PLATFORMS ARE MORE heavily constructed than most other stage scenery because of the weight they must carry — not only the weight of the setting that is placed upon it, but the combined pounds of all the actors as well. Moving objects create what is known as a live load, which requires a sturdier structure than a static load. Actors who are dancing, or running, or jumping up and down create a live load that is really several times their combined weight, because their mass is multiplied by their acceleration to arrive at the force, or load acting on the platforms. A group of dancers running to one side of the stage and suddenly stopping causes a great deal of sideways or lateral stress on a structure. Because people are standing ...
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