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52-601: Founded in 1986 in a pub, in 1999 the CST moved to a purpose-built seven-story theater complex on Navy Pier, where it has a main 500 seat space called the Courtyard, and the 200 seat Theater Upstairs. In 2017, it expanded on the pier into a connected three-theater-campus with the addition of The Yard, a flexible space that allows for versatile arrangements from 150 seats to 850 seats and from proscenium to in-the-round . The company's founding artistic director Barbara Gaines formed

104-402: A picture frame stage . The primary feature is a large opening known as the proscenium arch through which the audience views the performance. The audience directly faces the stage—which is typically raised several feet above front row audience level—and views only one side of the scene. This one side is commonly known as the invisible fourth wall of the scene. The proscenium arch evolved from

156-466: A clearly defined " boccascena ", or scene mouth, as Italians call it, more like a picture frame than an arch but serving the same purpose: to deineate the stage and separate the audience from its action. While the proscenium arch became an important feature of the traditional European theatre, often becoming very large and elaborate, the original proscaenium front below the stage became plainer. The introduction of an orchestra pit for musicians during

208-542: A flyloft where curtains , scenery, and battens supporting a variety of lighting instruments may hang. The numerous advantages of the proscenium stage have led to its popularity in the West. Many theatrical properties and scenery may be utilized. Backdrops, curtains and lighting can be used to greater effect without risk of rigging being visible to the audience. Entrances and exits can be made more graceful; surprise becomes possible. The actors only have to concentrate on playing to

260-412: A good view because the performers need only focus on one direction rather than continually moving around the stage to give a good view from all sides. A proscenium theatre layout also simplifies the hiding and obscuring of objects from the audience's view (sets, performers not currently performing, and theatre technology). Anything that is not meant to be seen is simply placed outside the "window" created by

312-658: A large-scale capital campaign to finance the move, and opened its 1999-2000 season in its new, state-of-the-art facility. Since then, CST has grown from the third-largest theater company in Chicago to the third-largest in the entire Midwest , at a rate 400% faster than the industry growth trend. Chicago Shakespeare Theater has, since October 1999, been in residence in a purpose built, seven-story, 75,000-square-metre (810,000 sq ft) facility at Chicago's Navy Pier , which houses its box office, administrative offices, and performance venues. The first performance at this facility

364-543: A new performance space in the late 1990s. In 1997, CST announced its plans to move from the Ruth Page to a new facility located at Navy Pier , a place better known for its family attractions and in fact the most popular tourist attraction in the Midwest . The move was accompanied by a public relations blitz, which even involved Mayor Richard M. Daley naming April 23, 1997, as Shakespeare Repertory Day. The company began

416-399: A performance in a non traditional space such as a basement of a building, a side of a hill or, in the case of a busking troupe, the street. In a similar manner, a makeshift stage can be created by modifying an environment. For example, demarcating the boundaries of a stage in an open space by laying a carpet and arranging seating before it. The theater company Shakespeare In The Park , in fact,

468-520: A proscenium arch, but the term thrust stage is more specific and more widely used). In dance history , the use of the proscenium arch has affected dance in different ways. Prior to the use of proscenium stages, early court ballets took place in large chambers where the audience members sat around and above the dance space. The performers, often led by the queen or king, focused in symmetrical figures and patterns of symbolic meaning. Ballet's choreographic patterns were being born. In addition, since dancing

520-425: A space for actors or performers and a focal point (the screen in cinema theaters) for the audience . As an architectural feature, the stage may consist of a platform (often raised) or series of platforms. In some cases, these may be temporary or adjustable but in theaters and other buildings devoted to such productions, the stage is often a permanent feature. There are several types of stages that vary as to

572-491: Is based around performing Shakespeare plays in a space that one wouldn't likely find it, namely, Central Park in New York City. Areas of the stage are assigned names to facilitate blocking , the setting out of the precise movement and positioning of actors on a stage. To an actor facing the audience, left and right are the reverse of what they are for the audience. To prevent confusion, actors and directors never use

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624-414: Is based on an argument that "all stages are also scenes", which challenges the "deterministic assumption that stages precede scenography". In this model, stages become manifest through the place orientating traits of scenographics (rather than the other way around). The implications of this are that all theatre is scenographic – even if it has no defined objects or 'setting' – as all theatre is performed on

676-451: Is blocked from view. A high backed chair, for instance, when placed stage right , could create a blind spot in the stage left action. A black box theater consists of a simple yet somewhat unadorned performance space, ideally a large square room with black walls and a flat floor, which can be used flexibly to create a stage and audience area. A stage can also be improvised wherever a suitable space can be found. Examples may include staging

728-486: Is located on three sides. In theatre in the round , the audience is located on all four sides of the stage. The fourth type of stage incorporates created and found stages which may be constructed specifically for a performance or may involve a space that is adapted as a stage. Since the Italian Renaissance , the most common stage used in the West has been the proscenium stage which may also be referred to as

780-466: Is no English equivalent ... It would also be possible to retain the classical frons scaenae . The Italian "arco scenico" has been translated as "proscenium arch." In practice, however, the stage in the Teatro Olimpico runs from one edge of the seating area to the other, and only a very limited framing effect is created by the coffered ceiling over the stage and by the partition walls at

832-449: 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 the audience and performers 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 vomitory entrances. As with an arena,

884-839: Is part of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the Shakespeare Theatre Association of America (STAA) and National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) and the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). Chicago Shakespeare Theater was founded as the Chicago Shakespeare Workshop by former Artistic Director Barbara Gaines in 1986, a name which was changed a year later to the Chicago Shakespeare Repertory and finally in 1999 to Chicago Shakespeare Theater. It performed its first twelve seasons in residency at

936-412: Is the metaphorical vertical plane of space in a theatre , usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor itself, which serves as the frame into which the audience observes from a more or less unified angle the events taking place upon the stage during a theatrical performance. The concept of the fourth wall of

988-519: The proskenium in Ancient Greek theaters. This was the space in front of the skênê or backdrop where the actors actually played. The first indoor theatres were created in French tennis courts and Italian Renaissance palaces where the newly embraced principles of perspective allowed designers to create stunning vistas with buildings and trees decreasing in size toward a "vanishing point" on

1040-459: The proscaenium , again meaning "in front of the skene ". In the Greek and Roman theatre, no proscenium arch existed, in the modern sense, and the acting space was always fully in the view of the audience. However, Roman theatres were similar to modern proscenium theatres in the sense that the entire audience had a restricted range of views on the stage—all of which were from the front, rather than

1092-555: The Baroque era further devalued the proscaenium , bringing the lowest level of the audience's view forward to the front of the pit, where a barrier, typically in wood, screened the pit. What the Romans would have called the proscaenium is, in modern theatres with orchestra pits, normally painted black in order that it does not draw attention. In this early modern recreation of a Roman theatre, confusion seems to have been introduced to

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1144-470: The Théâtre des Tuileries . Likewise, the meaning of front and back would be unclear because they depend on perspective. Instead, the term upstage is used to denote the part of the stage furthest from the audience or to motion away from the audience, while downstage denotes the portion of the stage closest to the audience or to motion in that direction. These terms were common in older theatres, which gave

1196-448: The unmarked terms left or right for the sides of the stage. Rather, they use a phrase specifying the viewpoint. The terms stage left and stage right , respectively, denote the sides of the stage that are on the actor's left and right when the actor is facing the audience, while house left and house right are the reverse, denoting the sides of the stage as viewed by the audience. In Germany, stage right and left are reversed, being

1248-509: The Hellenistic period it became an increasingly large and elaborate stone structure, often with three storeys. In Greek theatre, which unlike Roman included painted scenery, the proskenion might also carry scenery. In ancient Rome, the stage area in front of the scaenae frons (equivalent to the Greek skene) was known as the pulpitum , and the vertical front dropping from the stage to the orchestra floor, often in stone and decorated, as

1300-474: The Ruth Page Theater, where it performed titles ranging from better-known Shakespeare plays such as Hamlet and King Lear as well as lesser-known titles such as Troilus and Cressida and Timon of Athens . Although the theater was critically lauded for its innovative approach to classic works, it was limited by the age and spatial restrictions of the Ruth Page Theater and began looking for

1352-513: The Teatro Olimpico clearly show that the action took place in front of the scaenae frons and that the actors were rarely framed by the central archway). The Italian word for a scaenae frons is " proscenio ," a major change from Latin. One modern translator explains the wording problem that arises here: "[In this translation from Italian,] we retain the Italian proscenio in the text; it cannot be rendered proscenium for obvious reasons; and there

1404-596: The Teatro Olimpico's exact replication of the open and accessible Roman stage was the exception rather than the rule in sixteenth-century theatre design. Engravings suggest that the proscenium arch was already in use as early as 1560 at a production in Siena . The earliest true proscenium arch to survive in a permanent theatre is the Teatro Farnese in Parma (1618), many earlier such theatres having been lost. Parma has

1456-415: The actors. This area is referred to as the apron . Underneath and in front of the apron is sometimes an orchestra pit which is used by musicians during musicals and operas . The orchestra pit may sometimes be covered and used as an additional playing space in order to bring the actors closer to the audience. The stage is often raised higher than the audience. Space above some proscenium stages may include

1508-537: The audience a better view of the action by inclining the floor (known as a raked stage ), so upstage actually was at a higher elevation than downstage. A raked stage can vary in its incline; ten degrees is considered ideal for the audience and actor comfort. A dancing surface incline is often different from an acting incline and can vary from three degrees to twenty degrees. In relationship to approaches to scenography , cultural scenographer Rachel Hann has proposed that there "are no stages without scenographics". This

1560-416: The audience in a thrust stage theatre may view the stage from three or more sides. If a performance employs the fourth wall , that imaginary wall must be maintained on multiple sides. Similar to theatre in the round, the audience can view the performance from a variety of perspectives, and as such it is usual for the blocking , props and scenery to receive thorough consideration to ensure that no perspective

1612-479: The audience in one direction. Boxes are a feature of more modern stage designs in which temporary walls are built inside any proscenium stage, at a slight angle to the original walls, in order to allow audience members located to the left or right of the proscenium (the further out, the larger the angle) to see the entirety of the stage. They enable "rat runs" around the back of the stage, when cast members have to move between exits and entrances without being seen by

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1664-433: The audience. This type of stage is located in the centre of the audience, with the audience facing it from all sides. The audience is placed close to the action, which provides a feeling of intimacy and involvement. Entrances and exits of characters from the stage, if any, must be through the audience or from under or above the stage. In-the-round stages require special considerations in production, such as: A thrust stage

1716-435: The beginning of dance-performance as a form of entertainment like we know it today. Since the use of the proscenium stages, dances have developed and evolved into more complex figures, patterns, and movements. At this point, it was not only significantly important how the performers arrived to a certain shape on the stage during a performance, but also how graciously they executed their task. Additionally, these stages allowed for

1768-416: The characters performing on stage are doing so in a four-walled environment, with the "wall" facing the audience being invisible. Many modern theatres attempt to do away with the fourth wall concept and so are instead designed with a thrust stage that projects out of the proscenium arch and "reaches" into the audience (technically, this can still be referred to as a proscenium theatre because it still contains

1820-402: The corners of the stage where the seating area abuts the floorboards. The result is that in this theatre "the architectural spaces for the audience and the action ... are distinct in treatment yet united by their juxtaposition; no proscenium arch separates them." A proscenium arch creates a "window" around the scenery and performers. The advantages are that it gives everyone in the audience

1872-422: The director's view rather than the actor's. Less ambiguous terms used in theatres that follow a British tradition are prompt side or P side (stage left) and off-prompt , opposite prompt or O.P. side (stage right), relating to the traditional location of the stage manager. In French, the terms côté cour (square side) for stage left and côté jardin (garden side) for stage right are used, in reference to

1924-428: The horizon. Stage floors were raked upward slightly from front to back in order to contribute to the perspective illusion and also to make actors more visible to audiences, who were seated on level floors. Subsequently, audience seating was raked, and balconies were added to give audiences a fuller view. By the end of the 19th century, most stages had level floors, and much of the audience looked down on, rather than up to,

1976-414: The proscenium arch, either in the wings or in the flyspace above the stage. The phrase "breaking the proscenium" or "breaking the fourth wall" refers to when a performer addresses the audience directly as part of the dramatic production. Proscenium theatres have fallen out of favor in some theatre circles because they perpetuate the fourth wall concept. The staging in proscenium theatres often implies that

2028-567: The proscenium itself. A "full-fly" stage could store the entire height of scenery above the visible stage using the pin-rails before or during performance, whereas a "half-fly" stage (common in smaller locations) could only store props of limited size and thus required more careful backdrop and scenery design. Theatres using these rope systems, which are manually operated by stagehands , are known as hemp houses . They have been largely supplanted by counterweight fly systems . The proscenium, in conjunction with stage curtains called legs , conceals

2080-446: The sides of the stage, which are known as the wings . The wings may be used by theatre personnel during performances and as storage spaces for scenery and props. Several rows of short curtains across the top of the stage, called teasers, hide the backdrops, which in turn are hidden above the stage in the fly system loft until ready for use. Often, a stage may extend in front of the proscenium arch which offers additional playing area to

2132-558: The sides or back. The oldest surviving indoor theatre of the modern era, the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza (1585), is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the first example of a proscenium theatre. The Teatro Olimpico was an academic reconstruction of a Roman theatre. It has a plain proscaenium at the front of the stage, dropping to the orchestra level, now usually containing "stalls" seating, but no proscenium arch. However,

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2184-457: The stage level to the "stalls" level of the audience, which was the original meaning of the proscaenium in Roman theatres , where this mini-facade was given more architectural emphasis than is the case in modern theatres. A proscenium stage is structurally different from a thrust stage or an arena stage , as explained below. In later Hellenistic Greek theatres the proskenion (προσκήνιον)

2236-431: The stage. The competition among royals to produce elegant and elaborate entertainments fueled and financed the expansion of European court theatres. The proscenium—which often was extremely decorative in the manner of a triumphal arch—"framed" the prospective picture. The desire of court painters to show more than one of their perspective backgrounds led court architects to adapt the pin-rails and pulleys of sailing ships to

2288-714: The theater in 1986, when it began performances on the roof of the Red Lion Pub in the city's Lincoln Park neighborhood . In 1999, the company received permission to build its permanent home: a two-venue facility at Navy Pier . Productions at the theater include works from the Shakespearean canon as well as other plays and musicals. In addition to its own original productions, the Chicago Shakespeare Theater also hosts touring productions from other theater companies. Chicago Shakespeare Theater

2340-454: The theatre stage space that faces the audience is essentially the same. It can be considered as a social construct which divides the actors and their stage-world from the audience which has come to witness it. But since the curtain usually comes down just behind the proscenium arch, it has a physical reality when the curtain is down, hiding the stage from view. The same plane also includes the drop, in traditional theatres of modern times, from

2392-418: The unrolling, and later to the lowering and raising, of canvas backdrops. A wood (and later steel) grid above the stage supported pulleys from which wooden battens, and later steel pipes, rolled down, or descended, with attached scenery pieces. The weight of heavy pieces was counterbalanced by sandbags. This system required the creation of a storage stage house or loft that was usually as high or higher than

2444-407: The usage and the relation of the audience to them. The most common form found in the West is the proscenium stage. In this type, the audience is located on one side of the stage with the remaining sides hidden and used by the performers and technicians. Thrust stages may be similar to proscenium stages but with a platform or performance area that extends into the audience space so that the audience

2496-406: The use of stage effects generated by ingenious machinery. It was the beginning of scenography design, and perhaps also it was also the origin of the use of backstage personnel or "stage hands". Stage (theatre) In theatre and performing arts , the stage (sometimes referred to as the deck in stagecraft ) is a designated space for the performance of productions . The stage serves as

2548-543: The use of the revived term in Italian. This emulation of the Roman model extended to refer to the stage area as the "proscenium", and some writers have incorrectly referred to the theatre's scaenae frons as a proscenium, and have even suggested that the central archway in the middle of the scaenae frons was the inspiration for the later development of the full-size proscenium arch. There is no evidence at all for this assumption (indeed, contemporary illustrations of performances at

2600-625: Was Eric Idle reading from his novel The Road to Mars . The 510-seat Courtyard Theater, which is the primary production venue for CST, features state-of-the-art technology and acoustics together with a versatile thrust stage and deep proscenium, that create a flexible performance space. A second theater, the 200-seat black box "Upstairs" space, is devoted to smaller but still-popular productions such as The Second City 's Romeo and Juliet Musical: The People Vs. Friar Laurence, The Man Who Killed Romeo and Juliet . Proscenium A proscenium ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : προσκήνιον , proskḗnion )

2652-493: Was a rather narrow raised stage where solo actors performed, while the Greek chorus and musicians remained in the "orchestra" in front and below it, and there were often further areas for performing from above and behind the proskenion, on and behind the skene . Skene is the Greek word (meaning "tent") for the tent, and later building, at the back of the stage from which actors entered, and which often supported painted scenery. In

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2704-399: Was considered a way of socializing, most of the court ballets finished with a ‘grand ballet’ followed by a ball in which the members of the audience joined the performance. Later on, the use of the proscenium stage for performances established a separation of the audience from the performers. Therefore, more devotion was placed on the performers, and in what was occurring in the ‘show.’ It was

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