Hi, I am new to this forum. I am the backstage director for a play that our home school group is putting on, Fiddler on the Roof. The play is comprised of 30 middle/high school students. I am working in conjunction with the director, music director and choreographer to map out our show (for lack of technical terms).

As we have worked through the script and mapped out the timing of things, we have developed a discrepancy of opinions on the time that scene changes should take. In my research, I read that a scene change should take 10-15 seconds. Some of our production team would like our violinist to play for 1-2 minutes in between scene changes. I think we may lose our audience if we allow that much time to elapse before continuing with the plot line.

Can anyone give me some feedback on this?

Thank you,
Kim

Kim,

I don't think I've ever seen problems caused by set changes that were too fast, but I've certainly seen a few damaged by changes that were too slow!

 
 G’day Kim!
Interesting question & good luck with your scenography for ‘Fiddler’!
Just to add my Zacks worth to the the other members who have covered it!

To me any scene change that takes 15 seconds is too long.
I try & make scene changes as seamless as possible, utilising the mise en scene design, sceneoligy, crew & the limited use of the performers [very limited?]  keeping in mind they can be useful at times & are just  warm props.
Realising you are working with students, you can in conjunction with the production team, choreograph into the pre change as a Move Cue for the warm props to effect the changes. Upon their exit or in a brown out which is acceptable & very effective during the ‘chase music’.
I have only done Fiddler using a revolve in Pro & Ameatre  productions, so possibly this is not that relevant to your situation.
The biggest factor with scene changes is working out the logistics of the ‘Moves’ & dove tailing them in by reducing the punters perceived time factor, of the change, with either lighting or other scenic happenings to retain their interest.
Unlike TV or film where the audience are actually inside the camera & the scene can be changed in the space of a frame or the movement of a switch,
We have to be subtly just as illusionary & cunning.
I have no idea the set or props you have to contend with, but in all cases working with a set what should paramount in it’s design is to the KISS principle or apply Accoms Razor to it’s logistics & scene changes.
Most script will have a stage plan & various lists to achieve required scene changes, but they invariably will only apply to a pro theatre &venue the show opened in originally & should be only taken as guide.
So the set & blocking needs to apply to your space.
In most Ameatre productions they have the distinct knack of leaving the set & mise en scene design until the week of the shows opening or as an after thought on the night before the dress rehearsal.
{The 6 P’s [Pre Planning Prevents P*ss Poor Performance]} should be applied long before the auditions, especially with a musical.
As the TD, SD or SM mark out the provisional set design on the deck of the rehearsal space if you can, either by tape, chalk or whatever, with set pieces & props get mock ups or utilise furniture & objects on hand similar to what would be used, at all rehearsals.
If you are restricted or can’t get permission to mark out the floor with tape, I have used white string held with tape at each end, just to give the stage dimensions, then used cardboard boxes & cut out Standees for the set pieces.
From this you & the production team will be able to visualise each scene & the scene changes logistics, can be considered at each rehearsal.
Instead of attempting to inversely apply the blocking to the set during the tech rehearsal.
Also this will give you a better picture on how the scene changes can be better performed efficiently. These days the use of a video camera during rehearsing the production is a useful tool, for you to map out the shows  logistics.
 
I remember, not trying to be too ‘Peachy’ or completely saddoble all together, many eons ago. Working on the set of the nation tour of Fiddler, commenting that the set designer had nicked my design idea, for Tevye’s house in Anatevka.
The fold out house I designed for a production of the Merry Wives of Windsor a couple of years earlier was very similar. Of course I in turn had probably ‘alf inched the idea anyway from someone else in the first place!
The set  I did for MWoW was based on a doll house design, with the front part of the house opening out, similar to the one in Fiddler. Except mine was a 2 storey set.- but I was totally  convinced it still was my idea first. I was all of 14 at the time, peeved & as thick as two short planks!
Anyhow that’s all another story!
I hope this helps Kim?
As I do tend to go off on a tangent now & then!
 

This is kind of on the same subject. When there are 3 acts with 2 sccenes in the first two acts, how much time should we allow for inbetween acts?  We had set aside 15 minutes for between the 1st and 2nd and 10 minutes for between Act 2 and 3. I'd like to shorten that. We will only do 30 seconds between scenes.
Barb