Proscenium Stage
Don’t know your Thrust from your Traverse? Proscenium or in the Round? Theatre has a language all of its own but it’s really rather simple. . .
- Proscenium Stage: The audience sits on one side of the stage only. Perhaps the most straightforward layout (of course the simplest stage would want the fanciest name!).
- Traverse: Similar to a catwalk – the spectators watch from either side of the stage.
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Traverse Stage
In the Round: A layout where the audience surrounds the entire performance.
- Thrust: The performance is watched from three sides of the stage; downstage, stage right and stage left.
Different formations can offer different levels of intimacy with the audience or allow for better audience interaction. Different stage layouts can also affect how contemporary or how traditional a performance comes across. The pictures on the right show classic examples of the types of stage mentioned here. Click to enlarge.
In the Round
Our staging systems can create any one of the above stage layouts. One memorable and rather gamorous example is the Traverse stage we provided for an Alexander McQueen Fashion show!
But whilst some of our customers keep to just the one stage formation, Hemsworth Arts College and Canon Slade School have really taken advantage of the versaltility of our Metrodeck staging systems. Both schools regulary use their decks to create performances in the Round, in Traverse AND in Proscenium.
Thrust