Rake (theatre)

A rake or raked stage is a theatre stage that slopes upwards, away from the
audience. Such a design was typical of English theatre in the Middle Ages and
early Modern era, and improves the view and sound for spectators. It also helps
with the illusion of perspective: when features of the scenery are made to align
with a notional vanishing point beyond the rear of the stage, the rake supports
the illusion. These elements of scenery are termed raking pieces.[2][3]

Raked seating refers to seating which is positioned on an upwards slope away

from the stage, in order to give those in the audience at the back a better view The raked stage (in section, right) of
than if the seats were all on the same level.[4] the 18th century Hermitage Theatre
in St Petersburg

Contents
Calculating incline
History
Upstaging
References

Calculating incline Illusion of perspective at the 17th-

century theatre in Český Krumlov
The slope of the rake is measured by the number of horizontal units it takes for Castle, Czech Republic. The stalls'
one vertical unit measured in the direction of the slope, or by the equivalent floor is level[1]
percentage. A rake of one horizontal unit to one vertical unit (1 in 1) would give
an angle of 45° from the horizontal. Rakes of 1 in 18 (5.56%) to 1 in 48 (2.08%)
were more common.

Converting the rake ratio to an angle requires the application of some basic
trigonometry. The angle in degrees = arctan(vertical/horizontal), where
"vertical" is the vertical rise in distance and "horizontal" is the horizontal
distance over which this rise occurs. For example, for a rake of 1:18, the
corresponding angle is arctan(1/18) = 3.18°.

History
Theatres constructed after the beginning of the 20th century feature a raked
audience section. This change back to the method of construction seen in Greek Stage design, showing rake and
and Roman theaters (flat stage and terraced audience) was effected due to the perspective, from the Bibiena
difficulty encountered when one tries to walk across a sloped surface, which school, northern Italy
had resulted in unnatural movement patterns to avoid the appearance of
limping caused by the non-level surface.

Raked stages can still be seen in some opera, Broadway and West End productions, where a temporary raked acting
surface is built over a theatre's permanent flat stage. Creating a raked stage can also assist set designs which are
designed with forced perspective.
Upstaging
On a raked stage an actor who is farther from the audience is higher than an actor who is closer to the audience.
This led to the theatre positions "upstage" and "downstage", meaning, respectively, farther from or closer to the
audience.

The term "upstaging" refers to one actor moving to a more elevated position on the rake (stage), causing the
upstaged actor (who stays more downstage, closer to the audience) to turn their back to the audience to address the
cast member. The term "upstaging" has since taken on the figurative meaning of an actor unscrupulously drawing
the audience's attention away from another actor.[5]

References
1. Hall, Peter Ruthven (Autumn 2019). "Working Theatre or Museum?". Sightline. Great Shelford, England. 42 (3):
21–22. ISSN 0265-9808 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0265-9808).
2. Harrison, Martin (1998). The language of theatre. New York: Routledge. p. 215. ISBN 9780878300877.
3. Crabtree, Susan; Beudert, Peter (2012). Scenic art for the theatre (3 ed.). Oxford, England: Elsevier. p. 265.
ISBN 9780240812908.
4. Audotoria Services, What is raked seating? (https://www.auditoria-services.com/raked-seating/), published 19
February 2015, accessed 13 October 2019
5. Oxford English Dictionary (1933 ed.).

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rake_(theatre)&oldid=985331199"

This page was last edited on 25 October 2020, at 10:01 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to
the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.