Theatre spaces (chapter 7)

Question 1

What are the 5 basic stage arrangements?

Answer 1

The five are
(1) The proscenium, or picture-frame, stage
(2) Arena, or circle, stage;
(3) The thrust stage with three-quarters seating;
(4) Created and found stage spaces;
(5) Black box all-purpose, multipurpose

Question 2

Define ‘proscenium stage’ and ‘proscenium arch’.

Answer 2

Proscenium: Arch or frame surrounding the stage opening in a box or picture stage.

The term proscenium comes from proscenium arch, the frame that separates the stage from the auditorium .

Question 3

What is a fourth wall?

Answer 3

Fourth wall: Convention in a proscenium-arch theatre wherein the audience is looking into a room through an invisible fourth wall.

Question 4

Define ‘rake’

Answer 4

In theatre usage, the slant of an auditorium or stage floor is called a rake.

Question 5

What are the advantages of a proscenium stage?

Answer 5

1. The machinery and the workings of the scene changes can be concealed behind a proscenium opening, this type of stage offers a perfect arrangement for a spectacle.
2. Realistic scenery—a living
   room, an office, a kitchen—looks good behind a proscenium frame.
3. The strong central focus provided by the frame rivets the attention of the audience.

Question 6

What are the disadvantages of the proscenium stage?

Answer 6

1. The proscenium stage creates a temptation to get carried away with visual pyrotechnics.
2. A proscenium stage tends to be remote and formal. Some of us, as spectators, prefer the intimacy and informality

Question 7

What is an arena stage?

Answer 7

Arena: Stage entirely surrounded by the
audience; also known as circle theatre or theatre-in-the-round.

Question 8

What are the advantages of an arena stage?

Answer 8

1. offers more intimacy than the ordinary proscenium
2. There is no frame or barrier to separate the performers from us.
3. A practical advantage of the arena theatre is the economy. All you need for this kind of theatre is a large room

Question 9

What are the disadvantages of an arena stage?

Answer 9

1. It is impossible to have elaborate scenery because that would block the view of many spectators.
2. The performers must make all their entrances and exits along aisles that run through the audience, this would deny a part of the audience a grand entrance.
3. Lack of adaptability.

Question 10

What is a thrust stage?

Answer 10

Thrust stage: Stage space that thrusts into the audience space; a stage surrounded on three sides by audience seating

Question 11

What are the advantages of a thrust stage?

Answer 11

1. The sense of intimacy and the ‘‘wraparound” feeling of the arena
2. The focused stage is placed against a single background found in the proscenium.
3. The stage house, which had formal doors through which characters made their entrances.