Define the Stage

• 1). Make it clear where the seating area ends and the playing area---the stage---begins.
  It's good to have some distance between actors and audience, so don't make the stage too close. The optimal distance depends on the size of the room, but make it at least 15 feet if you can.
  
  
• 2). You don't need a platform or a curtain or a proscenium arch to define the stage area. You can do it with objects placed at strategic spots. Try placing small bookcases at the right and left of that stage/audience border. Or you can cover the playing area with a carpet. For something easier, just lay some boards across that imaginary line at the foot of the stage.
  
  
• 3). Place lights in the seating area and focus them on the stage, keeping the spectators in relative darkness. Hang the lights from the ceiling if you can. If not, place lamps at the foot of the stage, at each side, and hang a piece of dark fabric---a blanket will do---on one side of them so that the stage is lit up but not the audience. Use a couple of colored light bulbs---warm colors like red or yellow on one side, and cool colors like blue or green, on the other. This way, the stage picture will have visual depth. What's more, it'll allow you to control the mood---warm light for comedy, cooler light for serious drama. Lights are also useful for defining space.
  
  
• 4). Keep your set minimal if you the script allows. A couple of chairs will usually suffice. Place a couple of potted plants on stage to indicate a forest if that's what the script calls for. Use ordinary furniture if the script demands a more realistic set. You can put an entire parlor on stage. Use the good furniture and let the audience sit on your folding chairs. Avoid having the same type of furniture on stage that's in the seating area. Double the number potted plants for a more realistic outdoor scene.
  
  
• 5). If you need to change the set between scenes, don't try to mask the change by shutting off the lights or hanging a curtain. And avoid having the actors change the set. Recruit a couple of stagehands, and have them wear black. Don't let them sit in the audience---they're a part of the show. Of course, the set change can't take too long---keep it under a minute. If it takes longer than that, think about dumping some of the set pieces.
  
  
• 6). Place a screen at the back of the stage to create an area indicating the next room, and mask your actors before their entrance. Your stagehands can hang out behind it during a scene. You can also use it as a painted backdrop, symbolic or realistic.