Often (especially in the larger venues), the backstage areas of a theatre, opera hall or a concert hall can be ludicrously labyrinthine. Some balls have beautiful backstage areas with walls that are lined with photos and artwork and the floor is lined with carpet.
Then you have other halls where all of the beautiful excess is reserved for the audience and the front of house areas. In these cases you get something that closely resembles something from the opening of 'Get Smart'.
Earlier this month, I played in the Dortmund Konzerthaus, and it's backstage area definitely fell in the latter camp. Thankfully, whilst every corridor looked very similar and bare bones industrial-like it wasn't the most confusing backstage to navigate. Thankfully, I can read German, so it was still possible to read the signs.. A luxury that isn't always possible!
So, this is the backstage area of the Dortmund Konzerthaus. It seems pretty straightforward, but keep in mind that I knew where I was going, so there were no wrong turns despite many fire doors looking exactly the same and the many possible branches that I knew were the wrong ones!
The beginning of the journey is the artist's changing room, down in the basement somewhere. When you are first taken here, you have a guide, but after that you are completely on your own to find your way around the backstage...
After opening a heavy fire door, we have this lovely looking corridor, decked out in the most alluring greys...
Spot the difference? This is actually a different corridor...
Finally, the stairs, which means that it is time to rise out of the basement and rejoin the world of the living...
The stairs first take us to the artist's entrance. Usually the entrance door artists is tucked away in a horrible dark alley in the back of concert hall that is next to impossible to find unless you know what you are looking for. This time it was on a main street, but still easy enough to walk past!
The final stairs up to the stage entrance. These photos were done just before the concert, so it wasn't possible to take photos of the stage, however it will be something to keep in mind for next time!
However, here is a photo from Wikimedia Commons, just to get a taste!
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