# Taping the Stage (x16)



## nikian (Aug 3, 2015)

Greetings all!

I'm trying to figure out how to tape the stage for an upcoming production. Our scenic designer has designed a set where many different set pieces can be manipulated to create a completely different looking set. It's an amazing design, and it's going to look great.

She has provided me with sixteen shift plots. Yes, sixteen. There are no similarities between them other than where set pieces are stored offstage. We desperately need to see the layout of each of these plots for blocking purposes. How can I tape the stage in a way that isn't extremely confusing to everyone involved? Heh, do they even make sixteen different colors of spike tape? Oh yes, I'll also have to do it twice.

Thanks so much for your help!

Adam


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## Footer (Aug 3, 2015)

Cardboard cut outs that you move around on the deck.


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## sk8rsdad (Aug 3, 2015)

Way too expensive for theatre but...


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## lwinters630 (Aug 4, 2015)

Perhaps tape the pieces mostly, with some on the stage. Less is more.

After all a rubric cube can be solved in no more than 20 moves.


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## mikeydoesstuff (Aug 4, 2015)

Butcher paper. A friend masterminded a rotating set in the rehearsal hall by marking nothing but the pivot point. Her paper set was even built to fold where the reh. hall ran out of room.
It was beautiful.


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## nikian (Aug 4, 2015)

These are excellent ideas - thank you all!


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## theatricalmatt (Aug 4, 2015)

They do make more than sixteen colors of spike tape, but a) some of them will be fluorescent and b) it can be difficult to distinguish between similar colors at a glance, especially under low-light conditions.

What I find often works is to associate a color with a particular scene (eg, all the set pieces in I.1 have green spike tape, everything in I.2 has red) and then use a stripe of an alternating color, or a dot of glow tape, to distinguish elements within scenes. So you end up with green spike tape, and green with a white stripe for an alternate position.

If you go this route, use clear packing tape over the spike marks; the stripes come up very easily.


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## Scarrgo (Aug 4, 2015)

As said above, I would use spike tape, solid colors first than mix colors ex.white/red, and you should cover them as spike tape seems to disappear way to easy, but in my opinion, do not use packing tape, it is too thin and gets destroyed way to easy and is a pain to clean up, I recommend getting clear vinyl dance floor tape, works really well. and its pretty cheap. I buy from BMI, but any of the supply houses should be able to get it for you if they sell dance floor tape.

Hope it helps

Sean...


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