Theater (structure) facts for kids
A theater (sometimes spelled theatre) is a special building where people perform plays, concerts, and other shows. It's designed to have a space for the performers (called the stage) and a space for the people watching (the audience). The building also has areas for actors to get ready, for technical crews to work, and for audience members to relax before and after the show.
There are many kinds of theaters! Some are built for specific types of shows, while others can be used for many different performances. They can range from open-air spaces like amphitheaters to fancy buildings that look like cathedrals, or even simple rooms called black box theaters. A theater used for opera performances is called an opera house. While performances can happen anywhere (like street theater), this article focuses on buildings made just for shows. Some theaters have a fixed stage, but others, like black box theaters, have seats that can be moved around to create different performance areas.
Contents
What Makes Up a Theater Building?
A theater building has different areas for the show itself, the audience, and all the people who work there.
Most theaters have two main entrances. The front entrance is for the audience and leads to a lobby where you can buy tickets. The other entrance is called the stage door. This is where actors and crew members enter and leave. Sometimes, fans wait outside the stage door after a show to get autographs from the actors!
The Stage: Where the Magic Happens
The stage is the area where the performance takes place. In some theaters, like proscenium theaters or amphitheaters, the stage is a permanent part of the building. In other theaters, like black box theaters, the stage area can be changed for each show. Black box theaters often have black walls and drapes, which is how they got their name!
Backstage and Offstage Areas
Behind or to the sides of the stage are areas used by performers and crew. These are called "offstage" or "backstage" spaces. This is where props, sets, and scenery are stored. Performers also wait here before it's their turn to go on stage. On either side of a proscenium stage, these areas are called "wings."
The theater building also has other rooms for the people working on the show. There might be a special booth facing the stage where lighting and sound technicians control their equipment. Other rooms are used as dressing rooms for actors, rehearsal rooms, and workshops for building sets, props, and costumes.
Seating for the Audience
Every theater has a space for the audience. In theaters with fixed seats, the audience is often separated from the performers by a large arch called the proscenium arch. This main seating area is known as the auditorium or "the house."
Seating areas can include:
- Stalls or Orchestra: This is the lower, flat area of seats, usually at the same level as the stage or slightly below it.
- Balconies or Galleries: These are raised seating areas towards the back of the auditorium. In bigger theaters, there can be several levels stacked above the stalls. The first level is often called the "dress circle." The highest level might be called "the gods" because the seats are very high up and far from the stage.
- Boxes: These are small, private rooms, usually located at the front, sides, and above the stage. They often seat a few people and are considered very fancy seats. A "royal box" or "state box" is sometimes set aside for important guests.
- House Seats: These are usually the very best seats in the theater, offering the clearest view of the stage. They are often in the center of the stalls. These seats are traditionally saved for the cast and crew to invite their families or agents. If they aren't used, they might be sold on the day of the show.
A Look Back: Theater History
Open-Air Theaters
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greek theater buildings were called a theatron, which means "seeing place." These were large, open-air structures built into the sides of hills. They had three main parts: the orchestra, the skene, and the audience seating.
The orchestra was the central, circular or rectangular area. This is where the chorus performed, religious ceremonies took place, and possibly where the actors performed. An altar was in the middle, often dedicated to Dionysus, the god of wine and theater.
Behind the orchestra was a large rectangular building called the skene (meaning "tent" or "hut"). This was used as a "backstage" area where actors could change costumes and masks. It also served as the background for the plays, which were often set in front of a palace or house. At first, the skene was a temporary tent. Later, it became a permanent stone building. These buildings were sometimes painted to look like scenery, which is where our word "scenery" comes from!
In front of the skene, there might have been a raised acting area called the proskenion. This was an early version of the modern proscenium stage.
The audience sat on rows of benches built into the hillside, rising up from the orchestra. Greek theaters were huge, often holding around 15,000 people! They were open to the sky, so the audience could see each other and the surrounding landscape, as well as the actors.
Ancient Rome
The Romans copied the Greek style of theater building. However, they didn't always look for natural hillsides. They were happy to build walls and terraces to create their theaters, even building completely man-made theaters in the city of Rome.
The auditorium (meaning "place for hearing" in Latin) was the area where people gathered. Roman theaters were not roofed, but large awnings could be pulled over the audience to provide shade or protection from rain.
Some Roman theaters were made of wood and taken down after a festival. This was because there was a rule against permanent theater buildings until 55 BC. The Theatre of Pompey was built then, but it included a temple to get around the law!
Elizabethan England
During the Elizabethan era in England, theaters were built with wooden frames, filled with wattle and daub (a mix of sticks and mud), and had thatch roofs. Most of these theaters were open-air. They had several floors of covered seating galleries surrounding an open courtyard. A large part of the audience would stand in this courtyard, right in front of the stage. This design is thought to come from plays being performed in the courtyards of inns.
The famous Globe Theatre (built in 1599) was a large, round building. Shakespeare even called it "this wooden O" in one of his plays. Today, the Globe has been rebuilt near its original spot in London. It's a working theater that gives modern audiences a chance to experience plays as they were seen in Shakespeare's time. Around this time, the "green room" became a common term for a place where actors wait before going on stage.
Indoor Theaters
Renaissance Europe
During the Renaissance, the first modern enclosed theaters were built in Italy. They looked a bit like ancient theaters, with tiered seating and scenery that often showed a city street. The oldest ones still standing are the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza (1580) and the Teatro all'antica in Sabbioneta (1590).
By the early 1600s, theaters moved indoors and started to look more like what we see today, with a stage separated from the audience by a proscenium arch. This was also when artists like Inigo Jones started painting scenery with perspective, making it look like it had depth. These perspective effects looked best from a specific spot in the audience, often called the "duke's chair." The more important you were, the closer you sat to this perfect viewing spot!
The very first enclosed theaters were "court theaters," meaning only royalty and nobles could attend. The first opera house open to the public was the Teatro San Cassiano (1637) in Venice. Italian opera houses became the model for theaters all over Europe.
German Opera's Influence
Richard Wagner, a German composer, thought it was very important to create a strong "mood" in the theater. He liked darkened theaters, sound effects, and special seating arrangements (like lowering the orchestra pit) to make sure the audience focused completely on the stage. These ideas were new at the time, but now they are common in opera and many other types of theater.
Modern Theaters
Today's theaters are often very flexible. Some are "modular theaters," meaning their floors and walls can be moved around to create different shapes and sizes for each play. As new ways of performing have developed, so has the desire to create new and better places for shows.
Modern live theaters can include proscenium, thrust, black box theater, theater in the round, amphitheater, and arena designs. Sometimes, performances even happen in unusual places, like old train carriages or even a taxi at the Edinburgh Fringe festival!
Asian Theater Design
Noh Theater
The traditional stage used in Noh theater in Japan is very open. It creates a shared experience between the performers and the audience. There are no prosceniums or curtains to block the view, so the audience can see actors even before they step onto the main stage. The theater itself is considered very special and is treated with great respect.
The Noh stage has a large square platform with no walls or curtains on three sides. At the back, there's usually a painting of a pine tree. The stage is raised above the audience, who sit on white gravel. Four cedar pillars mark the corners of the stage, and the whole stage is covered by a roof, even if it's inside a building. A system of ceramic jars under the stage helps to make the sounds of dancing louder during the performance.
The independent roof is a key feature of the Noh stage. Supported by four columns, it shows how sacred the stage is. Its design comes from the worship pavilions found at Shinto shrines. The roof also helps to define the stage as its own special architectural space.
The pillars supporting the roof have names related to the performers: shitebashira (main character's pillar), metsukebashira (gazing pillar), wakibashira (secondary character's pillar), and fuebashira (flute pillar).
The stage is made entirely of unfinished hinoki, a Japanese cypress wood, with almost no decorations. The writer Toson Shimazaki noted that "on the stage of the Noh theater there are no sets that change with each piece. Neither is there a curtain. There is only a simple panel with a painting of a green pine tree."
Another unique part of the Noh stage is the hashigakari, a narrow bridge on the right side of the stage that actors use to enter. Hashigakari means "suspension bridge," suggesting something that connects two different worlds on the same level. This bridge symbolizes the magical nature of Noh plays, where ghosts and spirits often appear.
Kabuki Theater
The Japanese Kabuki stage has a special walkway called a hanamichi (meaning "flower path"). This walkway extends into the audience and is used for dramatic entrances and exits. Important scenes are also performed on the hanamichi.
Kabuki stages have become very advanced over time. Innovations like revolving stages and trap doors were added in the 1700s. These tricks help to show sudden, dramatic reveals or transformations, which are common in Kabuki plays. Actors can appear and disappear quickly using these stage tricks. The term keren is sometimes used for all these clever stage tricks. The hanamichi, revolving stage, and trap doors all add depth and excitement to Kabuki performances.
Koothambalam
The Indian Koothambalam temple is a special space used to perform Sanskrit drama. These large, rectangular temples in Kerala were seen as a "visual sacrifice" to the temple's gods. They were built for kutiyattam or "combined acting" performances.
The temple has a pyramid-shaped roof, high walls, and a tall ceiling inside. The stage within the temple is a large platform with its own pyramid roof. The stage area is separate from where the audience sits. Musicians (often a drummer on a high seat) are behind the stage, and dressing rooms are also at the back with exit doors. The audience sits on a smooth, polished floor. Many Koothambalams exist in Indian temples and follow this same design.
Images for kids
-
The Tampere Theatre in Tampere, Finland
-
The Alley Theatre, home to the Alley Theatre Company, Houston, Texas
-
Queen's Theater (Ganta, Liberia)
-
Theatre of São Paulo
-
Efteling Theatre in Kaatsheuvel, The Netherlands
.jpg)
See Also
In Spanish: Teatro (arquitectura) para niños
- Auditorium
- Entertainment
- Learning space
- List of national theaters
- The Theatre of Small Convenience, the smallest theater in the world
