Green Tips

The publishers at Focal Press have graciously allowed me to add this page to the website that allows you, the reader, to add your thoughts to the "being green" movement. If you have some tips for all of us, you can email them to me at [email protected] and I'll see that they get added to the site.

For a more in-depth look at sustainability in theatre, check out The Practical Guide to Greener Theatre by Ellen E. Jones

Green Tip #1:

The pre-show lighting effect should be brought up before the audience comes into the theatre so that it sets the mood for what is about to happen. Before that, the work lights will have been on. Generally speaking, work lights use less electricity than the stage lights, especially if the theatre has energy-saving CFL fixtures. Don’t bring up the pre-show preset until just as the house opens, and you will save on both electricity and expensive stage lamps.

Green Tip #2:

The loft of a proscenium house is just one of many areas in a theatre that need some type of work lights, so that stagehands can do their work safely. Unfortunately, the grid is also just the sort of place where one finds that the work lights are burned out after climbing all the way up there. Try using compact fluorescent or CFL bulbs in spaces like that. The bulbs use a lot less electricity, and last several times longer than conventional bulbs. But be sure to dispose of them properly, the fluorescent powder coating the inside of the glass tube is very unhealthy.

Green Tip #3:

Safety is important in a theatre, which can be a dangerous place to work what with all the stuff hanging overhead, and the vast number of electrical devices, but also because of more subtle things like falling into an orchestra pit. Falling into the pit is more likely to happen than you would think, and is especially likely if you consider the danger of walking into a dark theater space where it is very difficult to tell where the apron ends and the pit begins. For this reason, most theatres like to leave a light on at all times, even when the space is not in use. Theatre work lights are often very high wattage bulbs because of the size of the space they must light and the same switch often turns on several of them. High wattage bulbs consume a lot of electricity. Consider instead using a theatre ghost light to illuminate the front of the stage when the theatre is not in use. A ghost light is a single bulb (compact fluorescent or LED if you like) on a rolling stand that can be moved down to the apron of the stage and plugged in to illuminate the front of it.

Green Tip #4:

Nickel-cadmium and lithium-ion battery technology is what makes the new cordless world spin. They can be recharged hundreds of times, but eventually they will wear out and no longer work. When that happens, it is important to recycle them because the chemicals inside are highly toxic. So putting them in the landfill is harmful to the environment. If the batteries are recycled, the toxic substances inside can be made into new products. Some batteries have this phone number printed on them, 800-8-BATTERY. It is a help line to find a recycler in your area, and is good for all makes and models.

Green Tip #5:

According to the American Panel Association—the governing body for plywood manufacturers—the forest products industry plants about a billion trees every year, and there is more forest cover in the US now than there was in 1920. Yellow pine tree farms dot the southern states, and are often used to manufacture B/C and C/D plywood used to construct scenery as described in this book. You may notice that there are many tips on how to use plywood to create laminated structures that were at one time more likely to be constructed from dimension lumber. Yellow pine plywood is cheaper by comparison, and very abundant. On the other hand, lauan products are generally not made from sustainable forests, so you may wish to consider that when selecting materials.

Green Tip #6:

If you make the legs on a stairway removable, you can easily keep the unit in storage when the show is over. Stairs are somewhat expensive because of the amount of materials used. Keeping them in stock for later re-use makes sense from both an economic and an ecological point of view.

Green Tip #7:

Re-use the Masonite! If you are careful at the strike, you can re-use the hardboard panels a number of times. It’s actually easier to use the hardboard the second time because the countersink holes are already there, which is the time-consuming part of installing them. You can save even more by planning ahead to use stock parts. The audience won’t really notice the difference between a deck that is 40 feet wide and one a few inches larger or smaller.

I look forward to hearing from you!

John Holloway