Stage Carpenter and Carpenter

  I used to be a part-time actor. I have many friends who were stage carpenters.

Once, a house-building carpenter supported our project. I assumed that stage carpenters and carpenters are almost the same. The carpenters also assumed that, but they discussed things and decided that they would be in charge of separate parts of the stage. The setting was the backyard of an old house. There was an old well. The stage carpenters built the old house, while the carpenter built the old well.

They made a beautiful stage. The house and the well created a nice harmony. We could enjoy the last day of the performance successfully.

We started cleaning up the stage. There was a problem. The well that the house-building carpenter had made was difficult to take apart. He couldn’t come on the final day. The stage carpenters tried very hard to take it apart, but it was almost impossible.

Most stage carpenters build buildings to be strong enough until the end of the performance period. The stage settings are designed to be easy to take apart. Basically, stage carpenters don’t hammer nails into the setting completely. We can see the tops of the nails backstage. They only hammer all the nails completely in the case of the audience-facing side so that the actors can walk around without getting their costumes caught in the nails. After taking apart the setting, the carpenters use the lumber for another setting. It is economic and ecological.

Most house-building carpenters never think about taking apart what they’ve built. They have to build strong houses that last for decades or centuries. They would try their best to build houses that can especially withstand typhoons and earthquakes. They haven’t any concept for taking apart houses. When they need to perform demolition, they might use heavy machinery. Maybe they take apart structures on special occasions, like removing and relocating cultural properties. I believe there are special carpenters for that.

I assumed that stage carpenters and carpenters are the same, but actually, they are not. When I was a child, I assumed policemen and guards have the same job because they wear similar uniforms. In Japan, policemen have guns, while guards don’t have guns. Maybe most of us assume that some jobs are the same, but if we know about these jobs deeply, there might be some huge differences.

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Picture by freehand