Theater is an art that can be called collective. It only seems to the uninitiated that the theater is limited to the stage and the actors who are on it. In fact, the backstage hides a lot of people who have various theatrical professions. What kind? Read on!
Usher
What does any temple of Melpomene begin with ? Remembering the dictum of Konstantin Stanislavsky, you can answer: “The theater begins with a hanger!”, But in fact, it all starts with a bandmaster. In everyday life, people in this profession are usually called tickets, but their responsibilities include not only checking tickets.
The bandmen prepare the hall for the performance, meet the audience, sit them down and even can advise on the theater’s repertoire. So the aphorism that the theater begins with a hanger is not entirely true. By the way, in tsarist times, the basic rules were introduced, which are preserved in some theaters today: for example, below, in the stalls and mezzanine, men play the role of conductor, and girls work above the first tier.
Actors and actresses
The curtain rises, actors appear on the scene. They are real masters of reincarnation. It is the actors who take on the images of other personalities, fully accustoming to their character and qualities. Acting was born in ancient Greece. Initially, this profession was very respected. Later, in the Middle Ages, the actor’s work was despised - after all, the theater was recognized as a manifestation of the devil, and people who had theatrical professions as its minions. Makers could only recover in the eyes of society in the Renaissance. But the real revolution took place in the XX century - then Stanislavsky defeated the stereotyped characters inherent in the actors.
It is worth noting that theatrical activity is not suitable for everyone: only creative people who can remember and reproduce a large amount of information can become actors. It is necessary to reincarnate daily in your character, bringing its essence to the public. Everything should be perfect - and the voice, and intonation, and gestures. This profession is one of the most psychologically challenging.
Puppeteer
This profession is different in that the person does not go on stage, he controls the dolls, voices them. It is very important that the puppet theater artist possesses puppeteering techniques, stage speech, acting technique, and singing.
Prompter
Inveterate theatergoers know the answer to the question of who the prompter is. Those who are not familiar with the meaning of this word will be interested to know that French souffleur can be translated into Russian as a “tip”. That is, the activity of this theater worker is that he monitors the progress of rehearsals and the performance. And if necessary, in a whisper gives clues to the actors.
The prompter’s workplace is hidden from the viewer’s eyes, so often many don’t even think about who the prompter is and where he is. And this man sits either behind the curtain, or in a prompter's booth located in the middle of the stage. This booth is barely elevated, has the shape of a shell.
Make-up artist
The master of theatrical transformations is a make-up artist. He can turn a beauty into a monster and vice versa! To do this, he uses makeup, sticker materials (mustache, wigs, eyebrows), humose - a special viscous mass that can deform the face. In his work, the make-up artist is not limited to just applying makeup. He makes wigs and beards.
Dresser
The stage image of the actors is completed by the people who approached the work as a costume designer. They help to emphasize the character of the character, his features. What is a theatrical costume? These are clothes, shoes, jewelry and hats. Information about how costumes of characters of different eras should look are taken from different sources: museums, books, photographs, postcards.
Artist
Work on the costume begins with sketches. They are performed by the artist. He draws up the whole performance in general. The profession of theater artist is very multifaceted. He is a stage designer, decorator, and artist. At the same time, interaction with the director is also important: only joint work allows to realize the creative idea of the production, its idea. By the way, in every theater there is a decorative and fake workshop. It produces items that are used in performances. A variety of materials are used to create the scenery: papier-mâché, wood, plaster, canvas.
Light operator
The lighting operator is responsible for the operation of the lighting equipment in the productions. The lighting effects on the stage are used very different. The two main categories are stationary and dynamic.
The dynamic ones include:
- lightning;
- explosion;
- fire;
- rain;
- snow;
- train running.
Stationary effects are:
For all lighting effects, light operators use special equipment. And fog is produced when hot steam is passed through dry ice in evaporators.
Entrepreneur
Manager, impresario, producer - all these theatrical professions can be called the word entrepreneur. This person is a tenant or owner of a private theater. By the way, the very first contract concluded by an entrepreneur with an actress was drawn up in 1545! In Russia, professional entrepreneurs appeared only in the 18th century. The first representative was the German Johann. It was discharged in 1671 by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. The year 1679 was marked by the arrival of a new entrepreneur in Moscow - Splavsky. And in 1700, at the invitation of Peter I, Johann Kunst came to Russia.
Troupe manager
The manager of the troupe is engaged in organizational activities in the theater. This person takes part in the distribution of roles, makes suggestions on the composition of the troupe. In addition, he designs rehearsal plans. It is from this person that the uniform loading of the troupe depends. The head selects new actors, invites performers for one-time participation in productions.
Theater director
The profession of theater director in the form in which we are accustomed to seeing her, developed in the second half of the XIX century. But the concept of directing appeared much earlier - in 1742. The director of the theater defines the general idea, which will be revealed during the performance. This creative worker combines the efforts of everyone else - decorators and actors, composers and make-up artists. It is he who must unite all the theater workers, make them imbued with meaning, put their soul into the production. For this, the director needs to be a good psychologist, while being able to control himself.
Theater director - a difficult profession. In order to become one, one must possess assertiveness, seriousness, literacy, intelligence and originality. This person interprets the plays - of course, according to his vision, so that they sound in a new way, interest the audience. There are other theatrical professions. The assistant director is simply called the director. He does daily rehearsals. Less responsible tasks are performed by the assistant director.