chapter seven theatre spaces power point

Chapter 7

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The audience faces in one direction, as in a movie theatre

The action onstage is seen through a frame of some kind

Proscenium comes from proscenium arch—the frame that separates the stage from the auditorium and forms an outline for the stage

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Proscenium features: Fourth-wall convention Rake Orchestra Fly loft

Ideal for spectacles because the machinery and the workings of the scene changes can be concealed behind the proscenium opening

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Other advantages: Effective for realistic settings Strong central focus rivets attention of

audience Disadvantages:

Creates a temptation to get carried away with visual pyrotechnics

Tends to be remote and formal

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Most widely used of all theatre spaces The audience sits on three sides, or in a

semicircle, enclosing a stage that projects into the center

Types of stages Platform Wagon Corral

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Offers a sense of intimacy The rear wall of the stage provides a

focused background for the action

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Also called circle theatre or theatre-in-the-round

Has a playing space in the center of a square or circle, with seats for spectators surrounding it

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Advantages: Offers intimacy Allows for unconscious communication that is

created when people form a circle Any large room can be converted into this

arrangement

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An event such as a game in a sports arena has a number of similarities to a theatrical event

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A theatre set up in a space not ordinarily used for performance

All early theatres probably began this way

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Street theatre Brings performances

to places where people do not normally attend traditional theatre

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More than one playing area where something is going on simultaneously in each area Sort of like a three-ring circus More like everyday life No single space or activity is more important

than any other

Multimedia theatre

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Can be adapted to an almost infinite range of configurations

Sometimes referred to as black boxes Every aspect—seats, lights, platforms,

levels—is flexible and movable Aesthetic distance can be adjusted for each

production’s need

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