Stages and auditoria

Through time, theatres evolved with different internal layouts according to the type of productions regularly presented there. They originated from the temporary stages on the back of the carts of travelling troubadours and mummers, ancient Greek theatres and Roman amphitheatres and the sixteenth-century courtyard theatres. Today, the most common types of stage arrangements are:

Platform stages

These are usually a raised rectangular platform at one end of a room. They can either have a level or raked (sloping) floor. The audience sit in rows facing it. Platform stages are often used in multi-purpose halls today in which theatrical productions are only part of a building’s use. Where the stage is open and without curtains, they are sometimes known as end stages or open stages.

Thrust stages

They project or ‘thrust’ into the auditorium with the audience sitting around three sides. Such stages are often used to increase intimacy between actors and the audience, especially dramatic performances with just a few actors.

Proscenium stages

These have a highly-decorative architectural frame, known as the proscenium arch (not always arch-shaped). Their stages are deep and often raked. Sometimes the front of the stage extends past the proscenium into the auditorium and is known as an apron or forestage, to enable a performer to get closer to the audience.

Theatres in-the-round

They have a central performance area enclosed by the audience. Their stages can either be at ground level surrounded by tiered seating or a raised stage with seating on a flat floor. The arrangement is rarely ‘round’: more usually the seating is in a square or polygonal formation. The actors enter through aisles in the seating. Scenery and props are minimal and carefully positioned to ensure they do not obstruct the audience’s view.

Hippodromes

These are similar to circuses and have a central circular arena surrounded by concentric tiered seating. The circumference of the arena has been ascribed to the minimum distance for horses to turn at either end of a Roman arena. This was later used for the size of a horse ring for exercising horses in the eighteenth century. Deep pits or low screens often separate the audience from the arena.

Black-box theatres

They have flexible performance spaces in which different staging and seating arrangements can be temporarily constructed to enable a wide variety of productions to be presented. Their interiors are blacked out to eliminate distracting detail.