The Space

The physical space of the performance.

Are the stage and house enclosed?

What are the dimensions of the acting area?

What is the shape of the performance area?

What is the shape of the house?

What is the Shape of the Performance Area?

The shape of a performance area also shapes the audience area, especially in a built theatre. It also determines focus and the degree of scenic possibilities.

Theatre Shapes:

Proscenium. Probably the most common shape in Western theatre is the proscenium because of its ties to how history shaped theatre architecture and influences that historically traveled in the theatre world. The proscenium space places the audience facing the stage generally in one direction. At times, the house is configured in such a way that a patron actually faces another part of the house, such as the box seating near the proscenium. However, once the performance begins, in order to see the performance, the audience must turn toward a set opening. The audience sees the performance through a rectangular frame; consequently, the proscenium distinctly separates performance from audience. With the proscenium, fewer patrons are close to the performance than with other shapes, so physical distance becomes a true factor when creating experience. The proscenium can be either with the arch or without the arch. A proscenium type of theatre without the arch is called the Open Proscenium.

Cinema. The cinema type of theatre structure is an offshoot of the proscenium. Early movie theaters were converted proscenium theatres. Usually, patrons face one direction and the screen is framed.

Conclave Cinema. IMAX theatres often have a conclave cinema structure, determined by the shape of the screen. The audience space shape, however, remains the same as in the proscenium.

Surround Cinema. Some screened facilities, like a planetarium, have the screen surrounding the audience. The audience shape, then, changes into an around where the audience members, facing each other in a circle, can see the part of the screen they are facing.

Thrust. The thrust or three-quarter stage configuration places the audience on three sides of the performance space. Patrons seated in one area will have a different experience than a patron seated in a different area because each will be seeing the performance from different perspectives. The manipulation of focus through directing and design is a key factor in producing on the thrust stage. The upstage area offers complex scenic possibilities, and sometimes is an extension of the proscenium type of stage. Also, because there is more stage area, more patrons can sit close to the performance space.

Arena. The arena or the theatre-in-the-round space configuration places the audience surrounding the performance area. More patrons can sit close to the performance space in the arena configuration than in any other shape. Because the arena shape can offer only minimal scenic possibilities, there is more of a demand on the audience to imagine the drama's locale. The space haunts us back to primitive theatre and a natural configuration of the circle arrangement. The configuration's demand for imagination and its natural structure to form community has the potential to help create a vibrant and communal experience for the patron.

Flexible. The flexible space configuration offers the director and designer choices for the space to configure either as thrust, proscenium, or arena staging. This type of staging usually is found in experimental or black-box theatres, although modern theatre designers are designing flexible stages in a much larger space.

Music Concert Shapes:

End Stage. The end stage prevails as the space configuration for music recitals. Because of the lack of scenic possibilities with the end stage, few theatre productions use it. This shape is primarily designed to meet acoustical needs, and is only a modern shape.