construction and makeup
• Production, comprised of stage management, production management, house management and company management.

In its most basic incarnation, stagecraft may consist of a sole stage manager, who sets up all the scenery, organizes the cast, and runs the lighting instruments alone. At the high end of the spectrum, modern Broadway and opera, stagecraft and tech for a production may include hundreds of skilled carpenters, painters, electricians, stagehands, seamstresses, wigmakers, &c., &c. ad infinitum. In this form, modern stagecraft is a highly technical and specialized field, with many sub-diciplines and a vast trove of history and tradition, far too vast to be discussed here.