Thrust theatre on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
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 Stage (theatre)#Stage terminology, upstage end. A thrust has the benefit of greater intimacy between performers and the audience than a proscenium, while retaining the utility of a backstage area. Entrances onto a thrust are most readily made from backstage, although some theatres provide for performers to enter through the audience using Vomitorium, vomitory entrances. A theatre in the round, exposed on all sides to the audience, is without a backstage and relies entirely on entrances in the auditorium or from under the stage.
As with an arena, the audience in a thrust stage theatre may view the stage from three or more sides. Because the audience can view the performance from a variety of perspectives, it is usual for the Blocking (stage), blocking, Theatrical properties, props and scenery to receive thorough consideration to ensure that no perspective is blocked from view. A high backed chair, for instance, when placed Stage (theatre)#Stage directions, stage right, could create a blind spot in the Stage (theatre)#Stage directions, stage left action.
Abbey Players Theater
in Abbeville, Louisiana
Casa Manana
in Fort Worth, TX *A Noise Within in Pasadena, CA *The ANTA Washington Square Theatre in Greenwich Village, New York (now demolished) *The Octagon Stage at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery, Alabama *The Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, CA *The Berkeley Repertory Theatre in Berkeley, CA *The SLO Repertory Theatre in San Luis Obispo, CA *The PCPA Marian Theatre in Santa Maria, CA *The PCPA Solvang Festival Theatre in Solvang, CA *The John W. Huntington Theatre at Hartford Stage in Hartford, Connecticut *The La Nouba stage in Downtown Disney (Walt Disney World), Downtown Disney in Florida *The Alhambra Dinner Theatre in Jacksonville, Florida *The Gateway Theatre (Chicago), Gateway Theatre in Chicago *The Chicago Shakespeare Theatre in Chicago *The Ethel M. Barber Theater at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois *The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis *The Greenbelt Arts Center in Greenbelt, Maryland *The Purple Rose Theatre Company, Purple Rose Theatre in Chelsea, Michigan *The Court Street Theatre in Nashua, New Hampshire *The Seacoast Repertory Theatre in Portsmouth, New Hampshire *The Crossroads Theatre, Crossroads Theater in New Brunswick, New Jersey *The George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, New Jersey *The Circle in the Square Theatre, New York City *The Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center, New York *The Mystère (Cirque du Soleil), Mystère theater in the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino, Treasure Island hotel in Paradise, Nevada *The Carolina Actors Studio Theatre in Charlotte, North Carolina *Elevation Church in Charlotte, North Carolina *The Paul Green Theatre at PlayMakers Repertory Company in Chapel Hill, North Carolina *The O'Reilly Theater in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania *The Kleberg Stage at the Zach Theatre in Austin, Texas *The Blackfriars Playhouse at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Virginia *The Playhouse at the Overture Center, Overture Center for the Arts in Madison, Wisconsin *The American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin *ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery in Seattle, Washington *The Todd Wehr Theater at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts in Milwaukee, Wisconsin *The Barksdale Theatre at the Shops at Willow Lawn in Richmond, Virginia *The Lowell Davies Festival Theatre at the Old Globe in San Diego, California *Centre Stage-South Carolina in Greenville, South Carolina * Theatre Suburbia in Houston, Texas * Playcrafters Barn Theatre in Moline, Illinois
Shanklin Theatre
University of Evansville, Evansville, Indiana * Shea's 710 Theatre, Buffalo, New York * The Webb Theater in Saint Norbert College in De Pere, W
George Jenkins Theatre
in Frankston, Victoria
''Mystère'' theatre diagram
Diagram of Cirque du Soleil's ''Mystère (Cirque du Soleil), Mystère'' theatre
Thrust stage diagram
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thrust Stage Parts of a theatre
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 Stage (theatre)#Stage terminology, upstage end. A thrust has the benefit of greater intimacy between performers and the audience than a proscenium, while retaining the utility of a backstage area. Entrances onto a thrust are most readily made from backstage, although some theatres provide for performers to enter through the audience using Vomitorium, vomitory entrances. A theatre in the round, exposed on all sides to the audience, is without a backstage and relies entirely on entrances in the auditorium or from under the stage.
As with an arena, the audience in a thrust stage theatre may view the stage from three or more sides. Because the audience can view the performance from a variety of perspectives, it is usual for the Blocking (stage), blocking, Theatrical properties, props and scenery to receive thorough consideration to ensure that no perspective is blocked from view. A high backed chair, for instance, when placed Stage (theatre)#Stage directions, stage right, could create a blind spot in the Stage (theatre)#Stage directions, stage left action.
History
The thrust stage is the earliest stage type in western theatre, first appearing in Theatre of Ancient Greece, Greek theatres, and its arrangement was continued by the pageant wagon. As pageant wagons evolved into Elizabethan theatre, many of that era's works, including those of Shakespeare, were performed on theatre with an open thrust stage, such as those of the Globe Theatre. The thrust stage concept was generally out of use for centuries, and was resurrected in 1953 by the Stratford Shakespeare Festival of Canada. Their Festival Theatre was originally under a tent, until a permanent thrust stage theatre facility was constructed in 1957. Since that time dozens of other thrust stage venues have been built using the concept.Examples
North America
Canada
*Prairie Theatre Exchange in Winnipeg, Manitoba *The Maclab Theatre at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, Alberta *The Festival Theatre at the Atlantic Theatre Festival in Wolfville, Nova Scotia *The Festival Theatre at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario *The Tom Patterson Theatre at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario *The Studio Theatre at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario *The Studio-théâtre at Place des Arts, Montreal, Quebec *The UFV Theatre at the University of the Fraser Valley in Chilliwack, British Columbia *The BMO Mainstage at Bard on the Beach in Vancouver, British Columbia *The Chief Dan George Theatre at the University of Victoria in Victoria, British ColumbiaUnited States
Abbey Players Theater
in Abbeville, Louisiana
Casa Manana
in Fort Worth, TX *A Noise Within in Pasadena, CA *The ANTA Washington Square Theatre in Greenwich Village, New York (now demolished) *The Octagon Stage at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery, Alabama *The Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, CA *The Berkeley Repertory Theatre in Berkeley, CA *The SLO Repertory Theatre in San Luis Obispo, CA *The PCPA Marian Theatre in Santa Maria, CA *The PCPA Solvang Festival Theatre in Solvang, CA *The John W. Huntington Theatre at Hartford Stage in Hartford, Connecticut *The La Nouba stage in Downtown Disney (Walt Disney World), Downtown Disney in Florida *The Alhambra Dinner Theatre in Jacksonville, Florida *The Gateway Theatre (Chicago), Gateway Theatre in Chicago *The Chicago Shakespeare Theatre in Chicago *The Ethel M. Barber Theater at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois *The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis *The Greenbelt Arts Center in Greenbelt, Maryland *The Purple Rose Theatre Company, Purple Rose Theatre in Chelsea, Michigan *The Court Street Theatre in Nashua, New Hampshire *The Seacoast Repertory Theatre in Portsmouth, New Hampshire *The Crossroads Theatre, Crossroads Theater in New Brunswick, New Jersey *The George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, New Jersey *The Circle in the Square Theatre, New York City *The Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center, New York *The Mystère (Cirque du Soleil), Mystère theater in the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino, Treasure Island hotel in Paradise, Nevada *The Carolina Actors Studio Theatre in Charlotte, North Carolina *Elevation Church in Charlotte, North Carolina *The Paul Green Theatre at PlayMakers Repertory Company in Chapel Hill, North Carolina *The O'Reilly Theater in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania *The Kleberg Stage at the Zach Theatre in Austin, Texas *The Blackfriars Playhouse at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Virginia *The Playhouse at the Overture Center, Overture Center for the Arts in Madison, Wisconsin *The American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin *ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery in Seattle, Washington *The Todd Wehr Theater at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts in Milwaukee, Wisconsin *The Barksdale Theatre at the Shops at Willow Lawn in Richmond, Virginia *The Lowell Davies Festival Theatre at the Old Globe in San Diego, California *Centre Stage-South Carolina in Greenville, South Carolina * Theatre Suburbia in Houston, Texas * Playcrafters Barn Theatre in Moline, Illinois
Shanklin Theatre
University of Evansville, Evansville, Indiana * Shea's 710 Theatre, Buffalo, New York * The Webb Theater in Saint Norbert College in De Pere, W
Europe
Germany
*Waldbühne ("Forest Stage"), BerlinGreece
*Numerous Theatre of Ancient Greece, Greek theatres, such as the one in EpidaurusUnited Kingdom
*The Questors Theatre, Ealing *The Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England *The Gulbenkian Theatre in Canterbury, England *The Globe Theatre in London, England. All other Elizabethan theatres were also in the same style. *The Olivier Theatre in the Royal National Theatre, National Theatre, London *The Everyman Theatre, Liverpool, Everyman Theatre in Liverpool, England *The Chichester Festival Theatre. Notable for the fact that the stage is hexagonal, and is surrounded by the audience on three sides. *The Swan Theatre (Stratford), Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, England *The Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, England *Elmbank Studios, Ayr *The Quarry Theatre at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds *The Riverside Theatre, Coleraine, Riverside Theatre in Coleraine, Northern IrelandAsia
India
*Prithvi Theatre, Mumbai *Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh *Ranga Shankara, Bangalore *Jagriti Theatre, Bangalore *Bhartendu Natya Academy, Lucknow, Uttar PradeshOceania
Australia
* The York Theatre, part of the Seymour Centre, Sydney * The Roundhouse Theatre, part of WAAPA, PerthGeorge Jenkins Theatre
in Frankston, Victoria
References
External links
* *''Mystère'' theatre diagram
Diagram of Cirque du Soleil's ''Mystère (Cirque du Soleil), Mystère'' theatre
Thrust stage diagram
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thrust Stage Parts of a theatre