In theatre , a thrust stage (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 performers and the audience than a proscenium , while retaining the utility of a backstage area. This is in contrast to a theatre in the round , which is exposed on all sides to the audience, is without a backstage, and relies entirely on entrances in the auditorium or from under the stage. Entrances onto a thrust are most readily made from backstage, although some theatres provide for performers to enter through the audience using vomitory entrances. 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 , 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 right , could create a blind spot in the stage left action.
7-638: The Courtyard Theatre was a 1,048 seat thrust stage theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon , Warwickshire , England , operated by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). It temporarily replaced The Other Place theatre during the redevelopment of the Royal Shakespeare (RST) and Swan Theatres . The last performance at The Courtyard Theatre took place in 2010. It was replaced by The Other Place in 2016, which returned as
14-629: A 200-seat studio theatre in 2016. Designed by Ian Ritchie Architects and built in 11 months, The Courtyard Theatre was opened in August 2006 to host performances by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) while its Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres were closed for redevelopment between 2007 and 2010 as part of a £112.8 million transformation project. Built on the site of the RSC's studio theatre, The Other Place, The Courtyard Theatre
21-539: The Globe Theatre . The thrust stage was generally out of use for centuries, and was resurrected by Orson Welles when he staged Doctor Faustus for the Federal Theatre Project in 1937. There, the thrust apron extended over three rows of seats at Maxine Elliott's Theatre , extending 20 feet. "It was constructed especially for the production and was probably one of the first to break out of
28-752: The first full Shakespeare performances beginning in February 2011, with the last performance in The Courtyard Theatre, Matilda, A Musical , taking place in January 2010. Temporary planning permission for The Courtyard Theatre was in place until the end of 2012 and it was used for the World Shakespeare Festival as part of the Cultural Olympiad in 2012. The Courtyard Theatre was replaced by The Other Place, which
35-530: The procenium arch in a Broadway playhouse", wrote critic Richard France . Later resurrected by director Tyrone Guthrie and designer Tanya Moiseiwitsch , a thrust stage was used 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
42-744: Was created within a steel extension as a full-sized working prototype for the design of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre's new 1,040+ seat auditorium and provided an opportunity to gain experience relating to sightlines, acoustics, lighting and comfort of seats. The Courtyard Theatre's awards include the National and Regional RIBA Award for Architecture 2007 and the Stratford-on-Avon Council Celebration of Excellence 2007 Design Award. The Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres reopened on 24 November 2010, with
49-586: Was reinstated as a 200-seat studio theatre in 2016. Despite originally intended as a temporary building, the steel extension will remain and will house the new theatre. Thrust stage The thrust stage is the earliest stage type in western theatre, first appearing in 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
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