Theatre Stages and Scenery

With the passing of time, all things change. Even the stages of theatres. They range greatly in openness and the angles which the audience views the actors.

Proscenium
Sometimes known as the "Picture Frame". This is the most common type of stage. It has the audience only on one side. The Proscenium design allows for the most scenic and visual effects. This type of stage was originally raked, which means tilted toward the audience, however; this is no long necessary because the audience chairs are more often raked now.

Thrust
This type of stage is the oldest kind. It was used by the Greeks for their plays. This design allows for the audience to be on 3 sides of the stage. This is because the stage juts our into the seating. It allows for scenic effects but the audience is close. Sometimes the audience being close can cause problems with light effects. Directors have to take into account Field Of View and not put objects in front of audience on three sides of the stage.

Arena
This type of stage allows for the most openness. The audience surrounds the stage on all sides. It is by far the most intimate of the varieties of stages. It also allows for the least amount of scenery because of 4 viewing sides. It is used for events such as boxing when minimal barriers are put in between the audience and the entertainers on stage.

Black Box
This is best described as flexible space that can be arranged into any configuration. The Black Box originated in the mid 20^th century, often used for environmental staging: blending of actor & audience space.

Scenery is a relatively new area of design. It first came about around the 15^th century; as a product of European indoor stages and artificial lightning which had not been available before. Scenery's function today is not merely to depict but to signify. A good scene design is intrinsic to the play's action.
During the Renaissance there were some scenery design innovations. They began using painted fabrics such as border, legs, and drops. This remained the dominant scenic approach till the birth of melodrama in the late 1800's.
In the late 19^th to 20^th century the box set began to take over. It allowed for lighter scenery. The box set was just a frame with which a canvas was stretched across.
In the 20^th century there came about the invention of light as scenery. Plays began using slides, holography and projects. The invention of scrim, a thin fabric which looks solid when lit from front, but becomes transparent when lit from behind, also fueled the rapid scenic design innovations to reach the contemporary designs that are presented on Broadway today.