[SML] Theatre-in-the-Round Productions

[June Abernathy]

I did Summer Stock at a Tent Theater in-the-round, and we had great productions of 

Driving Miss Daisy (with a Turntable)
You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown
A View from the Bridge
Round and Round the Garden (Ackbourne)
Playboy of the Western World
Jungle Book

I saw a great production of The Cuckoo’s Nest in the round, but that takes some planning.

Pretty much any musical review works well this way. Mysteries are tough. 
Our rule was no piece of scenery or furniture more than 3’ high. YMMV depending on your sightlines.

Our tent had the advantage of having 6 aisles - 4 in the corners that were stairs up to the top of the raked seating areas, and 2 on the sides (say, 3 o’clock and 6 o’clock) that ran off flat - one to the “Lobby”, and one to our “Backstage” area. Aisles can be used as playing areas, and if you have some that are comprised of stairs, particularly up to widely visible landing at the top, that’s extra helpful.

I’ve used the “Clock” idea when blocking the show - setting some landmark like an aisle or the Light Booth or the Main Entrance as 12, and numbering around the clock from there.

Another method is to number the aisles, and reference everything off of those numbers. 

In my tent, we used a combination, setting the light booth at one end as 12 o’clock, and numbering the aisles with their corresponding clock numbers - 1,3,5,7,9,11

June Abernathy
AEA Stage Manager




> On Apr 26, 2017, at 3:00 PM,"Miller, Daniel" <DaMiller at dwu.edu <mailto:DaMiller at dwu.edu>> wrote:
>> 
>> Can anyone give me suggestions on good theatre-in-the-round productions they have seen?
>> 
>> Daniel L. Miller
>> Associate Professor of Theatre
>> Dakota Wesleyan University

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