Power

From what I have seen the power is supplied by an electric motor no more than 5HP geared to supply low revolutions. Either mounted to the stage on the outside of the revolve or situated off or under the stage connected by chain or drive belt. All in fairly simple but as previously mentioned after adding other revolves, motors, lifts and other moving parts, it all becomes somewhat complex and pricey.

The other option is man power. Simply pushing the revolve and locking it in to position. Easier to install, cheaper and less to go wrong.

Kabuki theatre

The use of revolves or mawari-butai as its known was generally to have two or more sets ready so a quick transition could be achieved. Rather than using the revolve as a feature for the production. The stage hands would be dressed in black (as they are today) and would be resetting or setting a new scene in the background as the show continued out front. In some ways not a lot has changed.

No steel to be seen its all chunky timber and old construction techniques. Pretty sturdy and made to last. 

Although very old the shows are still put on in the same manner today.

Drum frame

 Here is a shot of the frame of the drum revolve during construction before it was placed inside the theatre.

You really get a sense of the size next to the cars. Almost a shame its so well hidden away in the stage as its a pretty impressive piece on its own.

A short of the fit up and painting of a noises off set. I suppose it isn't strictly a revolve, more just a big piece of set that moves. However the motion is of a revolve spinning on a central point to create the spinning effect.  

The drum revolve

A short video of the drum revolve working. 


The whole structure is balanced on 48 wheels right down in the basement, which is about 13 metres below stage level. It is revolved by electrical motors. And the whole thing can move at up to four miles an hour, electronically controlled by a team of engineers who sit in the basement during performances to keep an eye on things.

Due to the motors being over 5 stories below the stage there is virtually no noise to be heard from the revolve.   So there is no distractions for the audience during scene changes. I like how as the lifts come down the stairs fold away, clever idea. 

Really quite impressive. You can see why a stage like this can be so usefull and so effective. The motion is a lot smoother and quicker than i thought it would be.

Configurations of the drum revolve

'Droom' One elevator has a large structure built on it complete with roof. The interior of the structure provides settings for interior scenes when the elevator is fully raised. The roof provides an open acting area when the elevator is lowered.

Behind-the-Scenes Elevators are swapped over, or simply used to bring up scenery stored below behind a flown flat, gauze or cloth so that the audience has no idea that the drum has been used.

Quick-change One elevator is used as a storage area and the other comes down to meet it so that props, scenery and actors can be transferred across before it rises rapidly back to stage level.

Revolve One elevator is fixed at stage level and the drum is turned to produce a revolve. This may or may not be used with the rim revolve.

Scenic Automation One or both elevators are used indirectly to create motion, for example, via push-rods, to operate raking or tilting panels above the stage. The elevators may be used to provide motion for much smaller effects within sets, for example raising podiums.


http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/8052/the-drum-revolve/how-the-drum-works.html

Drum Revolve

I have been having a look at the drum revolve situated in the Olivier theatre in the National Theatre in London.  It is a pretty amazing piece of kit. 

It was built in the 70's with the building but wasn't used until the mid 80's before falling out of use in the 90's. In had a refurb in 2002 and is currently being used. 

The drum revolve, as its name denotes, is a giant rotating stage. But beneath its surface is something more interesting: two large elevators, which can be raised and lowered 8m below stage level, allowing huge pieces of scenery to be loaded via four large scenery doors. The disk which can be fixed to the stage or driven directly with the drum itself, makes up half of the stage, while the other half is raised, using either elevator. 

how the drum works (explains how the drum works and how change overs happen). 

Its really very impressive and i would love to see it in action. I really love how it can be used for so many things. Also the scale is pretty immense 4 stories high with a 15m diameter almost bigger than the whole of the stage in the Ath. 

This is by far the biggest most complicated and coolest revolve I have seen.

The stage it self consists of 3 revolves inside one another. There are also 17 lifts in the revolves. Making it incredibly complex. The stage was reported to cost £1M. Which considering the budget of our productions it seems a bit insane.

The workings for the lifts are all hydraulic and the revolves are powered by electric motors. As you can see in the other pictures the lifts all work independently of one another. The aim is to create a moving landscape as the characters move through their journey.

The Lord of the Rings.

The set during a performance and during the build.

Looking through some forums there are many questions being asked covering all aspects of a build from the structure to the turning mechanism. By the looks of it people prefer to have an automated system and not have stage crew turn the revolve.

I understand that for smaller sets a automated stage would work well since of the smaller weights involved but as soon as the stage is bigger and the set is on top it becomes much harder to move as the weight soon build up. Multiple motors would be needed. Its certainly not impossible but the risk of something going wrong goes up dramatically, as well as the price or course.

http://www.theatreplan.co.uk/library/Features/Cars%20Might%20Fly%20-%20Professional%20Engineering%206%20September%202006.pdf

Interesting article about how modern technologies have taken over from man power within theaters, and how these technologies alter and are adapted from production to production.     

I really like this set. It is a great idea and works really well. It doesn’t really vary much between different productions but they all look good and work flawlessley.   As long as the center is designed and built well then the stage will work, but say the center was off at an angle on one side then it would either jam or turn with a huge wobble. The smallest error at the center would be blown up at the edges and become quite noticeable.   I would love to get a chance to build something like this. In essence a simple idea but all together quite complicated.

Noises Off

These 3 vidoes show the machanics, construction and finished product. By the looks of the first video, the stage is fixed at a central point to stop it drifting around the stage and then built around it. First with the central wheel and then the rest of the truck is built over and around it this centrral part.   There apear to be a few different versions of this stage one as you see above and others where the main set is built on top of a rotating base.    

Mawari Butai, the Japanese for the revolving stage. All powered by man power they originally had one side setting the next scene while the actors were on the front half

Source:  http://www2.ntj.jac.go.jp/unesco/kabuki/en/3/3_03_07.html 

First

It was invented for the Kabuki theatre in Japan in the 18th century and was introduced into Western theatre at the Residenztheater in Munich in 1896. The revolving stage was widely adopted and has remained a popular mechanical feature in major theatres around the world.

Its interesting to see how like many things that were invented Da Vinci had had the idea long before. Also I’m surprised at how early the date was when first one was constructed. 

Source: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/500684/revolving-stage

During the 15th and 16th centuries, some of Italy’s finest painters and musicians were employed to organize entertainments at court. Leonardo da Vinci, who designed a revolving stage in 1490 (it was never built, however), arranged the settings, masks, and costumes of Festa del Paradiso, an entertainment given during the wedding celebrations for Lodovico Sforza, duke of Milan.  

The picture above is a recreation of his design. 

Source : http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/849217/Western-theatre/274687/Courtly-entertainments?anchor=ref305913

Not quite a stage but a revolving audience stand. I am going to look into whether there are differences in design or health and safety requirements if the public are on it.

An example of a stage used in a theatre production. 

Types

From first looks on the net all the stages are essentially the same. The only difference being the size. From tiny stages that can fit one person to stages 20m across.

The uses are massively varied too. Rock concerts, exhibitions, car shows and a whole host of other events.  

Here is a the bare bones of a stage. I initially thought that the stage would have been on casters and turn on a track, but its the opposite. With the wheels fixed to the ground and frame on top. Its quite interesting how its really quite a basic concept. I suppose there is no point in over complicating something for no reason.  

The Begining

The subject I have decided to take a look into is a study of the design, mechanics and techniques used in the construction of a revolving stage.

From a quick scan of the net I can see there are plenty of specialized companies out there that make moving stages. So hopefully I will be able to put some questions to them and get some good answers. 

Anyway i intend to look at the history, how they are constructed and how they differ from company to company and for different uses.