Spike (stagecraft)

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In stagecraft, a spike is a marking (Usually a piece of tape, though some houses use paint pens) put on the stage to show placement for set pieces, furniture, actors and the like. Usually gaffer or Electrical tape is used, though some companies make rolls of very thin gaffer's tape marketed as "spike tape" specifically for this purpose. When used to indicate direction under dark conditions, phosphorescent tape (sometimes referred to as glow tape) is used for practical and safety reasons. Spikes are generally only used when positioning needs to be precise, for example for lighting specials.

During the technical rehearsal one of the Stage management team will be ready to mark positions as required. To enable this to be done quickly, they may precut small strips of tape either still on the roll or on a spike board. When spiking a position for a performer, a small cross is typically used. For furniture items and trucks the marks are usually two pieces of tape laid at right angles at two corners of the item. Usually this will be the upstage corners to minimise the visual impact. The Stage Manager will use different colours to indicate positions of items for different scenes and sometimes will also write on the tape what the spike is for.