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An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For
movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community halls, and theaters, and may be used for rehearsal, presentation, performing arts productions, or as a
learning space.
Etymology
The term is taken from
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
(from ''audītōrium'', from ''audītōrius'' ("pertaining to hearing")); the concept is taken from the Greek auditorium, which had a series of semi-circular seating shelves in the
theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
, divided by broad 'belts', called ''diazomata'', with eleven rows of seats between each.
Auditorium structure
The audience in a modern theatre are usually separated from the performers by the
proscenium arch
A proscenium ( grc-gre, προσκήνιον, ) is the metaphorical vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor ...
, although other
types of stage are common.
The price charged for seats in each part of the auditorium (known in the industry as the house) usually varies according to the quality of the view of the stage. The seating areas can include some or all of the following:
* Stalls, orchestra or arena: the lower flat area, usually below or at the same level as the stage.
*
Balconies or galleries: one or more raised seating platforms towards the rear of the auditorium. In larger theatres, multiple levels are stacked vertically above or behind the stalls. The first level is usually called the dress circle or grand circle. The highest platform, or upper circle is sometimes known as
"the gods", especially in large
opera house
An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets.
While some venues are constructed specifically for o ...
s, where the seats can be very high and a long distance from the stage.
*
Boxes
A box (plural: boxes) is a container used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides. Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or very large (like a shipping box for furniture), and can ...
: generally placed immediately to the front, side and above the level of the stage. They are often separate rooms with an open viewing area which generally seat only a handful of people. These seats are generally considered the most prestigious of the house. A state box or royal box is sometimes provided for dignitaries.
*
Seating arrangement: Seating arrangements in an auditorium seating layout (or assembly space) will either be identified as "multiple-aisle" or "continental".
These terms are commonly found in design standards manuals, building codes, and similar architectural reference documents. Each size is unique, with specific guidelines governing row size, row spacing, and exit ways. Basically, a multiple-aisle arrangement will have a maximum of 14–16 chairs per row with access to an aisle-way at both ends. In a continental arrangement, all seats are located in a central section. Here the maximum quantity of chairs per row can greatly exceed the limits established in a multiple-aisle arrangement. In order to compensate for the greater length of rows allowed, building codes will require wider row spacing, wider aisles, and strategically located exit doors. Although it would seem like more space is called for, a continental seating plan is often not any less efficient than a multiple-aisle arrangement. In fact, if it is carefully planned, a continental arrangement can frequently accommodate more seating within the same space.
Similar structures at other venues
Sports venues such as
stadium
A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...
s and
racetracks also have royal boxes or enclosures, for example at the
All England Club and
Ascot Racecourse, where access is limited to
royal families or other distinguished personalities. In other countries, sports venues have
luxury box
The luxury box (or skybox) and club seating constitute the most exclusive class of seating in arenas and stadiums, and generate much higher revenues than regular seating. Club ticketholders often receive exclusive access to an indoor part of th ...
es, where access is open to anyone who can afford tickets. Additionally, some sports venues were themselves called auditoria, such as the former
Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, colloquially known as The Aud, was a multipurpose indoor arena in downtown Buffalo, New York. Opened on October 14, 1940, it was home to the Canisius Golden Griffins (NCAA), the Buffalo Bisons ( AHL), the Buffalo Biso ...
.
See also
*
Auditorium Building (Chicago)
The Auditorium Building in Chicago is one of the best-known designs of Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler. Completed in 1889, the building is located at the northwest corner of South Michigan Avenue and Ida B. Wells Drive. The building was de ...
*
List of concert halls
A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats.
This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention centres that may ...
*
Music venue
A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from a small coffeehouse for folk music shows, an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Ty ...
*
Noise control
Noise control or noise mitigation is a set of strategies to reduce noise pollution or to reduce the impact of that noise, whether outdoors or indoors.
Overview
The main areas of noise mitigation or abatement are: transportation noise control, ...
*
Performing arts center
References
External links
*
Concert hall acoustics on-line exhibition
{{Authority control
History of theatre
Parts of a theatre
Rooms
Stage terminology
Event venues
Music venues