How to Change the Scenery in a Play
Very few plays or musicals are set in only one location, which means that the scenery---including furniture, the background or the set itself---needs to be changed between acts. The primary consideration in changing scenery is to do so as quickly and safely as possible. Audiences are not interested in the mechanics of theatrical productions. Pulling them out of the make-believe world of the play or musical for too long makes it that much harder for the actors to regain the audience's attention and re-create the atmosphere of the story being told.
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Instructions
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Have enough personnel. If the scene changes are minor, one or two stagehands can probably handle it. But if an entire stage set needs to be changed in just a few minutes, make sure there are enough people to move the old scenery out and the new scenery in as quickly, quietly and safely as possible.
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Add mechanical aids. Something as simple as wheels on heavy items can make the changing of scenery much easier and require less personnel. If your theater has a fly gallery, consider rigging large, two-dimensional pieces to it so they can "fly" up out of sight or down onto the stage in just a few seconds.
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Practice. Just as the scenes and curtain call need to be rehearsed, so does changing the scenery. Make sure the backstage personnel have time to practice the scene changes so the audience sees a smooth, quick transition from one location in the play to another.
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Tips & Warnings
Actors can be recruited as stagehands if a lot of scenery needs to be changed quickly. Consider dressing the crew in costumes similar to the actors, and use them as extras or the chorus, if you can. If you don't want to dress the stage crew in costume, black shirts, pants and shoes are traditional backstage wear.
If actors need to stand on the heavier pieces of scenery, add wheels, but make sure to install the kind that lock in place while the scenery is being used so the actors---and scenery---don't roll away.
