Types of Theater Spaces

Question 1

Proscenium Stage

Answer 1

• Identified by having a “proscenium arch”
• The action of the play fits within a frame
• Rigging system behind arch and possibly trap flooring
• Wings
• Most have an area that extends a few feet in front of arch
• Audience areas: Orchestra seats, Balconies
• Sight lines can sometimes be bad

Question 2

Thrust Stage

Answer 2

• Audience on 3 sides of stage
• No arch
• Actors can enter from the aisles
• Actors can enter from the vomitories (or voms) that come from beneath the audience
• Relies on acting, costumes, props rather than elaborate
  sets

Question 3

Proscenium Thrust Stage

Answer 3

Defined arch but with a larger amount of stage space extending into the audience

Question 4

Arena Stage

Answer 4

• Stage is surrounded on all sides by the audience
• Also called “Theater in the Round”
• Actors bring on props and set pieces
• Entrances are through audience
• Scene changes are done either in blackout or in full view
  of the audience
• Can sometimes have trap flooring

Question 5

Blackbox Theater

Answer 5

• VERSATILE: Can place any type of stage within it
• The audience can be placed anywhere
• Painted all black so that focus is on the performance
• Often used in schools for classrooms as well as
  performance spaces
• Most theater studios and college theater departments
  have one or more.
• Rutgers’ Levin Theater is a blackbox theater.

Question 6

Environmental Stage

Answer 6

• Theater done in or at specific (usually outdoor) spaces
• No traditional stage
• No arch
• The audience can be anywhere and can sometimes
  physically move with the actors from scene to scene: Ex. New York Classical Theater
• A production can take over an entire building: Ex. Sleep No More
• A play can take place in a car

Question 7

Alley Stage

Answer 7

• Audience on opposite sides of the stage
• Actors perform between them

Question 8

Booth Stage

Answer 8

• Temporary stage
• Erected curtain perform in front of curtain
• Popular with educational tours

Question 9

How many types of theater did we learn?

Answer 9

7

Question 10

Name the types of theater spaces?

Answer 10

1. Proscenium Stage
2. Thrust Stage
3. Arena Stage
4. Blackbox Theater
5. Environmental Stage
6. Alley Stage
7. Booth Stage