Parts of a theater

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Contents 1 Types of theaters 2 Stage 3 House 4 Backstage or Offstage

[edit] Types of theaters

See main article - Stage (theatre)

• Arena/Stadium: The playing area is in the center of a large open space which usually seats thousands of people.
• Proscenium: The audience directly faces the playing area which is separated by a portal called the proscenium arch. The stage is often raised a few feet higher than the first rows of the audience. The audience is on a rake, getting higher as the seating goes towards the rear of the house.
• Thrust: The playing area protrudes out into the house with the audience seating on more than one side.
• Theater in the Round: The playing area is surrounded by audience seating on all sides.

[edit] Stage

The area of the theater in which the performance takes place is referred to as the stage. In order to keep track of where things are and where they need to go, the stage is divided up into sections and is oriented based on the performers perspective to the audience.

• Upstage: The area of the stage furthest from the audience.
• Downstage: The area of the stage closest to the audience.
• Stage Left: The area of the stage to the performers' left.
• Stage Right: The area of the stage to the performers' right.
• Center Stage: The center of the playing area.
• Wings: Areas immediately offstage left or right usually divided up into portholes by curtains.
• Proscenium: The portal that divides the audience from the stage.
• Plaster Line: An imaginary reference line on the playing area that indicates on the stage where the proscenium arch is.
• Center Line: An imaginary reference line on the playing area that indicates the exact center of the stage.

[edit] House

The house can refer to any area which is not consider playing space or backstage area. Outside the theater itself this includes the lobby, coat check, ticketing counters, and restrooms. More specifically, the house refers to any area in the theater where the audience is seated. This can also include aisles, the orchestra pit, control booth and balcony.

• Orchestra or Orchestra Pit: The area that separates the audience from the stage in which the orchestra and conductor are positioned during a performance. An orchestra pit is most commonly found in proscenium style theaters. The orchestra pit is usually a large opening ranging from 4'-6' wide, 20'-30' long and 6'-10' deep. Some orchestra pits have lifts or elevators that can raise the floor of the pit up to the same height as the stage.

• Control Booth: The section of the theater designated for the operation of technical equipment, followspots, lighting and sound boards, and is sometimes the location of the stage manager's station. The control booth is located in the theater in such a way that there is a good, unobstructed view of the playing area without causing any (or minimal) distraction to the audience (i.e. preventing distracting light leak or noise), and is generally an enclosed space.

• Lobby: The lobby is a room in a theater which is used for public entry to the building from the outside. Ticket counters, coat check, concessions and restrooms are all usually located in, or just off of the lobby.

• Catwalk: A catwalk is a section of the house hidden in the ceiling from which many of the technical functions of a theater, such as lighting and sound, may be manipulated.

[edit] Backstage or Offstage

The areas of a theater that are not part of the house or stage are considered part of backstage. These areas include dressing rooms, green rooms, offstage areas (i.e. wings), cross-overs, fly rails or linesets, dimmer rooms, shops and storage areas.

• Dressing Rooms: Rooms where cast members apply wigs and make-up and change into costumes. Depending on the size of the theater there may be only a few dressing rooms (i.e. one for men, one for women) or there might be many (i.e. one for each member of the cast). Often in larger spaces, cast members in lead roles have their own dressing room, those in more supporting roles share with one or two others and those in the background or 'chorus' roles share with up to 10 or 15 other people.

• Green Room: The lounge backstage. This is the room where actors and other performers wait in when they are not need onstage or in their dressing rooms.

• Cross-overs: A cross-over is an area of the stage which is used by members of the cast and crew to cross from one side of the stage to the other without being seen. The cross-over is either an actual walled hallway or one made by curtains in the upstage most area of the stage.

• Fly System: A fly system is a system of ropes, counterweights, pulleys, and other such tools designed to allow a technical crew to quickly move set pieces, lights, and microphones on and off stage quickly by 'flying' them in from a large opening above the stage known as a fly tower/flyspace

• Catwalk: A catwalk is an elevated platform from which many of the technical functions of a theater, such as lighting and sound, may be manipulated.

• Dimmer Room: The room backstage which contains the dimmer racks which power the lighting rig in the theater.

• Shops and storage areas: Depending on the space available a theater may have it's own storage areas for old scenic and costume elements as well as lighting and sound equipment. The theater may also include its own lighting, scenic, costume and sound shops. In these shops each element of the show is constructed and prepared for each production.