Expert: James Medd - 11/11/2008

Question
We are currently in construction for some new theatrical performance spaces. an 800 seat theater, a 400 seat theater and a black box. What would be your recommendations for the stage surfaces. The 800 seat theater will be maple. Should we stain it darker or keep it natural with a sealer? What about the black box stages? Painted or natural?

The 400 seat theater floor is not maple. It will be a
sprung system however with plywood on top. Shall this floor be stained, painted (what color) or a type of
polyurethane sealer which can be painted when desired.

Thanks in advance for your help!

William


Answer
Hello William,

Thanks for your question. My apologies for the delay in answering, but I've been extremely busy with one thing and another recently!

I am really excited to hear about the creation of this new venue and performance spaces, and I hope my responses can contribute in some way to the project.

My best advice is a technique which I've mentioned in my responses to questions before. It is the approach used at the theatre I currently work at, and I honestly know no better way.

Whatever the stage surface is, I would begin by giving the floor a good coat of cellulose sealer or a similar product, then sand down and repeat the process. This will protect the wood for many years to come.

On top of the stage surface, you then lay a layer of thin plywood sheets. The ones we have are around 3mm thick and 2 metres by 1. These replaced the old ones in 2002, which in turn were laid down in 1981 (just to give you an idea of the lifespan of this system). The plywood panels are nailed to the stage floor either with a hammer and nails, or, to get the job done more quickly, use an automatic nailing gun. These work off compressed air and can be hired or bought relatively cheaply.

I suggest nailing the boards in each corner, then one or two on each edge. Another advantage of using a plywood layer which is so thin, means that it can be shaped and cut around curves and shapes.

When the plywood boards are nailed down and the floor is level, this surface can be repainted again and again.

The advantages of this system over painting directly onto the stage floor are huge. You don't have to worry about painting over a floor which will have cost you a lot of money to have built and laid. You can repaint the plywood surface again and again, while the stage floor  "proper" beneath it stays strong and unspoilt.

Best of all, you can choose the best "look" for the production you are staging in each venue. A charcoal-grey stage is used on most of the shows I work on, although, occasionally, this gets painted over to represent, say, the yellow brick road in the Wizard of Oz. If you are worried about not having a "wood" effect floor for a certain production, you can achieve this fairly simply using a paint effect.

I hope this suggestion is useful to you, William, and I hope that I have explained the method enough so that you can understand it. However, I will be more than happy to supply you with drawings and diagrams to demonstrate how the system works.

I hope that I have helped out in some way towards your project, and may I wish you well with this new venture. Should you require my help further regarding the staging, or in another technical area, please drop me a line and I'll be happy to help out.

Regards,

James.