A traverse stage, also commonly known as an alley, corridor stage, tennis court, or catwalk, is a form of theatrical (theatre stage) in which the audience is predominantly on two sides of the stage, facing towards each other.

Design

There are many practical implications for the actor performing on a traverse stage, such as the need for greater projection of voice (when the actor faces one audience, he turns his back to the other) and to make sure that every action is visible to both sides of the audience. From a design perspective, staging is very limited so as not to block sight lines across the stage. This means that audiences on either side get two perspectives and might experience very different shows. Furthermore,

lighting Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing dayl ...

the stage from one side only will cast a shadow over the actors' faces when viewed from the opposite side.

Variants

In some traverse stages, one end of the stage space may also end in audience, making it similar to a

thrust Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton's third law. When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction, the accelerated mass will cause a force of equal magnitude but opposite direction to be applied to that ...

or three-quarter round stage. Other times, the ends of the stage are much larger than the traverse stage itself allowing for more space for

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

s, sets, and scenery. Although not commonly used for the production of plays, this form of staging is especially popular for catwalks.

References

{{Reflist Stagecraft