Theater (structure)


A theater, theatre or playhouse, is a structure where theatrical works, performing arts, and musical concerts are presented. The theater building serves to define the performance and audience spaces. The facility usually is organized to provide support areas for performers, the technical crew and the audience members, as well as the stage where the performance takes place.
There are as many types of theaters as there are types of performance. Theaters may be built specifically for certain types of productions, they may serve for more general performance needs or they may be adapted or converted for use as a theater. They may range from open-air amphitheaters to ornate, cathedral-like structures to simple, undecorated rooms or black box theaters. A thrust stage as well as an arena stage are just a few more examples of the multitude of stages where plays can occur. A theatre used for opera performances is called an opera house. A theater is not required for performance, this article is about structures used specifically for performance. Some theaters may have a fixed acting area, while some theaters, such as black box theaters have movable seating allowing the production to create a performance area suitable for the production.

Elements of a theater building

A theater building or structure contains spaces for an event or performance to take place, usually called the stage, and also spaces for the audience, theater staff, performers and crew before and after the event.
There are usually two main entrances of a theater building. One is at the front, used by the audience, and leads into a foyer and ticketing. The second is called the stage door, and it is accessible from backstage. This is where the cast and crew enter and exit the theater, and there is a tradition called "stage dooring" that some fans participate in, in which fans wait outside of the stage door after the show in hopes of getting an autograph from the actors.

Stage

The acting or performance space is the stage. In some theaters, such as proscenium theaters, arena theaters and amphitheaters, this area is permanent part of the structure. In some theaters the stage area can be changed and adapted specifically to a production, often called a black box theater, due to the common practice of the walls being painted black and hung with black drapes.

Backstage and offstage

Usually in a building used specifically for performance there are offstage spaces used by the performers and crew. This is where props, sets, and scenery are stored, and the performers standby before their entrance. These offstage spaces are called wings on either side of a proscenium stage. A prompter's box may be found backstage. In an amphitheater, an area behind the stage may be designated for such uses while a blackbox theater may have spaces outside of the actual theater designated for such uses.
Often a theater 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.

Seating and audience

All theaters provide a space for an audience. In a fixed seating theatre the audience is often separated from the performers by the proscenium arch. In proscenium theaters and amphitheaters, the proscenium arch, like the stage, is a permanent feature of the structure. This area is known as the auditorium or the house.
The seating areas can include some or all of the following:
File:Interior of Opera and Ballet Theatre Minsk 08.JPG|300px|thumb|Close-up of the seats in the Opera and Ballet Theatre in Minsk
  • Stalls or arena : the lower flat area, usually below or at the same level as the stage. The word parterre is sometimes used to refer to a particular subset of this area. In North American usage this is usually the rear seating block beneath the gallery whereas in Britain it can mean either the area in front near the orchestra pit, or the whole of the stalls. The term can also refer to the side stalls in some usages. Derived from the gardening term parterre, the usage refers to the sectioned pattern of both the seats of an auditorium and of the planted beds seen in garden construction. Throughout the 18th century the term was also used to refer to the theater audience who occupied the parterre.
  • Balconies or galleries: one or more raised seating platforms towards the rear of the auditorium. In larger theaters, multiple levels are stacked vertically above or behind the stalls. The first level is usually called the dress circle or grand circle. The next level may be the loge, from the French version of loggia. A second tier inserted beneath the main balcony may be the mezzanine. The highest platform, or upper circle, is sometimes known as "the gods", especially in large opera houses, where the seats can be very high and a long distance from the stage.
  • Boxes : typically placed immediately to the front, side and above the level of the stage. They are often separate rooms with an open viewing area which typically seat up to five people. These seats are typically considered the most prestigious of the house. A "state box" or "royal box" is sometimes provided for dignitaries.
  • House seats: these are "the best seats in the house", giving the best view of the stage. Though each theater's layout is different, these are usually in the center of the stalls. These seats are traditionally reserved for the cast and crew to invite family members, agents, and others. If they are not used, they usually go on sale on the day of the performance.

    History

Open-air theaters

Ancient Greece

Greek theater buildings were called a theatron. The theaters were large, open-air structures constructed on the slopes of hills. The most famous open-air greek theater was the Globe Theater where many of Shakespeare's plays were performed. They consisted of three principal elements: the orchestra, the skene, and the audience.
The centerpiece of the theater was the orchestra, or "dancing place", a large circular or rectangular area. The orchestra was the site of 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, the god of wine and the theater.
Behind the orchestra was a large rectangular building called the skene. 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. A temple nearby, especially on the right side of the scene, is almost always part of the Greek theater complex, which could justify, as a transposition, the recurrence of the pediment with the later solidified stone scene.
In front of the skene there may have been a raised acting area called the proskenion, the ancestor of the modern proscenium stage. It is believed that the actors acted entirely on the proskenion, 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 theaters, then, could only be built on hills that were correctly shaped. A typical theater was enormous, able to seat around 15,000 viewers.
Greek theaters were not enclosed; the audience could see each other and the surrounding countryside as well as the actors and chorus.

Ancient Rome

The Romans copied the Greek 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.
The auditorium was the area in which people gathered, and was sometimes constructed on a small hill or slope in which stacked seating could be easily made in the tradition of the Greek Theatres. The central part of the auditorium was hollowed out of a hill or slope, while the outer radian seats required structural support and solid retaining walls. This was of course not always the case as Romans tended to build their theatres regardless of the availability of hillsides. All theatres built within the city of Rome were completely man-made without the use of earthworks. The auditorium was not roofed; rather, awnings could be pulled overhead to provide shelter from rain or sunlight.
Some Roman theatres, constructed of wood, were torn down after the festival for which they were erected concluded. This practice was due to a moratorium on permanent theatre structures that lasted until 55 BC when the Theatre of Pompey was built with the addition of a temple to avoid the law. Some Roman theatres show signs of never having been completed in the first place.
Inside Rome, few theatres have survived the centuries following their construction, providing little evidence about the specific theatres. Arausio, the theatre in modern-day Orange, France, is a good example of a classic Roman theatre, with an indented scaenae frons, reminiscent of Western Roman theatre designs, however missing the more ornamental structure. The Arausio is still standing today and, with its amazing structural acoustics and having had its seating reconstructed, can be seen to be a marvel of Roman architecture.