Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1979 - 14

stagehand, or perhaps the rush of air from the ventilating system, will put the unit in vibration unless any of a number of
methods is used to attach the flown piece to a solid object.
Cable has, of course, been used on the thrust and arena
stage as well. On these stages, sightlines become much more
difficult for the designer, and the need to get some scenic elements into the main playing area rather than crowded against
the rear wall engenders all matter of fragmentary cornices,
window frames, door frames, suggestions of walls, etc. These
are frequently suspended from a grid on flexible cable, or, in
the case of very lightweight pieces, piano or galvanized wire.
In most of these cases, the units are suspended only to
support their dead-weight of a few pounds, and are merely appendages of the set. Certain types of flexible cable, however,
are amazingly strong. They are capable of supporting much
more than a few pieces of foam or 1 x 3. The properly selected and engineered suspension system can be used to
support a platform, stairway, or an entire set loaded with actors, equipment, and furniture! Instead of hanging a picture
frame weighing two pounds, a 1 2' x 30' platform weighing
two tons can be suspended, and another two tons placed on
top of it. Without a support leg underneath, the implications
for the designer are impressive. Instead of being tied to the
ground with all major set pieces, platforms can be placed at
any height, anywhere, and in any configuration.
Much space can be saved or doubled up when using suspension structures. In November 1976, the authors worked on
a production of Hello, Dolly! for Cleveland's Karamu Theatre.
Karamu's theatre has a proscenium opening of 32', with 8'
wings on each side and a depth of 30'. There are twenty
counterweighted fly lines; no orchestra pit. This stage is perfectly adequate for most straight plays, but Hello, Dolly!
raised problems. The Oliver Smith extravaganza with four or
five main sets, five or six transition scenes, and a full complement of streetcars, trains, dancing horses, busy crowd
scenes, and a full orchestra requires a large stage. Perhaps
the show could be done as a fly show, but not at Karamu,
where once the electrics are hung and the masking is in, there
are only three or four available lines left on the whole stage.
Using a turntable to change scenes was the approach finally
decided upon; but turntables invariably use up space upstage,
and the problem of where to put the orchestra remained. If
only there was a way to double the space.
The problem was solved through the use of suspension
structures. The band could be placed on a large platform, and
the platform could be hung above the upstage half of the turntable. The set would revolve underneath the orchestra platform. Not only did this enable us to find a reasonable place to
put the orchestra, it also allowed the visual incorporation the
orchestra in the Harmonia Gardens dance hall scene. In other
scenes a scrim could be lowered in front of the band, effectively blocking it from view.
The 28' x 10' platform supported twelve musicians, a piano, and miscellaneous accessories. It was suspended on
eleven lines of 1/8/1 wire rope from the grid 24' above. Ten
lines were stretched to eye bolts along the perimeter of the
platform, and one special line ran to an eye bolt near the
greatest concentration of weight, the piano. Stairways went
off each side of the platform to allow the orchestra members
access, and a railing ran along the entire perimeter for safety
purposes.
Stabilization of suspended platforms is often a problem, but
in this case the unit was against the back wall of the theatre.
The platform was attached to the back wall, and side sway
was thus eliminated.

Thus, a suspension structure, because of its lack of understructure, allowed twice as much use of the same space. It
can create a new esthetic tool as well.
Miguel Pinero's Short Eyes is a play about the dehumanizing effect of life in today's prisons. When work began on a design for the Karamu production of this show, the director,
Chris Columbi, and the designer decided the play would be
more effective if placed in a modern sterile prison rather than
the grafitti-scrawled, wet, grungy walls of the traditional jail.
The design was conceived as a raked concrete floor surrounded by a large concrete catwalk. To keep the design particularly severe it was decided to let the stage and catwalk define the space (the confines of a prison day room) and
dispense with actual walls. A suspension structure made this
possible. A large U-shaped platform could be hung on twelve
wire ropes from the grid. The downstage portions of the catwalk could, in fact, be cantilevered out through the proscenium arch and over the front row of seats, thus increasing
the audience's sense of involvement in the action.
The weight of the platforms was easily taken by the wire
rope, again distributed along the perimeter of the platforms.
Stairways to the raised level provided partial stabilization of
the platform, but the downstage portions needed additional
protection against sidesway. In this case, stability was provided by two pieces of 1/1 x 1/1 X Va/l angle iron attached to
the offstage part of the catwalk next to the proscenium arch.
The metal was then connected to the brick wall behind the
arch with lag bolts sunk in lead anchors.
The oppressive weighty feelings of the guards' catwalk,
bearing down on the prisoners below, gave exactly the effect
desired. It was enhanced by the fact that the unit is reassuringly steady, although it was seemingly unsupported.
Interestingly enough, the cables in most suspension structures can be easily hidden from all but the most discerning
eye. All that is needed is 1) a cooperative lighting designer, 2)
a can of flat black paint, and 3) some forethought as to the
surface behind the cable in the audience's line of sight. The
cable, which is rarely more than If./I, is not particularly eyecatching in any case and, unless a beam of light is shining on
it, is nearly invisible to begin with. Painting it black and making sure that a black surface is behind it, disguises the cable
totally.
Hanging platforms do have the ability to surprise and
amaze the audience, and the designer must be careful not to
overstep the bounds of self-indulgent gimmickry in using them
as a design element, as happened in Karamu's production of
The Sistuhs. A set was needed with a variety of levels and distinct playing areas for the twenty different scenes that comprise this documentary of the black woman's life.
A small 6' x 8' platform was hung in the middle of the set
with a stairway leading to it. Although this platform served Well
as a balcony, it was not completely successful. Because the
platform seemed to be supported by some form of antigravity,
it was so visually riveting that it occasionally distracted from
the other aspects of the show.
This kind of visual excitement, however, was effective in
two other productions that used suspension structures. Celestial Harmonies was a combination jazz concert and inspirational dance event created by choreographer Joan Hartshorne, the jazz group Spectrum, and by Guy Cournoyer. The
designer wanted a set in which a nearly infinite variety of
spaces and movement patterns could be created by the dancers. During the two-hour performance the jazz group played a
series of original selections dealing with vaguely cosmic
themes; the dancers would improvise to each piece.

James Merrill Stone is chief designer with Merrill Stone Associates, a nine-man Cleveland based scenic design, consulting, and construction
firm. Stone has designed nearly 100 sets for theatre, opera, television, and dance, and is past Chairman of the Cleveland section of USITI.
Alan Blosser, P.E., is a practicing structural engineering consultant working in both heavy industry and as a collaborator on scenic art projects in
Ohio and western Pennsylvania. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Theatre Design & Technology

USITI/Winter, 1979

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