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A proscenium theatre is a theatre space whose primary feature is a large frame or arch 

(called the proscenium arch even though it is frequently not a rounded archway at all),

which is located at or near the front of the stage. The use of the term "proscenium arch" is

explained by the fact that in Latin, the stage is known as the "proscenium", meaning "in

front of the scenery."

In a proscenium theatre, the audience directly faces the stage, which is typically raised

several feet above front row audience level, and views the performance through the

 proscenium "arch". The space that holds the audience is called the "house". The main stage

is the space behind the proscenium arch; it is often delimited by a front curtain that can be

lowered or drawn closed. The space in front of the curtain is called the "apron". The stage-

level areas obscured by the proscenium arch and any curtains serving the same purpose

(often called legs or tormentors) are called the wings, while the space above the stage that

is concealed by the top of the proscenium arch is called the  fly space. Any space not

viewable to the audiences is collectively referred to as offstage. Proscenium stages range in

size from small enclosures to several stories tall.

In general practice, a theatre space is referred to as a "proscenium" any time the audience

directly faces the stage, with no audience on any other side, even if there is not a formal

 proscenium arch over the stage. Because it seems somewhat incongruous to refer to a

 proscenium theatre when no proscenium arch is present, these theatres are sometimes

referred to as "end-on" theatre spaces.

Origin

View of the seating area and part of the stage at the Teatro Olimpico (1585) in Vicenza,

Italy. No proscenium arch divides the seating area from the "proscenium" (stage), and the

space between the two has been made as open as possible, without endangering the

structural integrity of the building.

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The "proscenium" (stage) at the Teatro Olimpico. The central archway in the scaenae

 frons (or  proscenio) was too small to serve as a proscenium arch in the modern sense, and

was in practice always part of the backdrop to the action onstage.

In ancient Rome, the stage area in front of the scaenae frons was known as the

"proscenium", meaning "in front of the scenery". In the Roman theater, no prosceniumarch existed, in the modern sense. However, Roman theaters were similar to modern

 proscenium theaters in the sense that the entire audience had a restricted range of views on

the stage--all of which were from the front, rather than the sides or back.

The oldest surviving indoor theater of the modern era, the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza 

(1585), is sometimes incorrectly proposed as the first example of a proscenium theatre.

The Teatro Olimpico was an academic reconstruction of an outdoor Roman theater. This

emulation of the Roman model extended to referring to the stage area as the "proscenium",

and some writers have incorrectly referred to the theater's scaenae frons as a proscenium,

and have even suggested that the central archway in the middle of the scaenae frons was

the inspiration for the later development of the full-size proscenium arch.[1] There is noevidence at all for this assumption (indeed, contemporary illustrations of performances at

the Teatro Olimpico clearly show that the action took place in front of the scaenae frons,

and that the actors were rarely framed by the central archway).

The confusion is probably the result of the fact that the Italian word for a scaenae frons is

"proscenio." One modern translator explains the wording problem: "[In this translation

from Italian,] we retain the Italian proscenio in the text; it cannot be rendered prosceniumfor obvious reasons; and there is no English equivalent....It would also be possible to retain

the classical frons scaenae. The Italian "arco scenico" has been translated as "proscenium

arch."[2]

In practice however, the stage in the Teatro Olimpico runs from one edge of the seating

area to the other, and only a very limited framing effect is created by the  coffered ceiling

over the stage and by the partition walls at the corners of the stage where the seating area

abuts the floorboards. The result is that in this theater "the architectural spaces for the

audience and the action . . . are distinct in treatment yet united by their juxtaposition; no

 proscenium arch separates them."[3]

However, the Teatro Olimpico's exact replication of the open and accessible Roman stage

was the exception rather than the rule in sixteenth-century theatre design. Engravings

suggest that the proscenium arch was already in use as early as 1560 at a production inSiena.[4] The most likely candidate for the first true proscenium arch in a permanent theatre

is the Teatro Farnese in Parma (1618). A clearly defined "arco scenico"--more like a

 picture frame than an arch, but serving the same purpose--outlines the stage and separates

the audience from the action onstage.

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Function

The proscenium arch creates a "window" around the scenery and performers. The

advantages are that it gives everyone in the audience a good view because the performers

need only focus on one direction rather than continually moving around the stage to give a

good view from all sides. A proscenium theatre layout also simplifies the hiding and

obscuring of objects from the audience's view (sets, performers not currently performing,

and theatre technology). Anything that is not meant to be seen is simply placed outside the

"window" created by the proscenium arch, either in the wings or in the flyspace above the

stage.

The side of the stage that faces the audience is referred to as the " fourth wall". The phrase

"breaking the proscenium" refers to when a performer addresses the audience directly as

 part of the dramatic production (is also known as breaking the fourth wall). The phrase can

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also refer to when a member of the cast or crew walks onto the stage or into the house

when there is an audience inside, also breaking the fourth wall.

Proscenium theatres have fallen out of favor in some theatre circles because they

 perpetuate the fourth wall concept. The staging in proscenium theatres often implies that

the characters performing on stage are doing so in a four-walled environment, with the"wall" facing the audience being invisible. Many modern theatres attempt to do away with

the fourth wall concept and so are instead designed with a thrust stage that projects out of 

the proscenium arch and "reaches" into the audience (technically, this can still be referred

to as a proscenium theatre because it still contains a proscenium arch, however the term

thrust stage is more specific and more widely used).

Thrust stage

In theatre, a thrust stage (also known as a platform stage or open stage [1]) is one that

extends into the audience on three sides and is connected to the backstage area by its up

stage end. A thrust has the benefit of greater intimacy between performers and the

audience than a proscenium, while retaining the utility of a backstage area. Entrances onto

a thrust are most readily made from backstage, although some theatres provide for 

 performers to enter through the audience using vomitory (A vomitorium (plural:

vomitoria, slang : vom) is a passage situated below or behind a tier of seats in an

amphitheatre, through which crowds can exit at the end of a performance. [1]) entrances. An

arena, exposed on all sides to the audience, is without a backstage and relies entirely on

entrances in the auditorium or from under the stage.

As with an arena, the audience in a thrust stage theatre may view the stage from three or 

more sides. If a performance employs the fourth wall, that imaginary wall must be

maintained on multiple sides. Because the audience can view the performance from a

variety of perspectives, it is usual for the blocking,  props and scenery to receive thorough

consideration to ensure that no perspective is blocked from view. A high backed chair, for 

instance, when placed stage right, could create a blind spot in the stage left action.

Many of the works of Shakespeare were first performed on the thrust stage of the Globe

Theatre and lend themselves to such a stage design in modern times as well.

The thrust stage concept was generally out of use for centuries, and was resurrected in

1953 by the Stratford Shakespeare Festival of Canada.[2] Their Festival Theatre was

originally under a tent, until a permanent thrust stage theatre facility was constructed in

1957. Since that time dozens of other thrust stage venues have been built using the

concept.

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theater-in-the-round

or arena stage

Theatre in which the stage is located in the centre of the auditorium with the audience

seated on all sides. The form evolved from Greek theatre and was used in medieval times.

From the 17th century the proscenium stage limited audience seating to the area directly in

front of the stage. In the 1930s, plays at Moscow's Realistic Theatre were produced in the

round and the arena stage began to gain favor in Europe and the U.S. Its advantages are its

informality and the rapport it creates between audience and actors, but it requires actors to

turn constantly to address new sections of the audience.

Theatre-in-the-round

n  pl  theatres-in-the-round1. (Performing Arts / Theatre) a theatre with seats arranged around a central acting area

2. (Performing Arts / Theatre) drama written or designed for performance in such a theatre

also called arena theatre

arena theater 

n.A theater without a proscenium, in which the stage is at the center of the auditorium and is

surrounded by seats. Also called theater-in-the-round .

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