The Alexandrinsky Theater on the first day of the performance of The Inspector General was overcrowded. The privileged audience, accustomed to looking at theatrical performances as light entertainment, was stunned by the deep truth of Gogol's comedy. Gogol's comedy "made a lot of noise" (as the censor A. V. Nikitenko wrote in his diary) and caused widespread discussion in society. Reactionary circles viciously accused the author of slandering officials. Gogol invented "some kind of Russia and in it some kind of town, into which he dumped all the abominations that you rarely find on the surface of real Russia ..." wrote the reactionary Vigel.

Gogol's brilliant comedy was perceived in a completely different way by the leading public circles. VV Stasov recalled that all the young people of that time were delighted with the "Inspector General". "We then repeated by heart to each other, correcting and replenishing each other, whole scenes, long conversations from there." But most of the actors did not understand the depth and vitality of the comedy and played it like a stereotyped vaudeville, while reactionary criticism and government circles irritated by the play viciously attacked the author of the "stupid farce." Subsequently, Gogol in "Theatrical patrol" spoke with bitter irony about this attitude of the ruling circles, conveying the words of a certain "master": "To ridicule! But you can't joke with laughter. It means destroying all respect, that's what it means. But after that everyone will beat me up in the street, say: “Why, they laugh at you; and you have the same rank, so here's a crack for you! "This is what it means." His interlocutor replies to this: “Of course! This is a serious thing! they say: trinket, trifles, theatrical performance. No, these are not simple trinkets; strict attention must be paid to this. For such things and send to Siberia. Yes, if I had the power, the author would not have squeaked. I would have planted him in such a place that he would not have seen the light of God. "

The writer was deeply shocked both by the very performance of the play and by the attitude of the hostile privileged public towards it: “... The Inspector General has been played,” Gogol wrote about the first performance of the comedy, “and my soul is so vague, so strange .. I expected, I knew in advance how things would go, and for all that, a sad and annoyingly painful feeling clothed me. "

Continuing our journey through the theatrical world, today we will get into the world of behind the scenes and learn the meaning of such words as ramp, proscenium, scenery, and also get to know their role in the play.

So, entering the hall, each spectator immediately turns his gaze to the stage.

Scene Is: 1) the place where the theatrical performance takes place; 2) a synonym for the word "phenomenon" - a separate part of an action, an act of a theatrical play, when the composition of the actors on the stage remains unchanged.

Scene- from the Greek. skene - booth, stage. In the early days of the Greek theater, the skene was a cage or tent attached to the back of the orchestra.

Skene, orchectra, theatron constitute the three fundamental scenographic elements of the ancient Greek performance. An orchestra or playground connected the stage and the audience. Skene developed in height, including the theologeon, or playground of gods and heroes, and on the surface together with the proscenium, an architectural façade, the precursor to the wall decor that would later create the proscenium space. Throughout history, the meaning of the term "scene" has been constantly expanding: a decoration, a playground, a scene of action, a time period during an act and, finally, in a metaphorical sense, a sudden and vivid spectacular event ("arrange a scene for someone"). But not all of us know that the scene is divided into several parts. It is customary to distinguish: proscenium, backstage, upper and lower stage. Let's try to understand these concepts.

Proscenium - the space of the stage between the curtain and the auditorium.

The proscenium is widely used as a playground in opera and ballet performances. In drama theaters, the stage serves as the main setting for the small scenes in front of the closed curtain that link the scenes of the performance. Some directors bring the main action to the fore, expanding the stage.

The low barrier separating the proscenium from the auditorium is called ramp... In addition, the ramp covers the stage lighting devices from the side of the auditorium. Often this word is used to refer to the very system of theatrical lighting equipment, which is placed behind this barrier and serves to illuminate the stage space from the front and from below. To illuminate the stage from the front and from above, spotlights are used - a row of lamps located on the sides of the stage.

Aryerscene- the space behind the main stage. The rear scene is a continuation of the main scene, it is used to create the illusion of a great depth of space, and serves as a reserve room for setting the scenery. On the backstage, there are wagons or a rotating rolling circle with pre-installed decorations. The top of the rear stage is equipped with grate bars with decorative rises and lighting equipment. Warehouses for hanging decorations are placed under the floor of the rear stage.

Upper stage - a part of the stage box located above the stage mirror and bounded from above by a grate. It is equipped with working galleries and walkways, and is used to accommodate hanging decorations, overhead lighting devices, and various stage mechanisms.

Lower stage - a part of the stage box below the tablet, where the stage mechanisms, prompter and light-control booths, lifting and lowering devices, devices for stage effects are located.

And it turns out that the stage has a pocket! Side stage pocket - a room for a dynamic change of scenery with the help of special rolling platforms. Side pockets are located on both sides of the stage. Their dimensions make it possible to completely fit the scenery on the truck, which occupies the entire playing area of \u200b\u200bthe stage. Usually, decorative warehouses are adjacent to the side pockets.

Named in the previous definition "furka", along with "grates" and "barrels", is included in the technical equipment of the stage. Furka - part of the stage equipment; a mobile platform on rollers used to move parts of the decoration design on the stage. The movement of the truck is carried out by an electric motor, manually or with the help of a cable, one end of which is located behind the scenes, and the other is attached to the side wall of the truck.

- lattice (wooden) flooring located above the stage. It serves for the installation of blocks of stage mechanisms, is used for work related to the suspension of elements of the performance design. The grates are connected with the working galleries and the stage by stationary stairs.

Shtanket - a metal pipe on cables, in which the wings are attached, details of the scenery.

In academic theaters, all the technical elements of the stage are hidden from the audience by a decorative frame, which includes a curtain, curtains, a backdrop and a backdrop.

Entering the hall before the start of the performance, the viewer sees the curtain - a cloth of cloth suspended in the stage portal area and covering the stage from the auditorium. It is also called "intermission-sliding" or "intermission" curtain.

Intermission-sliding (intermission) curtain is a permanent stage equipment covering its mirror. It moves apart before the start of the performance, closes and opens between acts.

The curtains are sewn from dense dyed fabric on a dense lining, decorated with the theater emblem or wide fringes sewn to the bottom of the curtain. The curtain allows you to make the process of changing the situation invisible, to create a feeling of a gap in time between actions. Intermission-sliding curtain can be of several types. The most commonly used are Wagnerian and Italian.

Consists of two halves pinned at the top with overlays. Both wings of this curtain are opened by a mechanism that pulls the lower inner corners to the edges of the stage, often leaving the lower part of the curtain visible to the audience.

Both parts italian curtain they move apart synchronously with the help of cables attached to them at a height of 2-3 meters and pulling the curtain to the upper corners of the proscenium. Above, above the stage, is paduga - a horizontal strip of fabric (sometimes acting as a decoration) suspended from a bar and limiting the height of the stage, hiding the upper stage mechanisms, lighting devices, grate bars and upper spans over the decorations.

When the curtain opens, the viewer sees the side framing of the stage, made of strips of fabric arranged vertically - this is backstage.

Closes the backstage from the audience backdrop - a painted or smooth background made of soft fabric, suspended in the back of the stage.

Scenery of the performance is located on the stage.

Decoration (lat. "decoration") - decoration of the action on the stage. Creates a visual mode of action by means of painting and architecture.

The decoration should be useful, efficient and functional. Among the main functions of decoration are the illustration and depiction of elements supposedly existing in the dramatic universe, the free construction and change of the scene, considered as a play mechanism.

Setting up and decorating a performance is a whole art called scenography. At different times, the meanings of this word have changed.

Scenography among the ancient Greeks was the art of theater design and pictorial decoration resulting from this technique. In the Renaissance, scenography was the technique of painting the backdrop canvas. In contemporary theatrical art, this word represents the science and art of organizing the stage and theatrical space. The set itself is the result of the set designer's work.

This term is increasingly being replaced by the word "decoration" if there is a need to go beyond the concept of decoration. Scenography signifies the desire to be writing in a three-dimensional space (to which one should also add a temporal dimension), and not just the art of painting the canvas, which the theater was content with up to naturalism.

During the heyday of modern scenography, decorators managed to breathe life into space, to revive the time and play of an actor in a joint creative act, when it is difficult to isolate a director, illuminator, actor or musician.

The set design (decoration equipment of the performance) includes props - items of the stage setting that the actors use or manipulate during the course of the play, and props - specially made items (sculptures, furniture, dishes, jewelry, weapons, etc.) used in theatrical performances instead of real things. Props are notable for their cheapness, durability, emphasized by the expressiveness of their external form. At the same time, props usually refuse to reproduce details that are not visible to the viewer.

The production of props is a large branch of theatrical technology, which includes work with paper pulp, cardboard, metal, synthetic materials and polymers, fabrics, varnishes, paints, mastics, etc. , finishing and locksmith works, fabric painting, metal stamping.

Next time, we will learn more about some theatrical professions, whose representatives not only create the performance itself, but also provide its technical support, work with the audience.

The definitions of the presented terms are taken from the sites.

Main parts of the scene

The stage box is divided into three main parts along the vertical section: the hold, the table and the grate (Fig. 2). Holdis a room located under the stage, therefore it is also called the lower stage. The hold contains mechanisms for driving a circle, lifting and lowering platforms and other equipment. The lower stage is used for arranging hatches from the stage and for various effects. The area of \u200b\u200bthe hold is usually equal to the area of \u200b\u200bthe main stage, minus the space reserved for the storage of soft decorations - the "safe". The height of the hold depends on the mechanization of the stage platform - the design of the turntable and lifting and lowering platforms. However, under any conditions, the height of the hold cannot be less than 1.9 m,counting from the floor to the lower planes of the upper structures.

Tablet - called the floor of the stage, a wooden flooring that serves as a place for the actors to play and install the decoration.

Grizzlies -lattice ceiling of the stage. On the grate, blocks of decorative, individual, soffit lifts and other riding equipment are placed. At the level of the tablet, the front part of the stage is adjacent to the stage from the side of the auditorium, in the back is the room for the rear stage, and on the sides are the so-called pockets.

Proscenium - this is a section of the stage that overlooks the auditorium beyond the curtain line. In modern theaters, the front stage is often included in the volume of the stage box and is supplied with all the necessary set of mechanical equipment for changing the scenery. The front stage is used as a play area in front of the curtain in the immediate vicinity of the audience.

It can be played both separately from the main stage, and in combination with it.

The border between the main stage and its front is red line - the line along which the intermission curtain runs. Sometimes a part of the scene is called a red line, on

Which lowers the fire-retardant curtain, but due to the fact that in modern buildings this curtain is often carried over the orchestra's barrier, it is more correct to consider the active zone as the beginning of the stage, that is, the zone behind the main stage curtain. The entire area of \u200b\u200bthe stage is divided into conditional sections parallel to the ramp. These areas are called stage plans. The countdown of plans starts from the red line. First comes the zero plan, followed by the first, second, etc. to the back wall of the stage. Before the border separating one plane from the other, the wings and padugs, hanging in permanent places, served. Backstage is a soft or hard decoration, suspended from the sides of the stage and covering its side parts. Padugas are essentially the same curtains, but suspended horizontally across the stage.

They serve to disguise spotlights - devices illuminating the scene from above - and the entire upper economy. The curtains and paddles form a series of arches suspended parallel to the ramp. The space of the stage, lying between these arches, determined the area of \u200b\u200beach plan. In modern

Fig 2. The device of the stage-box:

1 - building portal; 2 - lighting gallery; 3 - working gallery; - transition bridge; 5 - grate bars; 6 - portal tower; 7 - fire-resistant curtain

In the theater, this concept has been preserved, but has received a broader meaning. Formally, the line of soffit batteries is considered the boundary of the scene plan. This is perhaps the only sign by which the stage space can be divided. The stage table, equipped with a rotating circle or lifting and lowering platforms, has lost the clear designation of parallel sections, so in some theaters plans are defined very conditionally and in different ways.

In addition, the stage area is divided into a play area and side backstage spaces. The play part is the middle part of the stage, which lies within normal visibility from the auditorium. From the sides it is limited by the wings, and from the back by some background. This term is also used in a narrower sense, it denotes that part of the scene that is open to the audience in a given act or a given picture. In this case, it is more correct to speak about the playground, and not about the play part of the scene. Everything outside the game scene belongs to auxiliary, utility spaces.

The scene communicates with the proscenium through a portal opening.

The architectural arch framing this hole is called the stage portal.And the space enclosed within the portal arch - mirror of the stage.In theaters of the classical type, the stage mirror is somewhat smaller than the size of the portal, since it is cut off from above with a special paduga - a harlequin. The harlequin serves to mask the sole of the fire retardant and road construction of the intermission curtains. Harlequin is usually absent in modern stage solutions.

Special wings and archways located behind the portal arch can change the dimensions of the stage opening, forming the so-called stage working mirror or working portal.

On the sides of the stage, there are additional reserve platforms called pockets. In contrast to the side spaces of the stage, the pockets are outside the stage box and therefore have a lowered height, approximately equal to the height of the portal. The pockets are used for the preparation of decorations, collected on rolling platforms-fours. Since the most actively played area is the first floor plans, the pockets are placed in this area.

Arierescene,or otherwise, the back stage, like the pockets, is a separate enclosed space adjacent to the back of the main stage. It is separated from it by a capital wall with a wide arched opening. The structure and purpose of the rear scene is similar to the pockets. Its space is often used for the installation of projection equipment operating on the principle of keying, that is, projection "to the light". In a number of cases, when a particularly large depth of stage space is required, the backstage area is included in the playing part and the scenery is installed on it.

¶This is why the backstage room is made high and equipped with lifting devices.

According to the fire safety requirements, the backstage arch is insulated from the side of the main stage with a fire-resistant curtain.

The proportions of the main parts of the scene

Determining the proportion between the main parts of the scene is a matter of utmost importance. The quality of the scene itself, its suitability for professional work, depends on how correctly the relationships between the various parts of the stage space are determined. These data are developed in a centralized manner and serve as the main document for all designers. The published "Norms and specifications for the design of theater buildings" regulate the basic initial data of the scene and the building as a whole.

The starting point for determining the main dimensions of the scene is the dimensions of the portal opening. All linear dimensions of the stage and pockets - width, depth, length - are closely related to the width of the portal arch, just as all their heights are in direct proportion to the height of the portal opening (Fig. 3).

The scene width is twice the width of the portal, and the depth ranges from 1.5 to 1.8 times this value. The height from the plate to the grate in relation to the height of the portal is especially important. The triple headroom ensures complete cleaning of the suspended decorations, minimal use of pads and sufficient opening of the stage space.

The depth of the pockets, somewhat larger than the width of the portal, allows mounting decorations on the trucks, which, when fed to the playing part, completely fill the working opening of the mirror. As for the width of the side scenes, the usually played area of \u200b\u200bthe stage does not exceed 5-6 min depth, therefore

Figure: 3. The main proportions of the scene:

and- stage plan; b - vertical longitudinal section of the scene

¶Wider furrows don't make much sense. Accordingly, the width of the pocket is chosen, which is usually one third of the entire depth of the scene. And the height, as we have already said, is approximately equal to the height of the portal.

The dimensions of the rear stage are in direct proportion to the type of the rolling platform, which is located in it. If this is a simple decoration lorry, then the width of the back stage is made 4-5 more wide than the portal m,and the depth can be equal to the width of the pocket. The height of the rear stage exceeds the height of the portal by 2-3 m.If a turntable is inscribed in the furka, then the area of \u200b\u200bthe rear stage should be significantly increased.

All of this information for determining the size of the scene is not strictly binding. They fix the main starting points and can be changed in the design process in one direction or another. The given standards are calculated for the stage-box of the usual type. Consequently, when creating a special form of the scene, these relations undergo certain changes, only the fundamental foundations laid down in the norms are preserved.

The specified dimensions of the stage depend on many reasons: the type of mechanization of the stage, the specific design of mechanisms, on the decision of the stage horizon, etc., etc. So, for example, the width of the stage depends on the nature of the drive of the rocket lifts, which are used to move the scenery vertically ... If the rocket lifts are equipped with an electric drive, then the working galleries on which the winches are installed have the same width. If the galleries are free of drive mechanisms, then their width is significantly reduced. And the wider the gallery is, the wider the stage should be, since there is a need for sufficient space between the outer edge of the galleries and the edge of the circle to hang the wings. There are many such unexpected dependencies. The theater stage is a complex knot of interrelated and often mutually exclusive elements, which are not easy to reconcile.

The auxiliary equipment of the stage includes: galleries, walkways, portal wings and towers, grates. Galleries- these are kind of balconies that run along the side and back walls of the stage. The purpose and functions of galleries depend on their locations. The first, lowest gallery is set at a height of 1-1.5 mfrom the upper edge of the portal. This gallery is called the lighting gallery, as its front handrail is usually equipped with spotlights that illuminate the stage with an overhead light. The uppermost gallery is 2-2.5 below the grate m.The rest divide the distance between the first and the last into equal parts. These are working galleries. The one with which the decor is controlled

National lifts is called the main working gallery. And the galleries, which are equipped with electric hoist drives and winches for various stage needs, are usually called "machine".

The rear galleries serve as a continuation of the side ones and are used to move from one side of the stage to the other, as well as to install radio-acoustic equipment, backlighting and various auxiliary works.

The supporting structures of the galleries are made of reinforced concrete or concrete coated steel. For theaters of small capacity, a wooden flooring is possible, which is laid along the axis of the gallery. Free space is left between the stage wall and the gallery for the installation of guides and for moving the counterweights of the rocket lifts.

Each side gallery (Fig. 4) is fenced on both sides by strong steel railings, usually made of gas pipes. The external fence must have a height of at least 1 m.To it are tied ropes of hand lifts, swing ropes, cables, etc. Therefore, special attention is paid to the strength of the fences. The railings of the galleries are designed for a horizontal load of at least 100 kg / running mwith an overload factor of 1.2. Internal fencing (against the stage wall) is 0.8 m.This fence not only prevents accidents, but also has a purely working function. Firstly, the worker rests on it when working with a manual lift, and secondly, the leading lifting rope is attached to the rail of the fence with the help of hoses (short pieces of rope embedded on the rail)

¶ while loading or unloading the counterweight. The high height of the railing makes it difficult to balance the lift.

For safety reasons, all fences are sewn up to half their height with a metal mesh, and from below, to the flooring, dashboards with a height of 15 to 20 are attached cm.These boards prevent tiles or other objects from falling from the gallery floor onto the stage board. Usually counterweight tiles are laid along the inner side of the gallery. In order to strengthen this part of the flooring (in a wooden version) and so that accidentally dropped tiles do not break the floor, an additional thick board is applied along the entire gallery along its inner part.

The width of the working galleries depends on the type of rocket lift drive. For manual lifts, the gallery width is approximately 1.5 m,and with a machine - from 2 to 2.5 m.The fact is that, according to safety regulations, free passage in a straight line between the gallery fences and the extreme point of the equipment located on the gallery must be at least 0.8 m.And between the winch and the control panel at least 0.5 m.

The scenery hanging above the stage, moving them in the under-arm space pose a certain danger to the people working below. Therefore, the riding worker must necessarily see the place where he lowers the rod. Thus, when determining the width of the gallery, not only the size of the free passage along its flooring, but also the size of the viewing area of \u200b\u200bthe stage tablet is taken into account.

Lighting galleries differ from workers in that their external handrail is a road along the grooves of which lighting devices move on special carriages. On the outside of the gallery, there is a metal catcher mesh that protects people working on the stage from accidentally dropping frames, light filters, lamp fragments, etc.

The galleries along the back wall of the stage have a simpler design. Since they are flush with the wall, no internal fencing is required. In order to save space, their width is reduced to 0.8 m.

Working galleries are interconnected by suspended transitional bridges,crossing the scene space in the lateral direction. They serve to quickly move riding workers from one side of the stage to the other. In addition, bridges are necessary for a wide variety of auxiliary work (ropes are lowered from them for manual lifting of tall decorations, chandeliers, lampshades), as well as for the implementation of some stage effects.

The first walkways are laid along the portal wall of the stage. Their number may be equal to the number of gallery tiers. The next row is located near the center of the stage on

¶The height is not lower than the second gallery, and the following ones rise even higher to the level of the third tier. The further the bridge is from the portal, the higher it should be located. Otherwise, the bridges artificially cut the height of the stage viewed from the hall, depriving it of air and space.

Despite the fact that the transition bridges have a small width (0.5 mclean), they all occupy a certain space of the stage, deadening the area under it. In order to rationally use this space, soffit batteries are placed under the bridges. The total number of bridges on the stage of average size ranges from two to three, counting the portal ones.

As well as galleries, bridges are equipped with side boards, solid fences with a height of at least one meter. With the help of metal rods, the supporting structures of the bridges are rigidly suspended from the lower chords of the stage floor trusses.

Gratemade of wooden blocks with an approximate section of 6X6 cm.The bars are attached with screws to the floor beams of the stage perpendicular to the portal and at a distance of no more than 5 cmapart.

The grate is necessary for rocket lifts, the cables of which pass through it. In addition, the lattice cover allows you to install temporary blocks of individual lifts at any point, both on a manual and mechanical drive.

The safety regulations make special demands on the operation of grates. This is understandable - any, even the smallest, part that falls from a great height can lead to a serious accident. Therefore, people who have undergone special instructions and have received permission from the stage driver are allowed to work on the grates. The hand tool is tied to the belt, and for small parts on the grates, a tarpaulin with a size of at least 1.5X1.5 is spread m.Those on the stage are warned of the work being carried out, and especially dangerous areas of the tablet are marked with a special fence.

Portal wingsinstalled immediately behind the intermission curtain. Unlike conventional stage wings, they are mounted on a rigid frame. The portal wings form, as it were, the frame of the performance, so they are made mobile. The simplest type of portal curtain is a wooden or metal frame, covered with fabric. The wings are moved in different ways. In some cases, they move parallel to the ramp, in others they rotate around their axis, in others they move out like screens. The nature of the movement and the type of the backstage itself are determined based on the specific conditions of the scene.

¶ Portal towersthey function as wings: they diaphragm the stage mirror and form a movable frame framing the stage picture, and at the same time they are a mobile light post. If the portal wings in many cases are installed almost close to the intermission curtain, then the portal towers are moved back a distance sufficient to exit according to the zero plan and arrange two or three rocket lifts. The magnitude of the tower travel is calculated so that in the extreme position the tower reaches the edge of the turntable and even extends its cantilever part a little further. In this case, when using a pavilion decoration, the tower covers the edge of the decoration walls.

In theatrical practice, there are two types of portal towers. The first type includes multi-storey, tower structures 0.8-0.9 thick m.Lighting equipment is located on each floor. The second type, the most common, is more like a reinforced link (Fig. 5). The frame of this tower is only 140 mm.Lighting bridges are attached to its inner side, located one above the other. The bridges occupy only the middle of the tower, leaving room for vertical staircases that run along both

¶ sides of the frame. A small thickness of the frame is optically more favorable and better disguises the ends of rigid decorations. But the luminous power of such a tower is much less than that of the first type.

The undercarriage of the portal towers consists of drive wheels and upper guide rollers. Drive wheels are located at the bottom of the tower. To accurately record the course, a guide rail is cut into the stage plate, and the running wheels are equipped with flanges. The tower is moved manually or using a simple drive. The tower drive consists of a chain of sprockets connected by an endless chain and a gear train with a handle. The drive sprockets are mounted on the travel wheels, and the idler sprocket is attached to the tower frame. Since the distance between the wheels is quite large - from two to three meters - an additional supporting sprocket is installed at the bottom to prevent the chain from sagging. The movement of the tower or stage is carried out by rotating the handle.

The stability of the tower is provided by two horizontal rollers located in the upper part of the frame. The rollers slide along a box-shaped road attached to fixed parts of the stage structure, most often to the bottom of the portal bridge.

The portal passageway, located at the level of the first gallery, and the portal towers form a single frame, which is interpreted as the second portal of the stage. At the same time, this frame is also a light portal, since the transition bridge performs the same functions as the lighting galleries and the towers themselves. For greater maneuverability during the installation of the light, the middle part of the bridge is made lifting and lowering. Thus, a movable structure is placed between the towers, carrying scattered and directional light devices.

From the outside of the tower and the wings are sheathed with dense fabric, the color and texture of which may vary. Some theaters sheathe the wings with the fabric of which the intermission curtain is made, others prefer more neutral cladding, such as black velvet, etc. In addition to the main, permanent covering, the wings and towers are often covered with additional materials in accordance with the general coloristic and visual solution of the performance.

Fireproof fire curtainmandatory for all theaters with a capacity of 800 or more. The main purpose of the curtain is to reliably protect the auditorium from fire and the penetration of poisonous gases formed during combustion.

In addition to fire resistance and tightness, the curtain must have increased strength, since during a fire on the stage, enormous pressure develops, which can squeeze it into the auditorium. According to existing norms,

The heat curtain is calculated for the horizontal pressure from the stage side equal to 40 kg / m 2at a frame temperature of at least 200 ° C. During a fire, the curtain is cooled by streams of water coming from a special pipe with spray heads on the portal stage.

The curtain frame is made of steel beams and filled with non-combustible materials: asbestos cement, concrete on a metal mesh and some others.

Fire-resistant curtains are usually made of a lift-and-drop type. An exception is for curtains in theaters built in seismic areas where curtains can be retractable. The fact is that the lifting and lowering system provides not only a greater tightness of the stage overlap, but also greatly facilitates the device of an emergency non-motorized lowering.

The curtain is suspended on two or more ropes going to the winch drum and the same number of ropes to which the counterweights are attached (fig. 6). The curtain is always heavier than the counterweights. If the winch fails or the current is interrupted, the curtain falls by its own gravity. The curtain is braked during non-motorized descent by a mechanical limit switch installed on the winch.

The curtain movement is controlled from three points: the fire station, the stage table and the winch machine room. Under normal operating conditions, ascent and descent

Figure: 6. Fire curtain: a - curtain suspension diagram; b - the upper part of the curtain;

/ - the curtain; 2 - curtain blocks; 3 - grate blocks; 4 - counterweight; 5 - winch; 6 - stage portal wall; 7 - gutter; 8 - sand; 9 - visor; 10 - bump screen; 11 - pipe with water spray heads

¶Allowed only from the stage tablet, to avoid accident. The fire brigade must see the entire course of the curtain. Simultaneously with the start of movement of the curtain, sound and light signaling is switched on, warning people working on the stage.

To seal the overlap of the stage portal opening along the sides of the curtain and along the vertical walls of the portal, there are metal guides of a complex profile, which form a labyrinth lock between them. The top edge of the curtain ends with a steel beam. The vertical part of this beam protrudes beyond the frame towards the auditorium. When the curtain is lowered, it cuts into the sand or other non-combustible material that fills the gutter at the top of the portal. A resilient, fire-resistant cushion is attached to the sole of the curtain. Under the curtain, in the same plane as it, there is a capital firewall wall. Between this wall, located in the hold, and the curtain, only the wooden flooring of the tablet is passed.

Safety rules prohibit putting decorations under the curtain, furniture - everything that can interfere with the instant overlap of the stage. The projection of the curtain is applied with indelible paint on the stage board.

Decoration safesor, otherwise, warehouses for soft decorations, according to a long-standing tradition, are located in the hold on

Figure: 7. Safe with pull-out shelves:

and - cross section; b - plan; 1 - swivel bracket; 2 - a shelf; 3 - shelf extended into the span; 4 - rocket cargo lift

¶ in the background of the stage. The fire-resistant vault communicates with the stage with fireproof covers cut into the stage table and covered with wooden flooring on top. The length of the safe is slightly longer than the length of the railings, so that soft scenic decorations rolled into bars could be stored in it.

Transporting and placing the rolls on the shelves is a laborious and unsafe operation. Therefore, the mechanization of loading and unloading safes is of great importance. One of the interesting ways to mechanize safes is a system of movable shelves, designed and implemented for the first time at the Leningrad Academic Opera and Ballet Theater named after V.I. S. M. Kirov in 1954 (Fig. 7).

The shelves, 20 meters in length, are mounted on swivel brackets. The two outer brackets are leading, as they are connected to the shelf by vertical pins. When the shelf is moved to the middle of the safe, it shifts to the side, while moving along the longitudinal axis. The angles of the brackets and the hinge system are designed so that one person's effort is enough to move a fully loaded shelf in the horizontal plane. The width of the shelf in relation to the overall width of the safe is calculated so that when pulled out into the span, it fills it entirely. "Self-fencing" of the shelf occurs due to adjacent sections located on each floor, and due to its own barriers. The rolled decorations are laid with a special electric-powered trouser-kettle.

Mechanization of the shelves does not eliminate the need to fence the open safe hatch. Installation of a multi-meter rigid fence is a rather troublesome operation. Automatic

Figure: 8. Cassette safe:

1 - safe shaft; 2 - cassette; 3 - cover; 4 - stage tablet

¶System, reliably enclosing the hole in the tablet, formed when opening the safe covers, due to great technical difficulties, has not yet been created. The most convenient and reliable system in all respects is the cassette safe system (Fig. 8).

A cassette safe is essentially a lift-and-drop warehouse. A number of shelves are placed in a single frame, which is raised to the required height using spindle or squeeze devices. The closed design of the cassette does not require flatbed rails, which greatly simplifies the technique of loading and unloading shelves. Currently, cassette safes are becoming widespread.

The "Inspector" was sent to Section III on February 27, 1836 for permission to present. On March 2, a resolution was received: "Approved for submission." Censor Oldekop did not seem to have read comedy. He wrote hastily: "The play contains nothing reprehensible." "The Inspector General" was released for publication on March 13, and on April 19, 1836 it was shown in St. Petersburg at the Alexandria Theater, on May 23, 1836 - in Moscow at the Maly Theater. The governor played in St. Petersburg I.I. Sosnitsky, in Moscow - M.S. Shchepkin. Gogol was dissatisfied with the Petersburg production.

In the article "A warning for those who would like to play properly" The Inspector General "" the author gave the following instructions to the actors: "Most of all, one should be afraid not to fall into a caricature. Nothing should be exaggerated or trivial, even in the last roles. On the contrary, it is necessary especially to try for the actor to be more modest, simpler and, as it were, noble than the person who appears in fact is. The less the actor thinks about how to amuse and be funny, the more the funny will be revealed in the role he has taken.

"Inspector". The poster for the first performance of the play in St. Petersburg. 1836 g.

The funny will reveal itself by itself precisely in that severity with which each of the persons depicted in the comedy is busy with his own business. All of them are busy, busy, fussy, even hot with their business, as if the most important task of their life. The viewer can only see a trifle of their concern from the outside. But they themselves are not joking at all and certainly do not think that anyone is laughing at them. A clever actor, before grasping the minor quirks and minor external features of the face he has inherited, must try to catch the general human expression of the role. I must consider why this role is recognized; I must consider the main and primary concern of each person, on which his life is spent, which is a constant object of thought, an eternal nail sitting in the head. Having caught this main concern of the withdrawn person, the actor must be filled with it himself in such power that the thoughts and aspirations of the person he has taken, as it were, are assimilated by him and remain in his head permanently throughout the performance of the play. He doesn't have to care much about private scenes and little things. They will come out by themselves successfully and deftly, if only he does not for a moment throw out of his head this nail, which has sat in the head of his hero. All these particulars and various small accessories, which even an actor who knows how to tease and grasp the gait and movement, but not create the whole role, so happily knows how to use, are nothing more than paints that need to be put already when the drawing is composed and done right. They are the dress and body of the role, not its soul. So, first one should grasp this very soul of the role, and not its dress. "

Portrait of N.V. Gogol at the rehearsal of the play "The Inspector General" at the Alexandria Theater. Drawing by P.A. Karatygin. 1836 g.

Gogol's comedy caused the most controversial assessments in society. Many laughed, seeing in "The Inspector General" nothing more than a funny farce. Among those who laughed was Emperor Nicholas I, who exclaimed: “Well, a play! Everyone got it, but I got the most. " Most of the officials who attended the performances guessed the serious exposing meaning of the comedy. “The comedy has been recognized by many as a liberal statement,” wrote Prince P.A. Vyazemsky - like, for example, the comedy by Beaumarchais "The Barber of Seville", is recognized for some kind of political brandskugel, thrown into society under the guise of a comedy ... Some welcomed it, rejoiced at it as a bold, albeit disguised, attack on those in power. in their opinion, Gogol, having chosen his district town as a battlefield, aimed higher ... From this point of view, others, of course, looked at the comedy as an attempt on the state's life: they were agitated, frightened by him, and in the unfortunate or happy comedian they saw an almost dangerous rebel "Gogol wrote to MS Shchepkin on April 29, 1836:" The action performed by her [the comedy] was large and noisy. The elderly and respectable officials shout that there is nothing sacred for me when I dared to talk like that about employees. The police are against me, the merchants are against me, the writers are against me Scolding and going to the play, tickets for the fourth performance cannot be obtained.<...> If it were not for the high intercession of the Tsar, my play would never have been on the stage, and there were already people who were bothering to ban it. Now I see what it means to be a comic writer. "

The truth, said by Gogol, has risen to a high level of generalization. The bureaucratic tribe could not forgive this Gogol. They began to accuse him of crushing the foundations of society - after all, the characters of the comedy and thousands of their prototypes considered themselves to be the founders of the foundations. “To say about a rogue that he is a rogue is considered in our country to undermine the state machine; to say only a living and true feature means, in translation, to disgrace the entire estate and arm others or its subordinates against it, ”Gogol noted with pain. He very accurately formulated the idea of \u200b\u200bthe position of the satirist in Russia: “It’s sad when you see what a still miserable state our writer is in. Everything is against him, and there is no equal part for him. “He's an igniter! He is a rebel! "And who speaks? These are the people of the state, people who curry favor, experienced people who should have a little intelligence to understand the matter in their present form, people who are considered educated and whose light, at least Russian the light calls educated. The rogues have been brought to the stage, and everyone is in fierceness, why bring the rogues to the stage. "

Questions and tasks

1. Read the tutorial articles and other materials available to you about the comedy "The Inspector". Prepare a report on the creative and stage history of comedy.
2. Why was Gogol's comedy received by the bureaucratic world and all the zealots of the estate order sharply negatively? What justification does the writer give for this?

Living word

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If the actors just stood or sat on chairs on the stage, while talking about the subject of the production, would you call it theater? Even in spite of the fact that modern art has accustomed us to everything - no. Dramatic art is action, performance, activity of images, feelings, play of passions. The theater changed over time, but the meaning inherent in the word itself by the ancient Greeks did not change. Theater is a spectacle, and its basis is action.

Stage action is the cornerstone and foundation of acting and theatrical art, which combines all the components of an actor's play. In it, they are combined into an integral system of thoughts, feelings, movements. In this article, we offer you a small explanation of this important and voluminous concept.

The nature of the stage action

Art as a figurative interpretation of reality exists in different forms and types. A distinctive feature of each, giving out its specificity, is the material that is used to create artistic images. For a musician it is a sound, for a writer it is a word. For an actor, such material is action. In its broadest sense, action is a volitional act aimed at achieving a specific goal. Acting or stage action is one of the main means of expression, a single psychophysical process of achieving a goal in the fight against the proposed circumstances of a small circle, expressed in some way in time and space. Through him, the artist embodies his stage image, reveals the goals, the inner world of the character and the ideological concept of the work.

In simple terms, stage action is the ability to see, hear, move, think and speak in the given proposed circumstances for the realization of the image. This definition seems more understandable, but at the same time it refers us to the conclusion about the complexity of the structure of the constituent parts. In fact, action implies their coordinated work and is a synthesis,.

Mental actions are characterized by a directed influence on the psyche (feelings, consciousness, will) of both another person and one's own. Already from this definition it is clear that mental actions in the profession of an actor are one of the main categories, because through it the role is realized. They are also varied - a request, a joke, a reproach, a warning, a persuasion, a confession, a praise, a quarrel are just a short list of examples.

Mental actions, depending on the means of implementation, are verbal and mimic. They are applied in the same way in different situations. For example, a person disappointed you. You can reprimand him, or you can look reproachfully and shake your head without saying a word. The difference is that facial expressions are more poetic, but not always understandable from the outside, while the word is more expressive.

As mentioned above, physical action is impossible without mental, exactly, as well as vice versa. In order to comfort a person, to express support for him, you must first go up to him, put your hand on his shoulder, and hug him. The mental action in this case leaves an imprint on the performance of the physical. After all, no one will run, jumping up, to a person to comfort him in grief.

But physical action also affects the mental. Let's imagine the following situation. If you want to persuade a person to take some action, you want to talk to him in private. Choose the moment, lead him into the room, and so that no one interferes with you, you want to close the door with a key. But you cannot find it either in your pockets or on the coffee table nearby. This leads to irritation, fussiness, leaves an imprint on the conversation.

All this suggests a simple conclusion - a good actor should pay equal attention to both the physical and mental aspects of the intended role and, accordingly, develop the necessary skills.

Organic stage action

From the definition itself, it is clear that the actions of the actor must be harmonious, natural, believable, only in this case it is possible to achieve the organic nature of the role and performance. To be reliable, the stage action of the artist must have such qualities as:

Individuality.Personal character and its uniqueness are one of those qualities that give the stage action authenticity. KS Stanislavsky wrote: "Let the actor not forget that he must always live from his own being, and not from the role, taking from the latter only its proposed circumstances."

Uniqueness.We have already written about the need for improvisation, which makes each performance unique. This best reflects KS Stanislavsky's requirement to play “today, here, now” every time.

Emotionality.The action should not only be logical and consistent, which is necessary for the feeling of truth, but also take on a color that conveys impulse and passion, influencing the viewer.

Multidimensionality.As in life, on the stage, the coexistence of various behavioral tendencies, their change, gives a sense of authenticity.

How to develop the described abilities? The answers to these questions can be found in previous blog posts. Let's recall the main provisions.

First, the actor must be “on stage” all the time. Not thinking about the audience, not noticing them, focusing on the proposed circumstances of the production. For this you need to develop.

Secondly, it is important for a novice artist to be able to control his body. - an important component. It not only makes the game expressive, but also contributes to the credibility of the entire action.

Thirdly, the actor must learn to live with repeated feelings, to evoke these feelings in himself, despite the conventionality of the scenery and the entire work.

Fourth, action as a psychophysical act is impossible without mastering the mastery of the word. - a necessary and useful skill.

For the development of acting skills, look for the training on our website and blog.