VPDA11H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 003: Arena Stage, Gas Lighting, Proscenium
2 Nov 2013
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Document Summary
Most traditional and frequently seen kind of performance space used today. It is an arch that frames the acting area, putting the actors inside a sort of picture frame. The audience looks into the frame from one direction and views the performance as if looking at a framed painting or a movie screen. It divides the playhouse into two distinct sections: the stage and the audience. The spectator section is called the house (ie: full house, house manager). The floor of the house is raked so that sight lines are not obstructed. Sight line is the path that the eye travels from each seat in the house to the stage. The advantages are: because the actors are being viewed by the audience from only one direction, it is fairly easy to stage a play so that each performer"s face is seen by all the spectators. It allows for plenty of scenery because of this picture-frame construction.
