Theater (structure)

''For other usages see Theatre (disambiguation)

This article is about venues for live theatre performances; for information about venues for film projection, see movie theater.

A theater or theatre is a structure where theatrical works or plays are performed or other performances such as musical concerts may be given. While a theater is not required for performance (as in environmental theatre or street theatre), a theater serves to define the acting and audience spaces and organize the theater space as well as provide facilities for the performers, the technical crew and the audience.

There are as many types of theaters as there are types of theatre. Theaters may be built specifically for a certain types of productions, they may serve for more general performance needs or they may be adapted or coverted for use as a theatre. They may range from open-air amphitheatres to ornate, cathedral-like structures to simple, undecorated rooms or black box theaters. Some theaters may have a fixed acting area (in most theaters this is known as the stage), while some theaters such as black box theaters, may not, allowing the director and designers to contruct an acting area suitable for the production.

Basic elements of a theatre structure

All theatre structures, regardless of type, contain certain basic elements. The most important of these areas is the acting space generally known as the stage. In some theatres, specifically proscenium theatres, arena theatres and ampitheaters, this area is permanent part of the structure. In a blackbox theatres, the acting area is undefined so that each theatre may adapted specifically to a production. In addition to these acting spaces, there may be offstage spaces as well. These include wings on either side of a proscenium stage (called "backstage" or "offstage") where props, sets and scenery may be stored as well as a place for actors awaiting an entrance. In an ampitheater, an area behind the stage may be designated for such uses while a blackbox theatre may have spaces outside of the actual theatre designated for such uses.

Often a theatre will incorporate other spaces intended for the performers and other personnel. A booth facing the stage may be incorporated into the house where lighting and sound personnel may view the show and run their respective instruments. Other rooms in the building may be used for dressing rooms, rehearsal rooms, spaces for constructing sets, props and costumes, as well as storage.

All theatres provide a space for their audience. In proscenium theatres and ampitheaters, these areas, like the stage, are often a permanent feature of the structure. This area is known as the auditorium or the house. Of course, like the stage in a blackbox theatre, this area is also defined by the production. In addition, many theatres may provide areas specifically designated for the comfort of the audience. These areas include a lobby where tickets and concessions may be sold, restrooms, and other areas where the audience may relax before, in between or after performances. These areas may be known as the "Front of House" or FOH.

History of theater construction

Ancient Greece

Greek theatre buildings were called a theatron ('seeing place'). The theatres were large, open-air structures constructed on the slopes of hills. They consisted of three principal elements: the orchestra, the skene, and the audience.

The centrepiece of the theatre was the orchestra, or "dancing place", a large circular or rectangular area. The orchestra was the site the choral performances, the religious rites, and, possibly, the acting. An altar was located in the middle of the orchestra; in Athens, the altar was dedicated to Dionysus.

Behind the orchestra was a large rectangular building called the skene (meaning "tent" or "hut". It was used as a "backstage" area where actors could change their costumes and masks, but also served to represent the location of the plays, which were usually set in front of a palace or house. Typically, there were two or three doors in the skene that led out onto orchestra, and from which actors could enter and exit. At first, the skene was literally a tent or hut, put up for the religious festival and taken down when it was finished. Later, the skene became a permanent stone structure. These structures were sometimes painted to serve as backdrops, hence the English word scenery.

In front of the skene there may have been a raised acting area called the proskene, the ancestor of the modern proscenium stage. It is possible that the actors (as opposed to the chorus) acted entirely on the proskene, but this is not certain.

Rising from the circle of the orchestra was the audience. The audience sat on tiers of benches built up on the side of a hill. Greek theatres, then, could only be built on hills that were correctly shaped. A typical theatre was enormous, able to seat around 15,000 viewers.

Greek theatres were not enclosed; the audience could see each other and the surrounding countryside as well as the actors and chorus.
See also: Theatre of Ancient Greece

Ancient Rome

The Romans copied this style of building, but tended not to be so concerned about the location, being prepared to build walls and terraces instead of looking for a naturally-occurring site. (See Roman theatre for more.)

Elizabethan England

During the Elizabethan era in England, theaters were constructed of wooden framing, infilled with wattle and daub and roofed with thatch. They consisted of several floors of covered galleries surrounding a courtyard which was open to the elements. A large portion of the audience would stand in the yard, directly in front of the stage. This layout is said to derive from the practice of holding plays in the yard of an inn. Archæological excavations of The Rose theatre at London's Bankside, built 1587, have shown that it had en external diameter of 72 feet (22 metres). The nearby Globe Theatre (1599) was larger, at 100 feet (30 metres). Other evidence for the round shape is a line in Shakespeare's Henry V which calls the building "this wooden O", and several rough woodcut illustrations of the city of London. Shakespeare Globe Theater 1 db.jpg Globe Theatre in London]]

Around this time, the green room, a place for actors to wait until required on stage, became common terminology in English theaters.

The Globe has now been rebuilt as a fully working and producing theater near its original site (largely thanks to the efforts of film director Sam Wanamaker) to give modern audiences an idea of the environment for which Shakespeare and other playwrights of the period were writing.

Contemporary theatres

Specific designs of contemporary live theaters include proscenium, thrust, black box theater, theater in the round, amphitheater, and arena. In the classical Indian dance, Natya Shastra defines 3 types of stage.

Theatrical performances can also take place in venues adapted from other purposes, such as train carriages. In recent years the Edinburgh Fringe has seen performances in a lift (elevator) and a taxi.

External links

Theatre or theater?
Carthalia - Theatres on Postcards (pictures of theatres)

Theatre