New York: Drama Book Specialists, Publisher. 1. What is the difference in the actor-audience relationship between an arena stage, a thrust stage and a proscenium theatre? 2. What was the name of the first proscenium theatre? Where was it built? 3. What is the proscenium arch? 4. What is the theatrical name for the first, or main floor of the auditorium? 5. Who were the first to use a thrust stage? 6. Which 20th century English director was involved in the development of the modern thrust stage theatre? 7. What was the first modern arena theatre?Professor Glenn Hughes, the founder and Dean (1930-1931) of the University of Washington's School of Drama wanted a small, intimate space, for his educational theatre productions. Such a space was not available on campus so his first theatre (1935-1940) was the penthouse of a Seattle hotel. In 1940 a 160 seat arena theatre was built by the WPA on the university campus at a cost of a little over $ 64,000. This became the Hughes Penthouse Theatre.

During the the 1950s and 60s many alternative spaces -- car dealerships, hotel ballrooms, grocery stores, warehouses -- became arena theatres. On a university campus the easiest space to adapt to an intimate arena theatre was the stage of the University's large auditorium. In Columbus, Ohio, Roy Bowen of the Players Club created the Stadium Theatre, a 300 seat arena space under Gate 10 of the Ohio State University Football Stadium. 8. What is the difference between a found space and a black box theatre? An Arena Stage on the JFAC MainStage A found space is a nontheatrical space -- the rotunda of the state capitol, a church, warehouse, courtroom, carepnters shop -- which is used for production. Typically the space is chosen because of its context to the play: Shakespeare's Julius Caesar at the capitol, The Passion Play in a church, Inherit the Wind in a courtroom... A black box theatre is a large, flexable theatrical space which can be easily adapted into any (end, thrust, arena, or corner stage) theatrical form.

At Northern State we have created both an arena and thrust stage theatre on the 4000 square foot JFAC MainStage. 9. Give a local example of a proscenium theatre? 10. What is the Fire Curtain Tormentor, Teaser, Leg, Border and Cyc The tormentor and teaser establish the size (width and height) of the set on a proscenium stage.curtains kirriemuir The tormentors are narrow (8' wide) curtains hung behind (up stage of) the act curtain. ritva curtains reviewThey are used to establish the width of the setting and mask (hide) the off-stage space. purple plum ottoman ribbed shower curtainOn the MainStage we use the act curtain to establish the width of the opening.koseoglu curtains

The teaser (or valance) is a short, full stage (48' wide x 8' tall) curtain hung behind (up stage of) the act curtain. It is used to establish the height of the setting and to mask the lights and scenery hung above the acting area. Together the tormentor and teaser form an inner portal or false prosceniumcurtains rogate which frames the action of the play.blackout curtains at debenhams Legs are the long narrow curtains (8' wide x 24' long) hung at the sides of the stage which mask the off-stage space. croscill galleria brown shower curtainThey are generally hung parallel to the front of the stage on 6' to 10' centers. The MainStage requires three sets of legs to mask. Borders or short full stage width curtains (48' wide x 4.5' high) hung above the acting area which mask the lights and scenery hung in the fly loft.

Typically the borders are hung downstage (in front of) each set of legs. Typically both legs and borders are cut from black velour or commando cloth. The Cyc, short for cyclorama, is the light sky-blue drop, or white plastered wall, at the rear of the stage. It is generally used to represent an endless, cloudless sky. Note: What I call a cyc is actually a sky drop. A true cyclorama is curved, it starts down left curves around the back of the stage and ends down right. As you can see from the drawing below, the use of a real cyc severely restricts access to the stage Apron, Wings, Fly Loft, Grid, Cove, Center Line, Plaster Line, Up Stage, Down Stage, Stage Left and Stage Right The apron is the narrow stage space infront of the act curtain. The wings are the backstage space on either side of the acting area. The fly loft is the backstage space above the acting area. The grid is the I beams which form the "ceiling" of the stage house. The blocks (or pulleys) which hold the lines of the rigging system are clamped to these beams.

The cove, or ceiling beam, is the front-of-house mounting position, usually cut into the ceiling of the auditorium, where lighting instruments are hung to light the front edge of the stage. The center line marks the center of the stage. It is one of the two reference lines used when locating points on the stage. The plaster line is the second reference line. It extends from the upstage corner of the stage left proscenium arch to the upstage corner of the stage right proscenium arch. Each point on stage is located by its distance up stage (or down stage) from the plaster line and its distance left or right of the center line. Stage left and stage right are always from the actor's point-of-view with the actor standing on stage, facing the audience. Down stage is towards the audience; up stage is towards the back wall. Pin Rail (or lock rail) 11. How wide is the proscenium of the JFAC-MainStage? How deep is our stage? How wide is the stage house?

What is the height of the gridiron? What is the auditorium's seating capacity? What is the depth of the auditorium? 88 feet from the curtain line to the back row. Cross Section of the Johnson Fine Arts Center formatted to print on 8.5x11 paper in landscape mode. You will need to download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view (or print) these files. 12. What is the difference between a... Rope Set (or Hemp), A counterweight system is easier and safer to use. A set of 1/4" steel cables (lift lines) run from the 1 1/2" steel pipe (or batten) up to the loft blocks across to the head block and down to the top of the counterweight arbor. A 3/4" rope haul line runs from the top of the arbor up to the head block, down through the lock rail, around the tension pulley and back up to the bottom of the arbor. A 400 pound load on the pipe (20 spotlights, for example) is balanced with 10-- 40 pound cast iron counterweights (bricks) in the arbor. To bring the pipe in (down), the flyman pulls the onstage or outside haul line down which raises the arbor and lowers the pipe.

To take the pipe out (up), the flyman pulls the offstage or inside haul line down which lowers the arbor and raises the pipe. Because the load is balanced only one operator is required. Before a pipe is brought in the flyman should (1) make sure the stage area is clear and (2) should call out in a loud clear voice: "Heads Up, pipe coming in." Elevation of Typical Underhung Rigging (a PDF file). (Source: Texas Scenic Company) Dead hung system of rigging? 13. Which rigging system do we have in the Johnson Center? How many line sets do we have? How many lines should we have? What on our stage is dead-hung? 14. What type of flooring should be used on a stage? 15. What is a trap? How is it used? 16. What should be the color and finish of the stage floor? 17. Out of what type of material should they be cut? 18. What basic set of curtains should a theatre own? 19. What is a "concert drape" or "olio?" E-mail questions and comments to Larry Wild at .