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Theatre Spaces part 4
Some theatre artists take a more radical approach than transforming a black
box theatre to fit a theatrical production; they find a space that was not
originally built as a theatre. This is called a found space. Such artists
have mounted theatrical productions in cathedrals, city parks, rural fields,
dance clubs, and street corners. Cabaret performance is similar to a "found
space," in that audience members sit at tables, order food and drink, and
the stage area is usually a makeshift one that must accommodate the food service.
A found space can also refer to a building that has been altered from its
original purpose to support ongoing theatre production. Many of New York
City's Off-Off-Broadway theatres operate in buildings that were originally
warehouses or churches. Found spaces also lend themselves to environmental
staging, in which the space for the actors and the space for the audience
are not clearly distinguished. For example, in a cabaret, a singer might
come and perform at (or even on) your table, or actors might use the same
entrances as the audience. Performances staged environmentally can be exciting
because you never know what will happen next, or where it might happen.
Independent of the configuration of the stage and audience space, theatres
require space for a range of other activities required in producing a play.
You could consider the actual production seen by an audience as only the tip
of a theatrical iceberg. Examples of other space requirements include
dressing and makeup rooms for actors, a green room where actors
wait when not onstage, scene, paint, and costume shops where scenery
and costumes are built or adapted, storage space for scenery, costumes, and
lights, light and sound booths from which technicians run lights and
sound during performances, a box office through which the public can
purchase tickets, a or lobby in which the audience can relax and purchase
refreshments during intermissions, and office space for administrative staff
such as marketing personnel.
End of "Theatre Spaces"
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