🎭Theater·10 min·Sample Lesson

Making A Stage At Home

You don't need a big theater with red curtains and bright lights to put on a real show! Actors have been performing on kitchen tables, living room rugs, and blanket forts for as long as there have been kids who love to pretend. Today you'll turn a corner of your home into your very own stage.

What You'll Learn

- What a stage is and why actors need one - How to mark off a stage space at home using things you already have - The three basic stage areas: upstage, downstage, and center stage

What Is a Stage?

A stage is simply the space where actors perform so the audience can see them. Long ago, stages were slightly tilted upward at the back so everyone in the audience could see -- that's why actors still call the back of the stage "upstage" and the front, closest to the audience, "downstage." The middle of the stage is called center stage, and it's usually where the most important action happens.

Build It With What You Have

Use masking tape, a rug, or even four chairs at the corners to mark your stage rectangle. A bedsheet hung from a doorway makes a great curtain, and a flashlight aimed at your stage area becomes your very own spotlight!

Setting Up Your Space

Pick a spot in your home with room for at least two people to move around, like a living room or a cleared-off bedroom floor. Mark the front edge (downstage) with a strip of tape -- this is the invisible line between the audience and the actors. Place a chair or two facing the stage for your audience, even if the audience is just a stuffed animal or a family member.

Match each stage area to its location.

Terms

Downstage

Upstage

Center stage

Definitions

Farthest from the audience

Closest to the audience

The middle of the stage

Drag terms onto their definitions, or click a term then click a definition to match.

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Which part of the stage is closest to the audience?

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Why did old stages tilt upward toward the back?

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Design Your Stage

Mark out a stage space at home with tape, a rug edge, or furniture. Draw a simple map of your stage labeling downstage, center stage, and upstage, then perform a 30-second scene (even just walking from upstage to downstage while saying one line) for a family member sitting in your 'audience' seat.

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