How to read plans, The designer has the vision or dream of what to create on stage. Drafting allows the designer to communicate the dream to craftspeople who will create the actual set. In drafting we are trying to layout a three dimensional world on paper using two dimensions at a time.

“view from…” There are three primary views that we will work with “view from…” There are three primary views that we will work with. Repeat after me… Ground plan is the view from above. The Elevation is the view from the front. The Section is the view from the side.

The Title Block Regardless of what view we are looking at, all pages of drafting have to have a Title block. The title block contains important information identifying this production with this set of designers and director. The information includes, but is not limited to- Name of show Name of theatre, venue Directors name Designers name Scale Date of drafting Page number __ of__

pencil or computer Plans can be created by drafting with a pencil or by using a computer (CAD - computer aided design). Regardless of the method of drafting, the details on the plans remain the same.

Scale ruler Scale rulers allow us to draw things on paper in the same proportions but smaller. The size of the piece being drawn and the paper determine which scale we have to use. Each ruler has many scales represented. Each scale starts with a 12 inch measurement in the particular scale on one side of the “0”. We will do some work in class on reading scaled dimensions. If you need additional time to get this skill please see me.

Ground plan- The ground plan is centered on the Center Line and Plaster line. This plan details where everything will be placed on stage.

On a ground plan the architectural parts of the building ( the parts made of concrete that can’t be changed) are hatched or heavily filled in. In this page the Proscenium is hatched. Ground plans also must have a fly plot or line schedule. This details all the things that fly and what pipe they fly on.

On a ground plan there are different types of lines to represent different things. Double lines indicate walls. There will be dashed spaces in the walls to represent doors or windows. Dashed light weight lines represent hidden things or overhead construction. Single lines that are medium weight represent the edges of platforms. There will be circles in the platforms that dimension the height of the platform from stage floor level.

There is a lot of other detail and furniture information on the ground plan. A lot of otherwise confusing shapes are labeled with leader notes to specify their placement and size.

Elevations come in two formats- projected and extended Elevations come in two formats- projected and extended. This is the extended type. All the walls in the ground plan are separated and drawn in full detail.

This is the drawing we will get most of the building details from This is the drawing we will get most of the building details from. Each wall needs to be drawn with all specific information and clearly labeled. The light weight lines across the bottom and side are the dimension lines. They say exactly how wide and tall the wall is. There are also leader notes describing the materials and paint treatment the wall gets.

Section- This is a centerline vertical section. Imagine cutting the whole theatre in half with a giant band saw along the centerline. In this drawing notice the fly plot with the flown items shown at there specified height. This drawing is most important to the lighting designer who needs to determine where to place the lighting units to light the actors.

Sections of individual units show construction details Sections of individual units show construction details. The heavy weight lines are the items on the cutting plane.