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It is a short form for a special type of 19th C stage trap, introduced in the supernatural melodrama The Vampire; or, The Bride of the Isles, 1820, to provide a spectacular disappearance for the Vampire himself in the final moments of the play. The play is an adaptation of a French adaptation of the same year, translated by a non-plussed British historian/playwright, J R Planche. The novel villain (he is remarkably quiet, remorseful, and all his evil happens offstage-- its what you don't see most of the time). is about to seize on Lady Margaret, his affianced bride during the moonlit wedding ceremony. His is struck by 'lightning' mid-stage and disappears, allowing her to escape. He disappears through a trap made out of two spring-loaded wooden panels in the floor. He steps on the released panels and falls through, as on a gallows, down onto a mattress or hay bale in the basement. The trap leaves are locked off again by a bar or sliding panels under the stage floor sections being rammed back in place so that the assembled guests can step on the now solid floor through which 'Ruthven' (pronounced: "Rivven", see Gilbert & Sulliven's Ruddigore musical 'ghost spoof') disappeared.
The term covers two versions, the later one, also used in a vampire play, this time 'Count Dracula', in Peggy Webling's/ John Balderson's stage adaptation, ca 1925. This time they were two scrimmed panels in the library walls/bookcase(?). This involved a lighting effect sequence and a momentary distraction onstage as Dracula presses his way through the solid wall.
See also the final sceen in WS Gilbert's Foggertey's Fairy , a Victorian Back to the Future time play.
The trap is referred to as a 'Vamp' or a 'Dive' trap (as used in the cemetery scene in Llloyd-Webber's Phantom of the Opera.
What else can I help you with?
What are Pigments that trap sunlight are called?
Chlorophyll is the green pigment which traps sunlight. This pigment is contained in the chloroplasts.
Which part of nasopharynx is raised like a trap door to stop food entering the upper passage way?
The soft palate is the part of the nasopharynx that acts like a trap door to prevent food from entering the upper airway. It moves up to close off the nasal passages during swallowing and prevents food or liquid from entering the nasal cavity.
What are the cells in the nose and the throat that trap dust particles called?
The cells in the nose and throat that trap dust particles are called cilia. Cilia are hair-like structures that line the respiratory tract and help to sweep foreign particles, such as dust, towards the throat to be expelled from the body.
Having no muscles how does a Venus fly trap shut its 'jaws'?
The exact mechanism for this phenomena is still widly unknown. What we do know is that the "mouth" on the plant has little "sensor hairs" that somehow sends a signal that initiates the closing of the trap. The actual closing of the trap is probably a result of a change in turgor pressure within the trap, itself. In other words, the water in the plant is redistributed to fill the trap.
What is the purpose of a doormat?
The purpose of a doormat is to be placed in front of a door in order to limit the amount of dirt and debris that is tracked into the house. There are doormats that can be placed on the outside of the door as well as the inside of the door.
How did ghosts appear and disappear on the London stage'?
That depends on what period you are referring to. In Shakespeare's day they rose from a trap door in the floor of the stage. Much later, a devise called a Corsican Trap, from the play The Corsican Brothers combined a trap door with a huge treadmill that allowed the ghost to rise vertically and float horizontally at the same time.
What is a trap door in a theatre?
You know when they do disappearing acts on a stage? Like when a magician makes a person "disappear?" Well they actually made that person fall through the trap door. The trap door is usually situated around center stage and is used to move props or even people. It creates somewhat of an illusion.
Where do trap doors usually lead to?
Usually somewhere secret, or maybe a trap, since it is called a TRAP door.
What was hell in the globe theatre?
Trap doors were built into the stage allowing dramatic entrances during the performances of plays. The height of the stage was five feet - so the area beneath the stage was easily big enough to hold actors. This area underneath the stage was given the title "Hell". This was taken from the term 'hell mouth' which was used to refer to any trap-door in the bottom of a stage (called the cellerage). The Globe theatre stage was believed to have had two trap doors on the outer stage and one trap door on the inner stage called the "grave trap" Actors would hide in "Hell" waiting to make their entrance or to create other special effects. Unusual special effects could be made from 'Hell' including different sounds using different musical instruments such as the trumpet, or drums. Actors skilled in imitating the baying of hounds and crowing of roosters or the wailing of ghostly sounds would also be waiting in 'Hell'.
What is located in the center of the stage and used for special effects like appearing and disappearing actors?
A trap door.
What is the trap door that closes the opening to your voice box called?
epiglottis
When did The Trap Door end?
The Trap Door ended in 1986.
When was The Trap Door created?
The Trap Door was created in 1984.
What is a theater trap door?
it is a place in the stage floor were you can put a hydrolic lift so that you can move actors and set peices
What is the duration of The Trap Door?
The duration of The Trap Door is 300.0 seconds.
What is hell on the shakespearean stage?
It's the part under the stage where the "demons" come from. There's a trap door on the stage that leads to hell. Also one it the ceiling that goes to heaven. Usually both are filled with spiderwebs.
When was Behind the Trap Door created?
Behind the Trap Door was created in 1984.
