Performance Spaces
What's covered
Key facts
Apron and black box
The apron is a section of the stage floor which projects towards or into the auditorium.
End-on
A black-box (studio) theatre has no fixed stage; its movable seating can be reconfigured into end-on, thrust, in-the-round or traverse for different productions.
In-the-round
In an in-the-round (arena) configuration the audience surrounds the acting area on all sides.
Promenade and site-specific
Artaud's Theatre of Cruelty called for the abolition of the stage/auditorium divide so that performer and audience share the same space — a principle site-specific and promenade theatre directly embody.
Proscenium arch
The apron (forestage) is the part of the stage that projects beyond the proscenium arch, bringing the action nearer the audience.
Thrust
Backstage areas in a thrust configuration are located behind the stage, on the one side not occupied by audience.
Traverse
A lighting designer must rig lanterns on both sides of a traverse stage so actors are lit whichever bank they are facing.
Apron and black box
A black box is a flexible studio theatre where the audience and actors are in the same room, surrounded by black tabs (curtains).
End-on
In end-on staging the audience sits in a single bank at one end of the space and the performers play at the other, with everyone facing the same direction.
In-the-round
Because the audience views actors from all sides, costume must communicate character fully from every angle — there is no "back" that stays hidden.
Sample questions
A taste of the 76 questions in this topic, answers marked. Sign up to practise the full set with spaced repetition.
In staging, what is the apron?
- ✓Stage floor projecting towards the auditorium
- •The area at the very back of the stage
- •The curtain across the proscenium arch
- •The raised seating around the stage
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 architectural arch; it is an open, flat end-on relationship
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 keep moving so no audience section sees only their backs
- •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 makes the performance shorter because scenes run simultaneously
- ✓It physically involves the audience in the story, making it more immersive
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 keep rotating so no side sees only their back
- •All entrances must be made through the audience, which slows the pace
- •The audience on three sides makes lighting from the front impossible
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