Thrust stage

In theatre, a thrust stage (also known as 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. Entrances onto a thrust are most readily made from backstage, although some theatres provide for performers to enter through the audience using vomitory entrances. A theatre in the round, exposed on all sides to the audience, is without a backstage and relies entirely on entrances in the auditorium or from under the stage.

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.

History

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 the Globe Theatre.

The thrust stage concept was generally out of use for centuries, and was resurrected 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 the concept.

Examples

North America

Canada

*Prairie Theatre Exchange in Winnipeg, Manitoba
*The Maclab Theatre at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, Alberta
*The Festival Theatre at the Atlantic Theatre Festival in Wolfville, Nova Scotia
*The Festival Theatre at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario
*The Tom Patterson Theatre at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario
*The Studio Theatre at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario
*The Studio-théâtre at Place des Arts, Montreal, Quebec
*The UFV Theatre at the University of the Fraser Valley in Chilliwack, British Columbia
*The BMO Mainstage at Bard on the Beach in Vancouver, British Columbia
*The Chief Dan George Theatre at the University of Victoria in Victoria, British Columbia

United States

Abbey Players Theater
in Abbeville, Louisiana
Casa Manana
in Fort Worth, TX
*A Noise Within in Pasadena, CA
*The ANTA Washington Square Theatre in Greenwich Village, New York (now demolished)
*The Octagon Stage at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery, Alabama
*The Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, CA
*The Berkeley Repertory Theatre in Berkeley, CA
*The SLO Repertory Theatre in San Luis Obispo, CA
*The PCPA Marian Theatre in Santa Maria, CA
*The PCPA Solvang Festival Theatre in Solvang, CA
*The John W. Huntington Theatre at Hartford Stage in Hartford, Connecticut
*The La Nouba stage in Downtown Disney in Florida
*The Alhambra Dinner Theatre in Jacksonville, Florida
*The Gateway Theatre in Chicago
*The Chicago Shakespeare Theatre in Chicago
*The Ethel M. Barber Theater at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois
*The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis
*The Greenbelt Arts Center in Greenbelt, Maryland
*The Purple Rose Theatre in Chelsea, Michigan
*The Court Street Theatre in Nashua, New Hampshire
*The Seacoast Repertory Theatre in Portsmouth, New Hampshire
*The Crossroads Theater in New Brunswick, New Jersey

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