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Detail Study Of Natyashastra, Specially Dance Related Chapters And Sangita Ratnakar

Module 7 Varieties Of Theatres: (II) Proscenium, Thrust, Arena And Others

A theatre is not simply a space for looking at or listening to a performance. A successful theatre for live performance supports the emotional exchange between the performer and the audience, and between members of the audience. All that said, we’ve outlined the typical theatre forms for different performance types.

FOUR TYPES OF THEATRE SPACES:

 PROSCENIUM STAGE:  THRUST STAGE:  ARENA STAGE:  CREATED AND “FOUND” SPACES / FLEXIBLE THEATRE:

There is no ideal size of a theatre. The scale of a theatre depends on the size of the staging required by the type of performance and the number of audience to be accommodated, with each variable influencing the other as they change. No one-size-fits-all formula works with that kind of nuance.

PROSCENIUM STAGE:

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Audience views the action from one direction:

In a proscenium theatre, the stage is located at one end of the auditorium and is physically separated from the audience space by a proscenium wall. This is sometimes called a “two-box” arrangement—the auditorium and stage occupy two separate “boxes” or rooms. The stage box (stage house) provides fly space and wings and permits a wide variety of scenic and lighting effects. The auditorium box is the audience chamber, which may take many forms—fan-shaped, courtyard, lyric, picture frame, fourth wall, etc.

This theatre is also known as the “picture frame stage” because the spectators observe the action through the proscenium arch. The proscenium arch is a direct descendent of the proskenium and skene of the Ancient Greek theatres. It was introduced in Italy during the Renaissance.

The Proscenium Arch / Proscenium Frame is the opening between the auditorium and stage and is also called the proscenium frame, proscenium opening, proscenium arch, or simply the proscenium. In its earliest forms, the heart of the proscenium theatre was the forestage in front of the proscenium. It wasn’t until the middle part of the nineteenth century that performers were confined with the scenery behind the Proscenium Arch. Contemporary proscenium theatres try to provide a flexible transition zone between the stage and audience, adaptable to suit the needs of each performance. The

2 arch separates the stage from the auditorium and it can vary in both height and width. The average theatre has an arch that is 18 to 22 feet high and 36 to 40 feet wide.

The Main Stage is the playing area behind, or upstage, of the arch. The stage floor needs to be firm, non-skid, paintable, resistant to splintering and gouging, and somewhat soundproof. While some productions utilize the space in front of the arch (known as the “apron”, the primary playing space is typically behind the arch).

The Apron Stage is also known as the forestage; the apron is an extension of the stage from the arch to the audience. It can vary in depth from a narrow 3 ft. to as much as 15 ft. The apron also extends up to 15 ft. beyond either side of the arch.

The Wings are spaces on either side of the stage. They are used for storage of scenic elements, props, and other equipment until they are needed onstage.

Many proscenium theatres have an Orchestra Pit, which is almost always between the apron and the audience. It holds the pit band or orchestra during performances that need live music. Pits are generally the full width of the proscenium and can be 12 ft. wide. The pit needs to be deep enough so that the orchestra will not obstruct the audience’s view. Most theatres have found a way to cover the pit when it is not in use; some use removable floor boards so that the apron space can be used for non-musical productions. Some theatres use hydraulic lifts to raise and lower the pit.

Many theatres have Traps cut into the stage floor. Traps are removable sections which provide access to the space beneath the stage. The holes can be filled with stairs, an elevator, a slide, or be left open. While traps are typically a feature of the proscenium stage, they can be found in thrust and arena stages as well. Also called a

3 turntable or revolving stage, the Revolve provides a visually interesting and efficient manner of shifting scenery. Many theatres have revolves built in to the stage floor.

The area directly over the stage is called the Fly Loft. Referred to as “the flies”, it is usually quite tall, at a minimum two and a half times the height of the arch. The height allows scenery to be raised out of sight of the audience. Fly Systems include a Rope Set and Counterweight. It operates like a rope and pulley, except that it has three or more lines. The ropes support a Batten, which is a thick wooden dowel or metal pipe from which are suspended scenery and lighting instruments. From the Batten the ropes run to the grid, where they pass over loft blocks, which lead them toward the side of the stage house. At the edge of the grid, the lines pass over the Head Block and then down to the Fly Gallery where they are tied off at the pin rail. A multi-sheave block with two or more pulley wheels, is used to change the direction of all the ropes or cables that support the batten. Fly gallery is the elevated walkway where the pin rail is located, usually 15 to 20 ft. above the stage floor. The Loft Block is a grooved pulley, mounted on top of the grid, used to change the direction in which the rope or cable travels. A Pin Rail is a horizontal pipe or rail studded with belaying pins; the ropes of the rope-set system are wrapped around the belaying pins to hold the batten at a specific height.

The Stage House is a physical structure enclosing the area above the stage and wings. The Counterweight System works on the same principle as the rope-set system and is much safer. The support ropes and battens have been replaced with steel cables. Instead of the cables being tied off at the pin rail, they are secured to the top of a counterweight arbor, or carriage. When the batten is lowered to the stage level, the arbor raises to the level of the loading platform just below the grid—thus allowing the counterweights to be loaded safely.

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The Counterweight Flying System has a metal cradle that holds the counterbalancing weights used in the counterweight flying system. The Loading Platform is a walkway, suspended just below the grid, where the counterweights are loaded onto the arbor. Motorized Rigging Systems are generally used to fly heavy loads such as orchestra shells, light bridges, and so forth.

There are three basic types of Motorized Flying Systems: drum winches, line shaft systems, and counterweight-assisted systems. Drum Winches are used to “dead lift” a load (lifting a load without counterbalancing). They are usually located on one side of the stage. The cables are fed through a series of blocks up to the grid and down to the battens. The motorized rigging systems replace the operating line of a hand-operated counterweight system with a cable that is driven by a drum winch. Line Shaft Rigging is another type of dead lift system. Mounted on the grid, these systems use a motor to drive a rotating shaft equipped with multiple drums. Depending on the length of the batten, the shaft will normally have between four and eight drums. A steel cable runs from each drum to support the batten. When the shaft is rotated, all the drums move simultaneously to raise or lower the batten.

The Stage Drapes are also important. The proscenium stage uses more drapery than the thrust and arena. Although they have specific functions, all stage drapes are designed to hide or “mask” backstage areas from the spectators. Stage drapes are usually made of black, light-absorbing material such as heavyweight velvet. The purpose of the Grand Drape (also known as the main curtain or grand rag) is to cover the opening of the proscenium. In theatres with a fly loft, this drape can usually be flown (vertically) or traveled (horizontally).

Normally located just downstage of the grand drape, the Grand Valance is made of the same material as the main curtain. It is much

5 shorter, however, usually only 8 to 12 ft. high. It is used to mask the equipment and scenery that are flown immediately upstage of the proscenium.

The False Proscenium is located immediately upstage of the Grand Drape and Valance. It is normally mounted on a rigid framework. The “flat” structures of both the hard teaser and tormentors are covered with thin plywood, which is then covered with a velvet-type fabric. The primary purpose of the false “pro” is to mask. The vertical flats form the side elements of the false proscenium. The horizontal element of the false proscenium is usually hung from a counterweight batten so that its height can be adjusted. A false proscenium that visually supports the style and color palette of a particular production is the Show Portal.

Legs are narrow, vertical stage drapes that are used to mask the sides of the stage upstage of the arch. They are made of the same material as the other stage drapes. Borders, also called teasers, are short, wide, horizontal draperies used to mask flies.

The Sky Drop also known as the “sky tab”, is used to simulate the sky. It is a large, flat curtain usually made of muslin or canvas. It is usually hung on a batten as far upstage as possible. After the 1960s, it became the lighting designer’s job to make the off-white muslin look like the sky (rather than paint it blue). The Cyclorama, also known as the “cyc”, is an expansion of the concept of the sky drop. Sky drops cannot surround the set with the illusion of vast expanses of open sky. The “fly cyc” is made from one unbroken expanse of cloth. Sometimes scrims are used in conjunction with cycs and sky drops. A scrim is a drop made form translucent or transparent material. When light is shone from the back onto the scrim, the scrim becomes transparent. When light is shone on the front of the scrim, it appears to be opaque. The advantages are that this provides a spectacle, focuses audience’s attention most acutely and heightens aesthetic

6 distance. However, it also makes intimacy more difficult to achieve.

THRUST STAGE:

Audience views the action from three direction:

The Thrust Stage or Thrust Theatre is a theatrical stage without a proscenium, in which a raised platform— usually a square, round, or trapezoidal— juts into the auditorium— the stage seems to thrust out into the audience— allowing the audience to surround the stage on three sides. It is also known as Three-Quarter Stage, Three-Sided Arena Stage, Platform Stage, and Open Stage.

The Thrust Stage is not a new development, it is most widely used in History. From the Greeks through the Renaissance, audiences gathered on three sides of the playing stage to watch theatrical productions. The audience is usually rising up from the stage and sitting in a highly raked (angled) area— in a manner resembling the seating at a football stadium. The stage is usually backed by occasional scenery pieces or a permanent architectural structure. The Thrust Stage ordinarily has no hanging scenery, and what scenery it does have must be limited by the audience’s sight lines. The stage is large enough to accommodate the full staging of a performance and performers can enter a Thrust Stage from all sides. Actor entrances are usually provided to the front of the Thrust through gaps in the seating. The stage of the thrust theatre projects into and 7 is surround by the audience, so tall flats, drops, and vertical masking cannot be used. The lighting grid in a thrust theatre is usually suspended over the entire stage. Depending on the design, the lighting grid and instruments can be hidden from or in full view of the audience. Access to simpler grids is usually from a rolling ladder or scaffold placed on the stage. More complex grids frequently have access from above to a series of catwalks and walkways. Some thrust stages retain a vestigial proscenium arch on the upstage wall as well as a small backstage area. Although battens are frequently “dead hung” and unable to be raised or lowered, some theatres have installed ratchet winches, rope sets, or counterweight sets to move the battens.

The Thrust Stage is a compromise between the proscenium and arena stage. It allows for some amount of intimacy as well as spectacle.

ARENA STAGE:

Audience views the action from four directions:

The form of an Arena Stage, with the audience surrounding four sides of the performance platform, implies a more frontal arrangement. These forms can accommodate a high seat count 8 within an acceptable distance to the stage. This stage is also called Theatre-in-the-Round, Circle Theatre, Central Staging.

This type of Arena Stage is the one most widely used in history. In fact it is the oldest design of the stage. The modern arena stage came into use in the late 1930s out of a desire to produce plays on low budgets during the years of economic depression. Since scenery was eliminated, it appeared, in its earliest uses to be even more life- like than the proscenium stage— like a play in someone’s living room.

The Arena or Theater-in-the-Round is a type of open performance space which allows the audience to completely surround the action on all sides. It is a circular or oval shaped public space (akin to a classical amphitheater). It is surrounded on all sides by raised, usually tiered, seats or benches for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the lowest point, allowing for maximum visibility. The advantage to this type of theater is that audience members can have an intimate view of the performance, and it enables producers to offer more experimental programming.

This Arena Stage may have a more intimate appeal than that of the proscenium but certain actions may be lost to some portions of the audience because of its limitations in perspectives. However, this type of staging has some strong advantages like its personal interaction with an audience as the audience completely surrounds the stage or playing area and are much closer to the action. Actor entrances to the playing area are provided through gaps in the seating arrangement. This adds to an even more intimate actor- audience theatre experience. But there are certain disadvantages also -- any design element must be carefully and accurately constructed because the audience is close enough to notice. The scenery used on an arena stage is extremely minimal so as not to block the sightlines of the audience. As a result, it cannot

9 accommodate plays with elaborate backdrops/sceneries/complicated sets. As in the thrust stage, the space above the arena stage has a lighting grid that frequently covers not only the stage, but also the auditorium.

CREATED AND “FOUND” SPACES / FLEXIBLE THEATRE:

Found Theatre Spaces are housed in structures that were originally designed for some other purpose. Almost any and every conceivable space can be and has been converted into a theatre space. These may include, non-theatre buildings, supermarkets, public buildings, gardens, libraries, restaurants, airports. Each audience member views the action from a unique perspective. There is a deliberate attempt to break down audience-actor distance and so is able to strongly affect the audience’s experience. This design grew out of avant- garde experimentation.

BLACK BOX THEATRE:

Black Box Theatres allow for flexible staging. It is a generic term for a theatre in which the playing space and audience seating can be configured as desired for each production. Often, the theatre can be configured into the arena, thrust, and end stage forms described above. Black box theatre is usually without character or embellishment—a “void” space. The audience seating is on the main floor, with no audience galleries, though a technical gallery may be provided.

ENVIRONMENTAL THEATRE:

Environmental Theatre is a found space in which the architecture of the space is intrinsic to the performance, or a theatre space that is transformed into a complete environment for the performance. The audience space and performance space sometimes intermingle, and

10 the action may be single-focus or multiple-focus. In environmental theatre, the physical space is an essential part of the performance.

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