Rigging an electric range for stage?

If I understand correctly, you need one burner to work but want to do it without plugging in the whole stove which will probably be a big challenge wiring wise on a stage set, aside from what the theatre allows. You're proposing removing the coil burner and drip pan, or possibly two, and placing a hotplate where that burner used to be. I think you're just going to have to try it and see if a hotplate will fit under the top of this stove. It might or might not and you won't know until you remove the burners and drip pans and try to put the hotplate in and close the lid. Then you'll have to figure out where the cord from the hotplate will have to go to be plugged in. That part could be very difficult since the cord will have to emerge from the lid somewhere.

You got me curious, so I just tried to place a two burner hotplate under the top of my stove after removing the coils and drip pans. No go. The coils on the hotplate don't line up with the holes for the burners and couldn't be made to do so because the housing of the hotplate is in the way. You would have to remove and tuck out of the way the wires and connectors for the coils, which looks pretty easy but which I'm not going to do here on my own stove right now, but there's no way around the holes not lining up. It looks as if the hotplate would fit heightwise under the top if the connectors were out of the way. Also. the controls for the hotplate are on the front of it so one of those would have to be on all the time and be powered at the outlet the hotplate is plugged into. A one burner hotplate might work for the burner positioning.

What you need, legally and stage design-wise, is a set wireman who knows what he's doing. That is, one with a proper ticket for stage wiring or at least one with an electrician's ticket appropriate for the facility this production will be staged in and who has a bit of imagination. Not every electrician does. The theatre may have a guy in house or that they use. Ask them.

I'm just guessing here because I'm not an electrician, but I think what you would have this electrician do to get what you want is to take the 220 plug off the stove, wire on a regular 3 prong plug that is only connected to the burners or perhaps just the one you want to operate, and plug that plug into your stage wiring. Whether that can be done so the burner control on the stove can be made to operate the burner, only the electrician can say. Probably yes. If not, then you'll have to have it controlled off stage. I think it can be done with a good wireman, who can also restore the stove wiring to its original state afterwards. Or alternately, find a way to remove a burner from a hotplate, wire it up, put it where the stove coil used to be, and find a way to lead its cord to where it can be plugged in and controlled offstage, but I suspect that's harder than changing the stove. Either one should stay within the theatre's requirements which are probably the result of fire regulations, since all you will have operating is one burner. You may find it cheaper, unless you need an expensive-looking stove, to buy one, modify it, and then get rid of it or keep it for future productions instead of having its wiring restored, unless you can find a volunteer qualified electrician. Good luck. This is what makes theatre such fun.

(we may be borrowing a working stove and can't make any changes to it).

Can a burner and drip catch on the range be removed and the hotplate set in place under the cooktop so that it appears to be a burner?

These 2 statements are incompatible. Removing a burner IS making changes to the stove. The term cooktop usually refers to a flat surface as opposed to burner coils. For this type of stove, what you suggest is PHYSICALLY impossible, even if you CAN permanently modify the stove.

An electric stove requires 220 wiring, unless your stage is set up for such a surge of power, forget using the burners on an electric range. You would be lucky to find a hot plate the size you need to replace a burner on the top of the stove. It wouldn't stop me from trying though.

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