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Staging Configurations and Stage Positioning

The shapes a stage can take, from a proscenium arch to in the round, and the names for parts of the stage such as upstage, downstage and centre stage.

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What you'll cover

Setting the stage 🎭

Before a play is performed, the company chooses how to arrange the stage and the audience. This is the staging configuration, and it changes how close the audience feels to the action. Actors also need words for the parts of the stage, such as upstage and downstage, so they can plan exactly where to move.

Key words 🔑

Learn these four terms before you study staging.

Two ways to stage 🆚

Two common configurations place the audience very differently.

Grade 9 thinking 💡

Do not just name a configuration; explain its effect. Staging in the round makes the audience feel surrounded by and involved in the action, but it means the actors must keep turning so nobody has their back to one side for too long. A downstage centre position draws the strongest focus from the audience.

Match the configuration 🔗

  • proscenium arch
  • thrust
  • in the round
  • traverse
  • the audience sits at the front, facing a framed stage
  • the audience sits on three sides of the stage
  • the audience sits all the way around the stage
  • the audience sits on two opposite sides

Match the stage position 🧩

  • upstage
  • downstage
  • stage left
  • centre stage
  • the part of the stage furthest from the audience
  • the part of the stage closest to the audience
  • the left side from the point of view of the actor
  • the middle of the stage

What is in the round? ❓

What does staging in the round mean?

  • The audience sits all the way around the stage.
  • The audience sits only at the front.
  • The audience sits on two opposite sides.

Spot the positions ✅

Select the TWO stage positions.

  • Upstage.
  • Downstage.
  • Thrust.
  • Proscenium arch.

Order the move 🪜

An interactive activity.

Summarise the terms 📝

A staging _____ is the way the stage and audience are arranged. In a _____ arch the audience sits at the front, while _____ the round the audience sits all the way around. The part of the stage nearest the audience is called _____, and the part furthest away is called _____.

configuration proscenium in downstage upstage thrust traverse centre position stage

Count the configurations 🔢

An interactive activity.

Find the configurations 🖍️

An interactive activity.

Which configuration? 🧭

An interactive activity.

Explain a staging choice ✍️

An interactive activity.