Scenery wagon

A scenery wagon, also known as a stage wagon, is a mobile platform that is used to support and transport movable, three-dimensional theatrical scenery on a theater stage. In most cases, the scenery is constructed on top of the wagon such that the wagon, and the scenery it supports, forms a single, integrated structure. Heavy duty casters are mounted to the underside of the platform so that the entire assembly can be quickly moved onstage or offstage, so as to facilitate rapid scenery changes during live productions. Scenery wagons are built in a wide range of sizes, ranging from less than one square foot up to the size of the playing area of the stage.

Scenery wagons comprise one of the four methods used to move scenery during the course of a theatre performance, the other three being "flying" (suspending) scenery from a fly system, elevating or lowering scenery on a stage lift, or "running" (manually carrying) the scenery.

Various caster types are used on scenery wagons. The choice of caster type for any particular wagon depends on a number of factors, including platform size and shape, scenery weight, production aesthetics and budget. Typically, casters are mounted so that the bottom of the platform is elevated approximately one-half to three-quarters of an inch above the stage. The number of casters required for a wagon depends on caster type and load rating as well as the size, shape and weight of the wagon and scenery.

Swivel casters are commonly used on smaller wagons because of the flexible, mobility they offer. As the number of swivel casters attached to a wagon increases, though, it becomes increasingly difficult to align them. Consequently, it may be difficult or impossible to move a wagon that has a large number of swivel casters when the casters are unaligned. As a result, rigid casters are preferred for larger wagons, which typically require a proportionally higher number of casters.

Air casters are sometimes used in place of rolling casters. These require pressurized air to operate, which produces audible hiss that is undesirable in some situations, and are typically more expensive than rolling casters, but they have the advantage of "locking" the scenery securely in place when depressurized and, like swivel casters, they permit omnidirectional movement.

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