How Big Should a Stage Be?
 

Help me out, guys -- I know we have some musicians here, so surely someone knows the answer to this. I need it for a story I'm writing.

Say you had a little nightclub/bar, and you wanted to build a stage for bands to perform upon. How high would you make it (I'm thinking about 3'--it's in an old house with high ceilings), and more importantly, how big should it be? Say you don't have a lot of room 'cause it's a fairly small space and it's going to be tucked into a corner, so we're talking minimum reasonable area.

And if my character should say "you'll need to allow at least X square feet for a drum set," what would that X be?

Also, what other design considerations would you suggest?

Thanks bunches!

Shit, I've see club stages that were anywhere from a foot to 5 feet high, and from 20 feet wide, down to they had to put the drums on the floor. Especially clubs that were bars first.

Flint can give you drum set requirements, but that will vary with the extent of the kit, which often depends on the type of music, so you might tell him what they're playing.

The higher the stage, the bigger the potential lawsuit when some drunken idiot falls off it.

I have to agree with Bruce ... Stages tend to be stuck into the space rather than developed with intent. I've see a lot of variations on stage size, from really huge and high (Stone Balloon in Newark, Delaware) to tiny (Chameleon, Lancaster, Penna.) and everything in between. UT might have some good insights on this one as well.

Well, these folks are building a new one, not dealing with one that's already there. Tell my characters how big to make it. :)

This is just a small neighborhood biz, not a major concert venue, so we're talking your standard drums-bass-guitar-singer and maybe an optional keyboard, with some room for them to walk around and emote. But not much. We're not hosting a rock opera here, don't need tympani, xylophones or pyrotechnics. :D Just a bit of space to set them apart from their audience. There's not even going to be a dance floor. I know, what a bummer.

In the corner, I'd guess 10' x 10' x 14' x 18" would do it, if you want them to emote. And plenty of 20 amp outlets. You can't just give a square footage for the drum kit without specifying the shape of the space. Stuffing the drummer is the corner would be different than up against a straight wall, but I'll let flint handle that.

The 9:30 club in D.C has a stage that can change size depending on the size of the expected crowd, so that it always feels like a packed house. The last time my brother in law's band played there, the stage was pulled out way into the dance floor. That was the last time his band was invited back.

I would echo the height adjustments--most small venues are more like 18" in my experience, sometimes as little as 6". Three feet is the height of an auditorium stage.

All the world?

The height depends on the length of the room, IMO. If people in the back can see, it's high enough.

Same might go for the size of the stage. If there is no dance area the stage can be bigger. Just think what might be reasonable and double it. I can't think in square feet, all I can think of is how my drummer will expand to fit any space we're given. I love the idea of the adjustable roll-out stage, and many places have had an additional piece of stage in the back. Ideally it would be like one of those additional pieces you put into your adjustable dining room table.

Shows you how seldom I get out anyplace. :D I'm living vicariously through my fiction!

And thanks, you've given me some great ideas. It's too bad that the guy who will be building it barely knows which end of the hammer to use. ;)

Drums? I don't know...give them a 6 by 9 area rug? I think that's what I set up on with a small "Ringo" kit (18" bass drum, two toms, two cymbals, snare and hi-hat). In a small club, the drummer has to know he won't be able to set up a monster kit.

But remember, his chair can't be right up against the wall, or he will break his elbows when he turns to the side.

Also, he has to be able to actually get back there.