_root.TextBody = "The backstage area of the Playhouse is the closest the Sydney Opera House complex comes to possessing a traditional loading dock. Following traditional theatre design, it is positioned at the same level as the stage floor. This precludes any need for lifts to transport set pieces to and from the stage. The dock area is fairly small, but complements the size of the Playhouse stage. Scene changes in the Playhouse rarely use large set pieces, and this means the Playhouse Dock area is not relied upon to store set pieces as is in the Opera Theatre Dock.\r \rThis non-reliance on storage has meant that several stage designs have exploited the Playhouse Dock as extra stage area for more ambitious productions. This leads to some ingenious or imaginative designs since the Playhouse dock area is a long alley which, from an audience perspective, opens onto the up stage on the back left hand side. It is about one third of the proper stage width. The challenge is to make the use of this extra \'awkward\' space in a way that seems entirely integral and natural to the play\'s presentation.\r";
