I have had the good fortune to work with some wonderful outdoor theatre groups, most recently, with the Livermore Shakespeare Festival in Livermore, California. When they changed locations five years ago, I was lucky enough to collaborate with them on the design and construction of their new, modular stage at the Wente Winery.
With an eye toward creating an intimate theatrical experience for an audience of up to 300 patrons, we decided to go to an arena, or “in-the-round” stage plan, and used the hexagonal footprint of the tasting room as inspiration. We built a hexagonal stage, with 3 “boardwalk extensions” which were used as entrances, and as additional playing spaces to extend the action beyond the main stage.
The set was constructed in sections built with standard decking lumber and posts, and was set up and struck each season.
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