CHAPTER ONE

THEATRES and STAGES

Whether ~ctor or technician, your greatest all in th . space occupied around the performance area by the audience.
imagination of your audience. Your job . y ~atre is the
imagination. While this may be done in is to tngger that The theatre-in-the-round presents ac
methods of differing quality, the task mus7~nydways and b~ by the audience In th· + tors completely encircled
· is 1orm of stag· h. •
efficiently requires at least some k el one . To do _it as arena circle t . mg, w 1ch 1s also known
+ ·1· . . now edge of the ' s aging , or center stagin th . .
voca bulary, 1ac1 1t1es , matenals , equipme t d . are taken from a cl k f g , e stage drrect1ons
oc ace An are d'
available . n ' an techmques entrance aisles · . · a a Jacent to one of the
control . is designated as the location of the technical
eqmpment and th·is ais · le is
· then designated as the
The ·facility
al I willdi 'dvary· greatly from theatre tO theatre . The
phys1c p ant .d . es .mto three basic parts, and each of these
v1
can be. prov1
. ed m different forms · Each 1ac1 . will
+ . 11ty . be a
combmation of parts , each of which w·ll 1 have its. own
strengths and weaknesses .

PARTS OF A THEATRE

The primary part of a theatre is its acting area _ the only one
of the. partsThactually required in order to present a theatre
expenence . . e functions of this part are to set the actor apart
from_ the audience, to divide performance from reality, and to
p
pr~v1~e a degree of visibility and audibility for the performer.
This 1s the area with which you should be most concerned
L
since it is the focal point of the theatre experience . Avondale Playhouse

The second part of the theatre is the auditorium - an area to "twelve o'clock" position . Viewed from above the other aisles
provide some degree of comfort and safety for the audience , take on designations as three, six , or nine o' clock. In this way
and to allow them to see and hear what is on stage . Some the director can locate actors and scenery by reference to
a~ditoriums are poorly planned and do little to provide these clock face position. While this form of theatre offers the
thmgs . The more poorly planned the auditorium, the greater closest actor-audience proximity, it also is probably the most
the task of the performer and the technician. limiting on scenery and lighting equipment placement.

While optional , most theatres provide a scenic background. Neither props nor scenic items can be tall enough to limit the
Taking many forms , it may appear as: a curtain , either vision of any portion of the audience . Lighting equipment
patterned or plain ; a painted backdrop depicting something used to illuminate the face of a performer standing close to the
real or symbolic ; a constructed background; or a natural edge of the performance space at ten o'clock and facing
background as provided by many outdoor theatres. center may easily spill into the eyes of audience members
seated close to that edge of the stage.
FORMS OF THEATRES
Obviously there is no limit to how many degrees of wrapping-
The fonns of the acting area are many. While acting areas may the-audience-around-the-stage seating are used . For reference ,
be at any elevation in relation to the audience seating they are however, theatres fall into categories by quarters . Thus the
usually a little abov.e the lowest row provided for the viewers . three-quarter round stage has seating around 270 degrees ,
Theatre fonns are usually named according to the amount of
 Stagecraft I
and properties . These buildings had doors wh· .
·th r of · story. 0 ne door represented th ~
0 degrees. In e1 e dramatic h~d e in- th
d eats through 18 . h · of actor- e orne
while the ha/f-roun s 1· h a closer relauons ip . ) h ·1
protagonist (hero w 1 e another was the h of the
=~::!::: :~c:::;~~;s,!u::~:~~~:;~::b::::e
which sight Jines are of no conce '
antagonist (villain) and the middle door represen~:e of th:
which of course was the home of the gods. Alon a ~illPle
building were paraskene - towers added to th . gside the
more flexible . t three- . . "U" h L t 1 . e sides to
the bmldmg a s ape . a er a p aymg area was adta!(e
which were almos . the face of each paraskene and these were Called ed to
The Greek and Roman thea~s ave us some of our basic
_ places in front of the scene. Proscenium
quarter and half-round respect;ely, ; of our terms come from
concepts of physical theatre and ::h things as a seating area The Greeks were the first to use scenic devices Th
them. These early forms share h tra which in the Greek were triangular shaped units which when plac~d _edperiaktoi
ublic and an ore es ,
for the general P ~ .
formed a flat surface 1or pamted scenery. The sh
s1 e-by .d
-s1 e
h · · · 1
the units to rotate t us g1vmg s1mp e "shifts" betwape allow ed
. . een scene
In the early days o f te1ev1S1on some designers ~-
. . k . 1 h"ft usect this
method to provide_~mc _,dv1sua _s 1 s during musical Variety
shows . Toe advertlsmg m ustry 1s now using them in
. outdoor
signboards to proJect three messages off the same billboard.

T he eccyclema was a cart or platform

.
on wheels used to
move
items on and off the playmg area. In the middle ages
individual scenes were ~oved from pla~e to place in the city
during festival days. This was done usmg a pageant wagon
which had an elevated platform on which the scene was
Christian Theological Seminary presented to the gathered audience . These were the
forerunners of our stage wagons and platforms of today.
theatre was a performance area used by the chorus. In Ro~an
times it became the seating area for local dignitaries. Side The Greeks also used a deus-ex-machina or "god of the
alleyways called parados were provided for the Greek chorus machine." It was a means of having a character "descend"
to gain entry to the orchestra. Which parados they used was onto the stage from the heavens , or was used by the dramatist
symbolic and told the audience whether their trip was nearby to rescue a hero from an impossible situation. Since the
or far away. audience could see the machinery as well as the operation of
it, it was very contrived or "faked." This is the meaning which
In the center of the orchestra was a thymele or altar which the
the term has in its use today. This term would not be used to
Greeks used for sacrifices. The Romans reduced this in size,
identify the sophisticated flying normally used in presentations
placed it at the front edge of the stage, and used it as a display
of Peter Pan or Aladdin.
location for the laurel wreath to be given to the top performer.
The Roman theatre gave us a sounding board which was a
sloped panel above the stage to help project sound into the
audience area. It also brought us awnings to protect people
from the sun during performances and a huge scene wall
which was an ornately carved permanent facade in front of
which the actors performed.

We achieve what is called an open stage when the audience

seating is restricted to less than 180 degrees an~ _no
proscenium is present. There is little structural reStrictio~
placed upon the stage or the acting area and the audience ~s
seated as closely as possible to the performance area. Thi~
0
gathering of the audience into less of an arc allows the use _
scenic projections and minimal self-standing scenery as maJor
Typical Greek Theatre
scenic techniques.

Each had its scene building to provide storage for costumes If there is some physical , structural limitation placed upon ~e
vision of the audience , the theatre will fall into the proscenium

2
 Theatres and Stages

enc:.

Orc'-tra

Paraskan• Stage Paraakane

~Proscenium~
I o

: Scene Building :
I II

North Central High School, Indianapolis

Typical Roman Theatre
:cenes. Designers and directors today often have several
category. In the true proscenium theatre the actual ~enes set _on a stage and use lighting and or blocking to focus
presen~atio~ takes place behind the curtain line which serves ethattdention. of ~e audience. Side stages also provide a
me o of domg this.
as an unagmary fourth
. wall. In this form the audience IB·
looking throug h a picture frame to see the action . In some ~heatres the proscenium was widened or eliminated.
~he ~laymg s?ace often was provided with the rigging and
hghtmg used m the more traditional proscenium stage . This
produced what was referred to as the open stage .

The black box theatre has been around for quite a while . It is
~s th~ n~e implies , a room which ideally has some sort of
hghtmg gnd above and totally flexible seating . The audience
may be placed in any configuration desired. This is the most
e:p~ri~ental type of theatre by providing the fewest space
~urut~tlo~s. It does require the most from lighting and from -
<::

1magmat1ve scenery and props .

As a rule a performer prefers the type of theatre which

provides a playing space closest to the audience. The closer
Indianapolis Children's Museum the cast is to the audience the more careful the technicians
Some years ago this fourth wall concept was breached and the have to be in their work.
actors began to play onto the front of the stage, thus allowing Of all forms of theatre it is this author 's opinion that the
them to get as close to their audience as possible , "thrusting" proscenium form of theatre offers the most opportunity to the
the action toward the audience. Here the action behind the technician , the actor, and the audience. This is the form of
actual proscenium arch becomes less and we find ourselves theatre which utilizes the most talents from the technician.
presenting theatre on a thrust stage. The Globe Theatre in Most of the scripts available today were written for this form .
Shakespeare's time was a thrust stage. Some feel that it is more costly to build and equip than other
forms and cite this as a reason for eliminating it, but in the
A number of changes have been used in conjunction with the hands of a staff who wishes to be creative a proscenium
proscenium. Adding large floor spaces to the sides and in theatre can easily be transformed into any of the other forms
f~ont of the proscenium produces a proscenium stage with
thus allowing experimentation.
side stages. This allows directors to have performing spaces
close to the audience while keeping such advantages of the The majority of the stages in operation today are proscenium
proscenium as allowing masked scene changes. stages and since they offer the greatest ?pportu~ity to the
technician we will talk mostly of their techmques and
~uring the middle ages the concept of multiple staging was equipment in this textbook.
mtroduced. Guilds, or unions accepted responsibility for
presenting a portion of a story for festival day. Often the In this era of multi-use concepts we see auditorium spaces
scenes were erected adjacent to each other so the audience using dividers so they can be considered as multi-purpose
could follow the story by shifting attention along the line of rooms . It's a popular concept but it can produce a number of

3
 Stagecraft I
elevation adjustment from stage floor level do
to having a facility which will levels. Some of these pits are so small that th Wn to lo
limitations, if not obstacdlesd, ~ r acoustic excellence. of a limitation than a useable area. Others ar ey become tnWer
"de the elements nee e o .
audience . the firrst row fiee1s a great separati esolarge that Ore
m th
pfOVI
" .. th . . on frorn th e
In the "up
. position,
. e pit provides a thrust stage tO 0 e act1·
on
STAGE TERMINOLOGY this feelmg of distance. If the lift ' which i·s very e verc0Ille·
. the round must also have .
th · theatre-in- -
Stages other th~ ?se 1~ . the participants. Because nonexistent, then fillers can be used to bridgethe pits ~pensive , .is
a method of indicating d1recuons t~ ( t at an angle to the Pace
early stages were sloped or rake . se farthest away was Since the members of a musical group in the . ·
, 1· of vision) the acuon f considered as part of the presentation on pit Would 1.._
audiences me h' h as closer. The rear portion·o • stage th ue
actually hi_gher than that wd t~c :ea closer to the audience is directions usual1y are used through the pit. At h ' . e stage
the stage is up stage an e begin to deal with the audience which is faci t e pit Wall We
. . f h" . ng the stag
down stage. the directions rom t is pomt out begin t0 e, thus
. . . directions to persons on stage the reference orientation of the viewing public . relate to the
Smee we are givmg · d · t d as
is made as they face their audience. Stage left is esigna e The proscenium form stage with its associated . .
the actor 's left, while facing the audience, conversely stage "' ngging .
most complex o f th e 1orms . It contains some it . is the
right is to the actor 's right. . h"l . h ems Which
unique to it w i e it s ares some things with oth f are
By labeling the center portion of the stag~ we .have the name is derived from the picture frame opening:~. orrns. Its
complete set of words for identifying the basic actmg areas . the audience to look in on the action while it blocks~~ ~~ws
The nine basic areas of the stage are designated by using the of the supporting mechanisms and personnel. view
word indicating up or down first , then left or right, and finally
An imaginary line drawn across the stage even . h
center when required . ' arc h wi·11"'1orm th e curtain line or plaWlt th
backsi'de o. f th is . . t 1. e
serine
Between the stage and the audience there is usually some Centered m the proscemum . openmg and drawn from the f ront·
form of apron . This is the portion of the stage floor between to the rear .of the stage 1s. the center line. . It is from these two
the main curtain and the front edge of the stage. Its size will reference Imes that locations for sets, lighting and curtains are
vary from nothing to larger-than-stage area as found in a measured. Standard stage directions are used then to relate
thrust stage. locations for purposes of movement. Some houses will
establish a curtain line up stage of the edge of the arch,
Most proscenium type stages also provide an area between the
perhaps to clear some permanent obstruction. The exact
apron and the audience for the location of musicians. This is
the pit and may be nothing more than a floor area without location does not matter; it is only important that the line be
audience seating, or might be an elevator floor which allows decided upon to prevent technical confusion.

,• .\
·--···· ............

Up Right Up Center Up Left

Off
Off
Right Center Center Left Center
Right
left

(□ Down Right Down Center Down Left

Apron

Pit

4
I
 Theatres and Stages
0wer
lllore The flooring of a stage is. often ignored · Th.1s. material
. is
Lt the
rnuch a part o f th e technical work and can be . h _very
a hindrance . As an aid it will allow the t h e_it . er an aid or BIBLIOGRAPHY
:tion. · • cc mcian to ·1tta h
1
scenery. pace pivots tor wagons . locate marks ' 'c
:orne B - 16, 23 , 25 , 27 ,
placement of scenery and will be dark e h for the
'e , is much light. noug not to reflect
P - 1, 3, S, 6

The up stage two-thirds

. of a proscenium or thrust stage floor GLOSSARY
d be
tage
needs
· to provide
~ bl be
a means . attaching scene ry. Quarter-sawn
of
acting area 1
fir 1s pre,era e cause of its close ' firm gra·m wh.l . ts
I e 1t . soft
antagonist 2
I we enough to allow penetration by nails s
• · crews , or other apron 4
thus attachment devices . It has the capability to absorb a lot of
. arena 1
the punishment. and. recover somewhat. Flooring matena · 1 hke
. auditorium \
other technical items , can be expected to wear ~and h~m ' awnings 3
be rep led
ac . black box 3
the
are center 4
In the down stage portion and apron ' maple flo onng
· provides•
. Its center line 4
the resonance to enhance some sound from dan cmg . a1so
. . 1t 1s
:>ws
center staging \
a hard-to-damage surface . This portion of the fl oor especta
· 1ly
;ew circle staging I
should
. . have the. space below filled w 1·th so me sort of curtain line 4
msulanon matenal to deaden the echo sound . Id all h eye S
entire floor will be thus insulated . e Yt e
deus-ex-machina 2
the
·ne . doors 2
Some years ago attempts were made to utilize linoleum for
down stage 4
ont stage floors. The attempts met with some degree of success in
eccyclema 2
WO spite _o f the instabilit~ of the early large-sheet flooring
experimental 3
.ue matenals . Recently linoleum-like materials have been
fir S
ate developed which will allow them to be used for either
flooring S
; jJI permanent installation , or for roll-up portable flooring . Such half-round 2
;h. flooring answers the problems created by the earlier ground imagination I
JCt cloths used when a designer wanted to paint the floor for a maple S
be show, yet allows traction for dancers and a firm enough multiple staging 3
surface that scenery can be rolled over it. open stage 2 , 3
orchestra 2
The finish of the stage floor also is important. To allow the
pageant wagon 2
lighting technician better control of the light the floor should
parados 2
be finished in a dark color and matte finish . This will
paraskene 2
eliminate much of the reflection and thus provide better light
periaktoi 2
control. Unfortunately, you will find that dust is usually
pit 4
reflective . proscenium 2
protagonist 2
The termination of the audience 's sight is the rear "wall" of
raked 4
the stage . Often this is a neutral material used to indicate sky.
scene building 2
The material may be a temporary fabric curtain or a
scene wall 2
permanent textured plaster or sprayed concrete wall . It may be
scenic background I
flat or may curve in one or more planes . Regardless of shape
side stages 3
or material , it must still produce illusion . Usually this is
sounding board 2
referred to as the "eye" or cyclorama . stage left 4
To aid the lighting technician , the best color for the eye is a stuge right 4
theutn:-in-thc-round I
slightly blued gray. This allows a maximum of color changes
three-quarter round I
through the use of lighting . If it is a painted surface . then the
thrust stngc '.\
paint used should be flat so as to cut down the glure rellected
thy111clc 2
to the audience . up stngc 4