Cyberamics Portrait / Shelf Stage
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The Cyberamics Portrait Stage (known internally as The Shelf) was a stage format found at Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre from May of 1979 to December of 1980.
The stage would debut at the Concord, CA (1975 Diamond Blvd) location at its grand opening in 1979 and would go extinct in 2001 at the Lake Forest, CA location.
A retrofit of the stage, known as "The Shelf", would be installed at select locations which already had the Cyberamics Portrait Stage through the early 80's.
History
The first Cybramic Portrait Stage would be installed at the Concord, CA (1975 Diamond Blvd) location at its grand opening in 1979. It would be the first store to feature Cyberamics.
Lake Forest, CA (24416 Muirlands Blvd) was the last one to open, opening in 1981, and they were the last location to remove it aswell. Though their stage was heavily altered. Adding fake windows, a door, and moving Munch, Pasqually, and the Warblettes.
Design
The Cyberamic Portrait Stage, unlike the stages that came before it, would be placed alongside one wall to draw attention to all characters. This is different from the previous Portrait Stage setups, in which they were attached to 2 or 4 walls. All characters in the center wall would be placed inside thin, beige portrait frames with a black outline inside it.
Black and yellow nametags would be located on a wood platform below the characters. A 40-degree platform would be under that said wood, providing seating below the balcony stage. Mr. Munch and Pasqually would be popping out from their own titled walls on the left and right side of the setup, having a door attached to their frames. This door would open and close as per the show's programming.
The Warblettes had their own larger frame to make up for the character's size. Depending on the location, the Warblettes frame would either be placed on a separate wall in the Theatre or apart of the main setup to the left of Jasper T. Jowls and Chuck E. Cheese.
Flag wavers would both be placed between the Jasper T Jowls, Chuck E. Cheese and Guest Star and around the entirety of the Theatre.
In or around 1981, select portrait locations would remove their black and yellow nameplates in favor of balcony nameplates.
The shows would undergo one more change. In the early to mid 80s, select locations would remove the frames around the characters. This edit would be known as "The Shelf." There is very little footage of this change though.
At Charlie Cheese's Pizza Playhouse (Surfer's Paradise), there was a Balcony/Portrait hybrid. Pasqually and Mr. Munch both were inside their doors.
At Lake Forest, CA, they adjusted their stage positions to fit the "Balcony Stage" standards. But added windows, a door, and posts. This would technically make them the last Portrait Stage instead of the last Balcony Stage.
Known Installations
Gallery
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Raleigh, North Carolina's Mr. Munch.
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Raleigh, North Carolina's Jasper T. Jowls.
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Raleigh, North Carolina's Chuck E. Cheese.
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Raleigh, North Carolina's Madam Oink.
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Raleigh, North Carolina's Pasqually.
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Huntington Beach, California's Chuck E. Cheese.
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Ogden, Utah's Portrait Show. This would be taken during its inoperable state.
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An unknown location with Balcony nameplates.
Videos
| Links | Description | Footage Date |
|---|---|---|
| Link | Raleigh, NC's Portrait Show. | 1980 |
| Link | Maple Heights, OH's Portrait Show. | May 1981 |
| Link | Sacremento (Florin Mall) CA's Portrait Show. | 1982 |
| Link | Unknown (Sparks, NV?) "Shelf Show" | 1986 |
| Link | Huntington Beach, CA's Portrait Show. | 1987 |