A theatre in the round, arena theatre or central staging is a space for

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 ...

in which the audience surrounds the

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

. Theatre-in-the-round was common in ancient theatre, particularly that of

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, but was not widely explored again until the latter half of the 20th century. The Glenn Hughes Penthouse Theatre in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

was the first theatre-in-the-round venue built in the United States. It first opened on May 19, 1940 with a production of ''Spring Dance'', a comedy by playwright Philip Barry. The 160-seat theatre is located on the campus of the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

in Seattle and is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. In 1947,

Margo Jones Margo Jones (December 12, 1911 – July 24, 1955), nicknamed the "Texas Tornado", was an American stage director and producer, best known for launching the American regional theater movement and for introducing the theater-in-the-round concept ...

established America's first professional theatre-in-the-round company when she opened her Theater '47 in Dallas. The stage design as developed by Margo Jones was used by directors in later years for such well-known shows as the Tony Award-winning musical ''

Fun Home ''Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic'' is a 2006 Graphic novel, graphic memoir by the American cartoonist Alison Bechdel, author of the comic strip ''Dykes to Watch Out For''. It chronicles the author's childhood and youth in rural Pennsylvania, Uni ...

'', the original stage production of '' Man of La Mancha,'' and all plays staged at the

ANTA Washington Square Theatre The ANTA Washington Square Theatre was a theatre located on 40 West Fourth Street, in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City. It was run by the American National Theater and Academy (ANTA) and initial home to the Repertory Theatre of Lin ...

(demolished in the late 1960s), including

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are ''All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

's autobiographical '' After the Fall''. Such theatres had previously existed in colleges, but not in professional spaces for almost two millennia. It is also a popular setup used in contemporary pop concerts in an arena or stadium setting.

Stage configuration

The stage is always in the centre with the audience arranged on all sides, and is most commonly rectangular, circular, diamond, or triangular. Actors may enter and exit through the audience from different directions or from below the stage. The stage is usually on an even level with or below the audience in a "pit" or "arena" formation. This configuration lends itself to high-energy productions and anything that requires audience participation. It is favoured by producers of classical theatre and it has continued as a creative alternative to the more common proscenium format. In effect, theatre-in-the-round removes

the fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance dramatic convention, convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they canno ...

and brings the actor into the same space as the audience. This is often problematic for proscenium or end stage trained actors who are taught that they must never turn their backs to the audience, something that is unavoidable in this format. However, it allows for strong and direct engagement with the audience. It is also employed when theatrical performances are presented in non-traditional spaces such as restaurants, public areas such as fairs or festivals, or

street theater Street theatre is a form of theatrical performance and presentation in outdoor public spaces without a specific paying audience. These spaces can be anywhere, including shopping centres, car parks, recreational reserves, college or university ...

Set design Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, or set design) is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but in recent years, are mostly trained ...

is often minimal in order not to obscure the audience's view of the performance.

History

Theatre-in-the-round was common in ancient theatre, particularly that of

and

, but was not widely explored again until the latter half of the 20th century. In Margo Jones' survey of theatre-in-the-round, the first two sources of central staging in the United States she identified were the productions by Azubah Latham and Milton Smith at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

dating from 1914, and T. Earl Pardoe's productions at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

in 1922. In 1924,

Gilmor Brown Gilmor may refer to: * Harry Gilmor (1838-1883), Baltimore City Police Commissioner * Gilmor's Raid, a raid that was part of an overall campaign against Union railroads during the American Civil War See also *Gillmor *Gilmore (disambiguation) *Gilm ...

founded the Fair Oaks Playbox in Pasadena, California, an important early practitioner of central staging in addition to other stage configurations that it pioneered in its advent of flexible staging. As Indicated by Jones, the centrally staged productions of the Fair Oaks Playbox were followed approximately eight years later by the work of Glenn Hughes in his Seattle Penthouse.

Stephen Joseph Stephen Joseph (13 June 1921 – 4 October 1967)Colin Chambers (ed.) ''The Continuum Companion to Twentieth Century Theatre,'' London: Continuum, 2002, p.410 was an English stage director and pioneer of "theatre in the round." Life Stephen J ...

was the first to popularise the form in the United Kingdom from the US in the 1950s and set up theatres-in-the-round in Newcastle-under-Lyme and the Studio Theatre in Scarborough. The current theatre, opened in 1996, is known as the Stephen Joseph Theatre. Joseph was reputed to have once rhetorically asked, "Why must authorities stand with their back to a wall?" His answer was: "So nobody can knife them from behind." Sam Walters set up an impromptu performance space in the upstairs of the Orange Tree pub in

Richmond, London Richmond is a town in south-west London,The London Government Act 1963 (c.33) (as amended) categorises the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames as an Outer London borough. Although it is on both sides of the River Thames, the Boundary Commis ...

in the early 1970s and subsequently moved across the road to a permanent

Orange Tree Theatre The Orange Tree Theatre is a 180-seat theatre at 1 Clarence Street, Richmond in south-west London, which was built specifically as a theatre in the round. It is housed within a disused 1867 primary school, built in Victorian Gothic style. T ...

. In 1972, RG Gregory set up the Word and Action theatre company in Dorset in England to work exclusively in theatre-in-the-round. Gregory sought to create a grammar that would enable actors to maximise the form's potential for connecting with the audience both as individuals and as a collective. All Word and Action productions were performed in normal lighting conditions, without costumes or makeup.

Uses in television and concert halls

The innovations of Margo Jones were an obvious influence on

Albert McCleery Albert McCleery (December 30, 1911 – May 13, 1972) was an American pioneering television producer during the 1950s. He had a reputation "as an innovative contributor to some of television's most esteemed theatrical productions". McCleery was ...

when he created his ''Cameo Theatre'' for television in 1950. Continuing until 1955, McCleery offered dramas seen against pure black backgrounds instead of walls of a set. This enabled cameras in the darkness to pick up shots from any position. Richard Nixon's 1968 U.S. Presidential campaign staged nine live televised question and answer sessions using a ground-breaking theatre-in-the-round format, adapted for a live televised audience. The first time use of the staging device was memorialized in the book, ''

The Selling of the President 1968 ''The Selling of the President 1968'' is a 1969 book by American author Joe McGinniss. It was published by Trident Press in October, 1969. The title is a play on the Making of the President books by Theodore H. White, Theodore White. The book desc ...

'' by

Joe McGinniss Joseph Ralph McGinniss Sr. (December 9, 1942 – March 10, 2014) was an American non-fiction writer and novelist. The author of twelve books, he first came to prominence with the best-selling ''The Selling of the President 1968'' which describe ...

. The producer of these Nixon "Man in the Arena" programs was

Roger Ailes Roger Eugene Ailes (May 15, 1940 – May 18, 2017) was an American television executive and media consultant. He was the chairman and CEO of Fox News, Fox Television Stations and 20th Television. Ailes was a media consultant for Republica ...

, who later went to on start

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

. Ailes' innovation of the theatre-in-the-round format for candidate forums became the blueprint for modern "town hall" candidate formats and even multiple-candidate debates. Elvis Presley's ''

'68 Comeback Special ''Singer Presents ... Elvis'', commonly referred to as the 68 Comeback Special'', is an Elvis Presley concert special that aired on NBC on December 3, 1968. It marked Presley's return to live performance after a seven-year period durin ...

'' TV program was performed with the musicians seated using a raised staging in-the-round format. When an arena staging was conceived for the progressive-rock group Yes by their tour manager Jim Halley in the mid-1970s, it prompted a redesign of rock concerts and venue seating arrangements.

The politics of the round

The politics of theatre-in-the-round were explored most deliberately by RG Gregory. In his view the lit space of a proscenium arch is analogous to the seat of power; the audience adopts the role of passive receivers. In traditional theatre design, maximum care is taken with

sight line In architecture, sightlines are a particularly important consideration in the design of civic structures, such as a stage, arena, or monument. They determine the configuration of such items as theater and stadium design, road junction layout an ...

s in order to ensure that the actor can engage every member of the audience at the same time. However, once removed from the picture frame of the arch, the actors are compelled to turn their back on some members of the audience and so necessarily lose exclusive command of the acting space. All members of the audience can see the actor, but the actor can no longer see all of them. At this point, in order for the play to function, the audience themselves must be allowed to become key conductors of the meaning of the performance. Some, like the writer Mick Fealty, have stressed a close analogy between Gregory's description of the rudimentary dynamics of theater-in-the-round with the

network effect In economics, a network effect (also called network externality or demand-side economies of scale) is the phenomenon by which the value or utility a user derives from a good or service depends on the number of users of compatible products. Net ...

of Internet-based communication in comparison to traditional broadcast and marketing channels.

Arena stage archive

George Mason University in

Fairfax, Virginia The City of Fairfax ( ), colloquially known as Fairfax City, Downtown Fairfax, Old Town Fairfax, Fairfax Courthouse, FFX, or simply Fairfax, is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth ...

is home to the largest arena stage archive and contains material from the theatre's 50-year history. Included in the collection are photographs, production notebooks, scrapbooks, playbills, oral histories and handwritten correspondence. According to their website, the total volume is or linear and is housed in the Fenwick Library.

Notable examples

Australia

La Boite Theatre Building La Boite Theatre Building is a heritage-listed former theatre at 69 Hale Street, Petrie Terrace, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Blair Wilson and built in 1972. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 30 ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

(no longer used as a theatre) *

Roundhouse Theatre The Roundhouse Theatre is a theatre-in-the-round located in the Kelvin Grove Urban Village, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is Australia's only purpose-built theatre in the round. The building is owned by Queensland University of Technolog ...

(replacing the La Boite Theatre Building)

Canada

* Globe Theatre,

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina () is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 census, Regina had a city populatio ...

* Seton Auditorium,

Mount Saint Vincent University Mount Saint Vincent University, often referred to as the Mount, is a public, primarily undergraduate, university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and was established in 1873. Mount Saint Vincent offers undergraduate programs in Arts, S ...

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...

France

* L'Européen,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

* Théâtre en Rond,

Sassenage Sassenage (; frp, Sassenâjo) is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. It is part of the Grenoble urban unit (agglomeration).

and Fresnes

Hong Kong

* Theater in the Wild, Hong Kong Disneyland,

Lantau Island Lantau Island (also Lantao Island, Lan Tao) is the largest island in Hong Kong, located West of Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula, and is part of the New Territories. Administratively, most of Lantau Island is part of the Islands ...

Japan

* The Enchanted Tiki Room: Stitch Presents Aloha e Komo Mai!,

Tokyo Disney Resort The (local nickname ''TDR'') is a theme park and vacation resort located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, just east of Tokyo. The resort is fully owned and operated by The Oriental Land Company under a licence from The Walt Disney Company, who const ...

Urayasu 260px, old Urayasu is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 170,533 in 81,136 households and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Urayasu is best known as the home of the Tokyo ...

, Chiba

Malta

*Saint James Cavalier Theatre,

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...

Poland

* Theater Scena STU,

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

United Kingdom

Sheffield. Crucible theatre. Most famous for hosting the World Snooker Championships since 1977.

Greater London

@sohoplace @sohoplace is a West End theatre operated by Nimax Theatres. It is on the site of the previous London Astoria, as part of development around the Elizabeth line's Tottenham Court Road station. It is the first purpose-built West End theatre to be o ...

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develo ...

Cockpit Theatre, Marylebone The Cockpit Theatre is a Fringe Theatre, fringe theatre in Marylebone, London. Designed by Edward Mendelsohn and built in 1969–70 by the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) as a community theatre, it is notable as London's first purpose ...

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

*Pembroke Theatre,

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

(closed 1962)

Greater Manchester

Octagon Theatre, Bolton The Octagon Theatre is a producing theatre located in Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. Programme The Octagon produces eight or nine professional theatre productions each year in its Main Auditorium. Productions come from a wide range of ty ...

Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester The Royal Exchange is a grade II listed building in Manchester, England. It is located in the city centre on the land bounded by St Ann's Square, Exchange Street, Market Street, Cross Street and Old Bank Street. The complex includes the Royal ...

Elsewhere

Blue Orange Theatre The Blue Orange Theatre is an independent theatre located in the Jewellery Quarter in the centre of Birmingham, England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

The Castle Theatre, Wellingborough Castle Theatre Wellingborough is located in the town of Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The ...

(can be in the round or normal theatre format) *

New Vic Theatre The New Vic Theatre is a purpose-built theatre in the round in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire. The theatre opened in 1986, replacing a converted cinema, the Victoria Theatre in Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent. History In the early 1960s, Stephen J ...

, Newcastle-under-Lyme *

The Round The Round was a theatre-in-the-round in the Ouseburn Valley, Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The region's first theatre-in-the-round, it specialised in theatre for children and young people. The Round opened in September 2007, and was home to the ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

(closed 2008) * Stephen Joseph Theatre,

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

* The Dukes, Lancaster *

Everyman Theatre, Liverpool The Everyman Theatre stands at the north end of Hope Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It was founded in 1964, in Hope Hall (once a chapel, then a cinema), in an area of Liverpool noted for its bohemian environment and political edge, a ...

*Pyramid Theatre,

Leeds University Union Leeds University Union (LUU) is the representative body for the students at the University of Leeds, England. It is led by a group of student sabbatical officers known as the Student Executive, and supported by around 140 full-time staff membe ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

(formerly Raven Theatre)

United States

Arizona

* NAU Theatre, Flagstaff, Arizona *

Celebrity Theatre Celebrity Theatre is a theater in the round located in Phoenix, Arizona. Construction and features Beverly Hills architect Perry Neuschatz designed the 196-foot-diameter building as a multipurpose conference center. He received the 1964 top a ...

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

*Hale Centre Theatre, Gilbert, ArizonaHale Centre Theatre in Arizona
. Accessed 2014-06-20 *Theater Works,

Peoria, Arizona Peoria is a city in Maricopa and Yavapai counties in the state of Arizona. Most of the city is located in Maricopa County, while a portion in the north is in Yavapai County. It is a major suburb of Phoenix. As of the 2020 census, the popul ...

br>

California

Wells Fargo Pavilion The UC Davis Health Pavilion is a theatre venue, located in Sacramento, California, and owned by California Musical Theatre and the Sacramento Theatre Company. Overview The pavilion is the signature feature of the H Street Theatre Project, wh ...

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

(Home of California Musical Theatre's Music CircusCalifornia Musical Theatre
at The Wells Fargo Pavilion)
The Rock Forum

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...

Glendale Centre Theatre
Glendale, California * Golden Bough Playhouse, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California *Marian Theatre, Santa Maria, Californi
Solvang Festival Theater, Solvang, California
*

Old Globe Theatre The Old Globe is a professional theatre company located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It produces about 15 plays and musicals annually in summer and winter seasons. Plays are performed in three separate theatres in the complex, which i ...

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

**Cassius Carter Centre Stage (demolished 2008) **Cheryl and Harvey White Theatre *

Circle Star Theater The Circle Star Theatre was a performing arts venue in San Carlos, San Mateo County, California. Its name is based on it being a theater in the round, featuring a rotating circular stage with none of its 3,743 seats further than 50 feet (15 m) fr ...

, San Carlos, California (torn down for office buildings) *Riverside Community Players,

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

(built in 1953) *

Valley Music Theater The Valley Music Theater was a theater-in-the-round performing arts hall located in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California. It was just south of the Ventura Freeway at 20600 Ventura Boulevard, in the Chalk Hills of the western San Fernando Val ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

(built 1963, demolished 2007) *

Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room is an attraction located in Disneyland at the Disneyland Resort and in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, and previously in Tokyo Disneyland at Tokyo Disney Resort. First opened on June 23, 1963 at the Disneyl ...

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envision ...

, Anaheim, California

Colorado

* The Space Theatre,

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

District of Columbia

Arena Stage Arena Stage is a not-for-profit regional theater based in Southwest, Washington, D.C. Established in 1950, it was the first racially integrated theater in Washington, D.C. and its founders helped start the U.S. regional theater movement. It is ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Florida

(previously Tropical Serenade), Advetureland,

Magic Kingdom Magic Kingdom Park, previously known as Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom (1971–1994) and The Magic Kingdom (1994–2017), is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, Florida. Owned and operated by The ...

(

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...

), Bay Lake, Florida **From 1998 to 2011,

The Enchanted Tiki Room (Under New Management) ''The Enchanted Tiki Room (Under New Management)'' was an attraction located in the Magic Kingdom theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. It was an updated version of Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room, which was previously known in the Florida ...

operated in this attraction's space. * Stitch's Great Escape!,

Tomorrowland Tomorrowland is one of the many themed lands featured at all of the Magic Kingdom styled Disney theme parks around the world owned or licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Each version of the land is different and features numerous attractions t ...

(

), Bay Lake, Florida **Preceding attractions include Flight to the Moon (1971–1975),

Mission to Mars ''Mission to Mars'' is a 2000 American science fiction adventure film directed by Brian De Palma, written by Jim Thomas, John Thomas, and Graham Yost, and suggested by Disney's theme park attraction of the same name. The film depicts the first ...

(1975–1993) and the

ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter (often abbreviated Alien Encounter) was a "theater-in-the-round" attraction located in the Tomorrowland section of the Magic Kingdom theme park at Walt Disney World Resort. A co-production between Walt Disne ...

(1994–2003). *

Festival of the Lion King There have been seven theme park live adaptations of ''The Lion King'' at Disney parks since the animated film ''The Lion King'' was released by Walt Disney Animation Studios in 1994. These have included a parade, two theater-in-the-round shows, ...

Disney's Animal Kingdom Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park is a zoological theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. Owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division, it is the l ...

(

), Bay Lake, Florida

Illinois

Marriott Theatre The Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, Illinois is a respected Chicago area regional theatre. Attached to the Marriott Lincolnshire Resort, the theatre produces an average of five musicals each year, presented in the round, as well as productions ...

Lincolnshire, Illinois Lincolnshire is a village in Vernon Township, Lake County, in the U.S. state of Illinois. The village is a northern suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 7,940. Lincolnshire was incorporated on August 5, 1957, from the un ...

br>
*

Mill Run Playhouse Mill Run Playhouse (aka Mill Run Theatre) was a 1,600 seat theatre in the round in Niles, Illinois. It was built in 1965 on the grounds of the Golf Mill Shopping Center. It was scheduled to open in June 1965 but torrential rains delayed the openi ...

Niles, Illinois Niles is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, located in the townships of Maine and Niles, directly neighboring the City of Chicago's far northwest border. Per the 2020 census, the population was 30,912. The current mayor of Niles ...

(demolished 1984) *Richmond Hill Theatre,

Geneseo, Illinois Geneseo is a city in Henry County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,539. Geneseo is 20 miles east of the Quad Cities, at the intersection of Interstate 80, U.S. Route 6 and Illinois Route 82. Geneseo is well ...

br>
*Cornstock Theatre, Peoria, Illinoisbr>

Indiana

*Wagon Wheel Theatre,

Warsaw, Indiana Warsaw is a city in and the county seat of Kosciusko County, Indiana, United States. Warsaw has a population of 13,559 as of the 2010 U.S. Census. Warsaw also borders a smaller town, Winona Lake. Etymology Warsaw, named after the capital of ...

Iowa

*Flanagan Studio Theater,

Grinnell, Iowa Grinnell is a city in Poweshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 9,564 at the time of the 2020 census. It is best known for being the home of Grinnell College. History Grinnell was founded by settlers from New England who we ...

Kansas

* Mark A. Chapman Theatre, Kansas State University,

Manhattan, Kansas Manhattan is a city and county seat of Riley County, Kansas, United States, although the city extends into Pottawatomie County. It is located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. As of the 2020 c ...

Maryland

*Colonial Players, Annapolis,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

*Shady Grove Music Fair,

Gaithersburg, Maryland Gaithersburg ( ), officially the City of Gaithersburg, is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, Gaithersburg had a population of 69,657, making it the ninth-largest location in the state. Gai ...

(Demolished) *Painters Mill Music Fair, Owings Mills, Maryland (Demolished 1991)

Massachusetts

North Shore Music Theatre North Shore Music Theatre is the largest operating regional theater in New England. It is located in Beverly, Massachusetts and is one of the few remaining theatre-in-the-round stages left in the United States. The theater is owned by Massachuset ...

, Beverly, Massachusettsbr>
*

Cape Cod Melody Tent Cape Cod Melody Tent is a South Shore Playhouse Associates-owned tent theater located in Hyannis, Massachusetts, in the county of Barnstable. Affiliated with the South Shore Music Circus, these are the only two continuously-operated tent theater ...

, Hyannis, MassachusettsCape Cod Melody Tent
official web site *South Shore Music Circus,

Cohasset, Massachusetts Cohasset is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 8,381. History Cohasset was inhabited for thousands of years by Native Americans prior to European colonization, from whom English c ...

South Shore Music Circus
official web site * The Little Theatre, Newton * Balch Arena Theater, Medford, Massachusetts

Minnesota

Theatre in the Round Players Theatre in the Round Players (TRP) is a community theatre performing on the West Bank of the University of Minnesota, in Minneapolis. In existence since 1953, it is the longest-running theatre in Minneapolis, and the second-oldest (non-academic) th ...

, Minneapolis, MinnesotaTheatre in the Round
, Minneapolis, official web site * Rarig Center Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota * Arena Theater,

Northfield, Minnesota Northfield is a city in Dakota and Rice counties in the State of Minnesota. It is mostly in Rice County, with a small portion in Dakota County. The population was 20,790 at the 2020 census. History Northfield was platted in 1856 by John W ...

(Built 1967, mothballed 2011)

Missouri

Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts center in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, USA, at 16th and Broadway, near the Power & Light District, the T-Mobile Center and the Crossroads Arts District. Its construction was a m ...

, Kansas City, Missouri

Nevada

* Le Rêve Theater inside

Wynn Las Vegas Wynn Las Vegas, often simply referred to as Wynn, is a luxury resort and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned and operated by Wynn Resorts, and was built on the former site of the Desert Inn resor ...

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

(opened 2005, closed 2020.) * LOVE Theatre inside

The Mirage The Mirage is a casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by Hard Rock International. The 65-acre property includes a casino and 3,044 rooms. Golden Nugget, Inc., le ...

, Las Vegas, Nevada

New Jersey

* Seton Hall Theatre in the Round, South Orange, New Jersey

New York

Circle Repertory Company The Circle Repertory Company, originally named the Circle Theater Company, was a theatre company in New York City that ran from 1969 to 1996. It was founded on July 14, 1969, in Manhattan, in a second floor loft at Broadway and 83rd Street by direc ...

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

*The Irish Classical Theatre in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

NYCB Theatre at Westbury The NYCB Theatre at Westbury (originally known as the Westbury Music Fair) is an entertainment venue located in the hamlet of Jericho, outside of Westbury, New York. Constructed as a theatre in the round style with seating for 2,870 that was ori ...

Westbury, New York The Incorporated Village of Westbury is a village in the Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. It is located about east of Manhattan. The population was 15,404 at the 2020 census. History The firs ...

Circle in the Square Theatre The Circle in the Square Theatre is a Broadway theater at 235 West 50th Street, in the basement of Paramount Plaza, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It is one of two Broadway theaters that use a thrust stage that extends ...

(can also be configured as a

thrust stage In theatre, a thrust stage (also known as a platform stage or open stage) is one that extends into the audience on three sides and is connected to the backstage area by its upstage end. A thrust has the benefit of greater intimacy between perform ...

) *Arena Theatre at

University at Albany, SUNY The State University of New York at Albany, commonly referred to as the University at Albany, UAlbany or SUNY Albany, is a public research university with campuses in Albany, Rensselaer, and Guilderland, New York. Founded in 1844, it is one ...

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...

Ohio

*The Front Row,

Highland Heights, Ohio Highland Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. A suburb of Cleveland, Highland Heights is part of the Cleveland metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 8,719. History Highland Heights was originall ...

(Demolished 1994) *Kent State University, Porthouse Theatre, Kent, Ohio

Oregon

*The Thomas Theater, Ashland, Oregon (one of the theaters used for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival)

Pennsylvania

*Arden Theatre Company (Philadelphia), F. Otto Haas Stage, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania *Valley Forge Music Fair, Devon, Pennsylvania (demolished 1996)

South Carolina

*University of South Carolina, Longstreet Theatre, Columbia, South Carolina

Tennessee

*Ula Love Doughty Carousel Theatre, Knoxville, Tennessee

Texas

*Plaza Theatre Company, Cleburne, TexasPlaza Theatre Company
official web site *Artisan Center Theater, Hurst, Texas, HurstArtisan Center Theatre
official web site *Zach Theatre, Whisenhunt Stage, Austin, Texas *Casa Mañana, Fort Worth, Texas (converted to thrust stage in 2003) *Theatre '47, Dallas, Dallas, Texas *Mary Moody Northen Theatre, Austin, Texas *Arena Theater, Houston, Texas

Utah

*Hale Center Theatre, Hale Centre Theatre, Sandy, Utah
West Valley Performing Arts Center
West Valley City, Utah

Virginia

*The Barksdale Theater in Richmond, Virginia

Washington

*Glenn Hughes Penthouse Theatre, Seattle, Seattle, Washington *ACT Theatre, Seattle, Washington

Wisconsin

*Fireside Dinner Theater, Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin *Melody Top Theatre, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (1963–86)

In popular culture

*In the novel ''The Prestige'' by Christopher Priest (novelist), Christopher Priest, the magician Rupert Angier courts controversy by writing that stage magic should be performed "in the round" rather than in theatres with a proscenium arch. *The English progressive rock band Yes were the first rock-era group to perform "in the round" during their 1978–79 Tormato tour. The band also performed using a round, rotating stage during portions of their Drama (Yes album), Drama and Union (Yes album), Union tours in 1980 and 1991, respectively. *The second tour of the global country-pop superstar Shania Twain, the Up! Tour (2003/04), had a stage configuration in the style of "in the round". The tour was one of the most successful tours of 2004, and served to promote the RIAA diamond certified album, "Up!" (2002). *The Into the Millennium Tour by the American boy band Backstreet Boys featured an "in the round" stage. The tour, which began in 1999 and ended in March 2000, is one of the most successful of all time. *British rock band Def Leppard played "in the round" for several tours in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Their 1989 live VHS release was entitled ''Live: In the Round, in Your Face''. "In-the-round is an incredibly, insanely aerobic kind of thing…" remarked singer Joe Elliott, who gave up drinking on the ''Hysteria (Def Leppard album), Hysteria'' tour to cope with the physical demands. "You can't stand still; you've got to keep moving. The [other members of the band] had identical microphones on either side of the stage, so they could stand still for a little bit. I had to keep moving." *To evoke a three-ring circus, American singer Britney Spears used an in-the-round setting for her 2009 ''The Circus Starring Britney Spears'' tour. *Stand-up comedians have performed specials "in the round," such as ''Dane Cook: Vicious Circle'' and Louis C.K.'s ''Oh My God''. * The Spice Girls used a circular, in-the-round stage for their Christmas in Spiceworld tour in 1999. * U2's U2 360° Tour, 360° Tour used a very large circular stage. * The Dixie Chicks' Top of the World Tour used a circular stage, except in venues where it was an end stage. * Metallica have used a rectangular, diamond or oval-shaped stage in the center of the arena, beginning with their 1991 Wherever We May Roam Tour. On different tours, they have included an area within the stage, called "the snake pit", where audience members can watch the show. Their 2012 European Black Album Tour used this format. * In the musical ''The Producers (musical), The Producers'' Max Bialystock remarks that he invented "theater in the square".

References

{{Authority control Theatre Stage terminology