And under the stage...

Last night there was a behind the scenes tour for staff of The Canberra Theatre Centre. I thought you'd like to come along with me.

Our first stop was under the stage in The Playhouse where we learnt how the lighting works.These are drawers where the lighting gels are kept. I can't remember the exact numbers but there are hundreds of different gel colours manufactured by nine different companies and the touring shows will specify a certain number colour by a certain manufacturer for their performance. We had a demonstration. This is a ladder and is used in the wings to create light across the stage:Our tour guide demonstrated how shutters at the side of the lights are used to intensify the beam:Then they got tricky and added a second colour

and turned the lights in the room off so we could see what happens when you mix the coloured lights:See that door the lights are shining on? It leads to The Playhouse orchestra pit. Which we got to see the underneath of:Apparently the only time The Playhouse orhestra pit has been used was when it first opened.