Philippine School (Bahrain)

P.O. Box 10417, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain

Notes on the Types of Theater Stages Worksheet

Name: Jerald D. Vergara Date: March 15, 2020

Grade and Section: 9 - Mapagpunyagi

Directions: Follow the YouTube links on Types of Theater Stages and scribble some notes on the
space provided below.

Types of Theater Stages

Proscenium/Picture Frame – It is the traditional “picture box” stage similar to what you find
in a movie theatre. The Entire audience sits in front of the stage. This stage design resembles a room
with one of its walls removed.

Proscenium Arch – was popularized during the Italian Renaissance. It is the picture frame
structure that typically surround the action of the play. The Italians made the Proscenium Arch a
fixture in their theatre in order to create a picture frame to accommodate perspective scenery which
was a popular form of set design at the time utilizing a Vanishing Point in order to create the illusion
of depth on painted drops.
The “House” and the “Stage” are situated on opposite ends of each other. The Ruling
convention for the “proscenium arch” space that is the convention often refer to as Picturization, a
director staging his play on the proscenium arch stage is attempting to create a series of staged pictures
in order to better convey the dramatic action that is occurring on the stage. He does this by a technique
known as Blocking. Blocking is the process of arranging the actors on the stage in a way that will
create visual interest and dramatic tension. Also involved the general movement of the actors on stage.

Advantages of the “Proscenium arch” space Disadvantages of the “Proscenium arch” space

1) Accommodates large audiences 1) Lacks Intimate atmosphere

2) Most common of the stage spaces
3) Comparable to movies & television

Arena/ Theatre-in-the-Round – The audience sits on all four sides of the stage in an arena
theatre. The Stage itself may be round, square, or rectangular. This arrangement is sometimes referred
to as “Threatre in the round”.

PSB/Eng 9/One-act Play/Form D – Notes on the Types of Theater Stages Worksheet /JMVFaller/11Mar2020
 Types of Theater Stages

Thrust/Elizabethan Stage– On a thrust stage the audience sits on three sides of the stage.
The size and the shape of the thrust will vary from theatre to threatre. Shakespeare’s plays, when
produced outdoors in threatres like the Globe, were produced on a thrust stage.

Thrust Space – The house is arranged on three sides of the stage. It is often backed up with a
staged house that serves as the background or setting of the thrust stage. It was popularized during the
Elizabethan Period when William Shakespeare was writing his plays. Open aisle Position, the
downstage corners of the thrust space serve as the most effective position for an actor to stand or sit
and not hinder the sight lines on the stage. Active thrust/”turning the image around”, because of
this we say that the staging in a thrust space is more active.

Advantages of “Thrust” Staging

1) Offer more intimate staging than the proscenium

2) A more unique viewing experiences

Arena/ Theatre-in-the-Round – The audience sits on all four sides of the stage in an arena
theatre. The Stage itself may be round, square, or rectangular. This arrangement is sometimes referred
to as “Threatre in the round”.

Arena Stage – offers the most creative opportunities for live theater today and also known as
“Threate-in-the-Round”. The basic Configuration of the arena stage is that the space is completely
surrounded by the audience with four aisles coming up through the audience and leading to the stage.

Advantages of the arena stage

1) Most Intimate of the spaces

2) Best opportunity for inventive scenic designs

PSB/Eng 9/One-act Play/Form D – Notes on the Types of Theater Stages Worksheet /JMVFaller/11Mar2020