Stage Design Calculator

The calculator treats backline (amps, a drum riser, and similar gear positioned behind performers) as a fixed 5 ft addition to your entered Stage Depth whenever the toggle is on, and adds nothing when it's off. It's a flat allowance rather than one scaled to how much gear you actually have, so a large drum riser or multiple amp stacks may need more room than this default accounts for.

Stage Width is just the performing area — performer width (7 ft per person) plus equipment width on both sides. Total Width with Wings adds a fixed 8 ft of offstage wing space on each side, since performers need room to enter, exit, and stage gear outside the visible performance area. Use Stage Width for the visual footprint and Total Width with Wings when checking whether the whole setup fits the venue.

It's 175 lbs per performer for body weight plus 200 lbs per performer for associated gear, summed across your entered performer count. This is meant as a rough first gut-check, not an engineering figure — always get an actual load calculation from a rigger or structural engineer for the specific deck, truss, or platform system you're using.

The calculator uses three fixed tiers as a proxy for audience size and sightline needs: 24 in for 3 or fewer performers, 36 in for up to 8, and 48 in above that. It doesn't take actual audience size or venue floor slope into account, so always confirm the height against the specific venue's accessibility rules and any local stage-height codes before finalizing a build.