style theatres Flashcards
what is the theatre without any walls?
In the round.
what is the theatre with part of it extending into the audience.
Thrust.
which theatre has the audience on either side?
Traverse (also known as in the corridor).
which theatre style is done in public areas?
Promenade.
What style of stages are there?
Proscenium arch. Thrust. In-the-round. Traverse. Promenade. Non-conventional forms.
What are the disadvantages of promenade?
Difficult to rehearse because, the audience is an integral part of performance. Audience may not behave as expected- need to be encouraged + directed- some rehearsals with invited audience of right size may become necessary.
Lighting difficult to achieve without producing glare in eyes of audience (although good way to indicate which area action moved to) + sound designers need locate their speakers with care.
Health + safety issues- trailing cables, trip hazards, etc… audience members with disabilities need to be catered for. Shorter member of audience can be at disadvantage.
What are the advantages of promenade?
Promenade can be very exciting form in which real sense of community between actors + audience. Often audience will get treated as part of performance.
Staged relatively simply + inexpensively.
What are the advantages of the thrust theatre?
Can stage large-scale productions, capable of being more intimate as actors partially surrounded by audience.
Possible to place large items of set (flats, doorways, staircases, etc…) upstage, without interfering with audience’s view of action.
Most types of play work well in this form.
What are the disadvantages of traverse theatre?
Chairs or sofas with high backs can cause sightline problems, so choice + positioning of furniture + blocking of scenes, especially with large numbers of actors need to be carefully handled.
Actors have to relate to audience (as narrator, or when delivering soliloquy or an aside) have to decide how to involve audience, can’t take in single glance without changing position or making head movements.
Some stage business involving special effects or misdirecting of audience (distracting audience from something which needs to happen unseen on stage, by getting all to look in different direction at same time) more complex to achieve, as can surprise entrances.
Floor tends to be very important design feature as audience looks down on it, unlike usual situation in proscenium arch theatre.
Scene changing needs to be done in full view of audience.
What are the advantages of the proscenium arch?
Audiences often feel comfortable in proscenium arch as most experience of theatre going probably have been to theatres of this kind.
What are the disadvantages of proscenium arch?
Difficult to make audience feel involved, or to take them out of their ‘comfort zones’ if presenting more challenging performances.
Actors have more difficulty in making performances totally naturalistic, as have to be aware of opening out to audience.
Furniture needs to be placed with audience in mind.
Blocking needs to combine demands of natural behaviours + ensuring that audience can see characters.
What are the advantages of in-the-round?
Real sense that audience + actors sharing same intimate experience.
Audience’s imagination comes into play as large sets not possible for sightline problems. Sense of environment created quite simply + effectively in audience’s imagination.
Actors can behave naturalistically.
Scene changes need to take place in view of audience + often integrated into production as a whole.
What are the other styles of theatres?
End stage.
Arena theatre.
Flexible theatre.
What is flexible theatre also known as?
‘Black Box’ theatre.
What is the flexible theatre often?
Big empty boxes painted black inside. Stage + seating not fixed. Each can be altered to suit director’s needs.
