Performance Spaces

How does end-on staging differ from a traditional proscenium arch?

• •the audience sits on two sides facing each other across a central stage
• •the audience wraps around the stage on three sides in a horseshoe shape
• •the stage is framed by a proscenium arch separating it from the auditorium
• ✓there is no formal arch — it is an open, flat end-on

What is the biggest staging challenge for actors performing in-the-round?

• •It is impossible to use lighting from overhead in an in-the-round space
• •They cannot use microphones because the audience surrounds the speakers
• ✓They must move frequently so no section of the audience sees only
• •They must speak at twice the normal volume because the audience is all around them

What is the effect of promenade staging on the audience's relationship with the performance?

• •It allows the company to perform without any set or lighting design
• •It creates the clearest sightlines of any staging configuration
• ✓It implicates the audience physically in the story, creating a more immersive
• •It makes the performance shorter because scenes run simultaneously

In a proscenium arch theatre, where does the audience sit relative to the stage?

• •along both sides
• ✓directly in front
• •on all sides
• •on three sides

What sightline challenge does a thrust stage create for actors?

• •Actors cannot use a fourth wall because there are no walls at all
• ✓Actors must constantly move and rotate so they do not stand with
• •All entrances must be made through the audience, which slows the pace
• •The audience on three sides makes lighting from the front impossible

What is the 'corridor effect' associated with traverse staging?

• •Lighting must be set up in a corridor pattern behind both audience banks
• •Sound travels poorly across the traverse, creating an acoustic corridor
• •The audience feels they are watching through a hallway, reducing immersion
• ✓The long, narrow playing area creates a tunnel-like space that emphasises journeys