trap

trap, in theatre, a concealed opening, usually in the stage floor, through which actors, props, and scenery can be brought on and off stage. Traps are used, often with elaborate and ingenious machinery, to create a great variety of stage effects, particularly the sudden appearance, disappearance, or apparent transformation of characters or objects on the stage.

Certain types of traps have become more or less standard items of stage equipment. The corner trap, for example, is a small, square opening, usually located at the side of the stage, fitted with a trapdoor or flaps that can be lowered out of sight. Through it, standing figures or objects can be lifted onto the stage. When a sudden, mysterious appearance is required, a star trap is used. The star trap is a circular opening with a lid composed of wedge-shaped sections, individually hinged to the circumference. An actor, standing below on a heavily counterweighted platform, can be projected through the opening with great speed. The sections of the lid are pushed up as he passes and immediately fall back into place, thus concealing his point of entrance. Another common trap with a long history is the grave trap, a large, rectangular opening in the centre of the stage floor. It is named for its most famous use, as an open grave in the graveyard scene from Hamlet. Most traps and their mechanisms are designed so that they can be taken apart and moved to any point in the stage floor where they are required or can be stored when not in use.