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{{short description|Stage that extends into the audience on three sides}}
{{redirect |Open Stage|the theatre at the University of Melbourne, Australia|Open Stage, Melbourne}}
{{use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
[[File:Pasant Theatre from seats.JPG|upright=1.4|thumb|A thrust stage at the Pasant Theatre at [[Wharton Center for Performing Arts]]]]

In [[theatre]], a '''thrust stage''' (a '''platform stage''' or '''open stage''')<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/art/open-stage|title=Open stage | theatre|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=Sep 15, 2019}}</ref> is one that extends into the audience on three sides and is connected to the backstage area by its [[Stage (theatre)#Stage terminology|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. This is in contrast to a [[theatre in the round]], which is exposed on all sides to the audience, is without a backstage, and relies entirely on entrances in the [[auditorium]] or from under the stage. Entrances onto a thrust are most readily made from backstage, although some theatres provide for performers to enter through the audience using [[Vomitorium|vomitory]] entrances. 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 (stage)|blocking]], [[Theatrical properties|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 (theatre)#Stage directions|stage right]], could create a blind spot in the [[Stage (theatre)#Stage directions|stage left]] action.

==History==
[[File:Doctor Faustus stage 273-3.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Photograph of the thrust stage used for the [[Federal Theatre Project]] production of ''[[Doctor Faustus (play)|Doctor Faustus]]'' (1937) at [[Maxine Elliott's Theatre]], airbrushed in white to emphasize its contours]]
The thrust stage is the earliest stage type in western theatre, first appearing in [[Theatre of Ancient Greece|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 was generally out of use for centuries, and was resurrected by [[Orson Welles]] when he staged ''[[Doctor Faustus (play)|Doctor Faustus]]'' for the [[Federal Theatre Project]] in 1937. There, the thrust apron extended over three rows of seats at [[Maxine Elliott's Theatre]], extending 20 feet. "It was constructed especially for the production and was probably one of the first to break out of the procenium arch in a Broadway playhouse", wrote critic [[Richard France (writer)|Richard France]].<ref>{{cite book |last=France |first=Richard |author-link=Richard France (writer) |title=The Theatre of Orson Welles |publisher=[[Bucknell University Press]] |location=Lewisburg, PA |date=1977 |page=91 |isbn=0838719724}}</ref>

Later resurrected by director [[Tyrone Guthrie]] and designer [[Tanya Moiseiwitsch]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.stratfordfestival.ca/AboutUs/OurHistory/Timeline|title=Our Timeline|access-date=July 24, 2023|publisher=Stratford Festival}}</ref> a thrust stage was used in 1953 by the [[Stratford Shakespeare Festival]] of [[Canada]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stratfordfestival.ca/about/theatre.aspx?id=1865 |title=Maps and Guides | Stratford Festival Official Website | Stratford Festival |publisher=Stratfordfestival.ca |access-date=2019-09-15}}</ref> 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
*[[Stratford Festival]] in Stratford, Ontario

====United States====
Westminster Playhouse in Westminster California

*[[Casa Mañana]] in Fort Worth, TX
*[[A Noise Within]] in Pasadena, CA
*[[ANTA Washington Square Theatre]] in Greenwich Village, New York (now demolished)
*Octagon Stage at the [[Alabama Shakespeare Festival]] in Montgomery, Alabama
*[[Mark Taper Forum]] in Los Angeles, CA
*John W. Huntington Theatre at [[Hartford Stage]] in Hartford, Connecticut
*[[La Nouba]] stage in [[Downtown Disney (Walt Disney World)|Downtown Disney]], Florida
*[[Alhambra Dinner Theatre]] in Jacksonville, Florida
*[[Gateway Theatre (Chicago)|Gateway Theatre]] in Chicago
*[[Chicago Shakespeare Theatre]] in Chicago
*[[Ethel M. Barber Theater]] at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois
*[[Guthrie Theater]] in Minneapolis
*[[Greenbelt Arts Center]] in Greenbelt, Maryland
*[[Purple Rose Theatre Company|Purple Rose Theatre]] in Chelsea, Michigan
*[https://www.whartoncenter.com/ Pasant Theatre] in East Lansing, Michigan
*[[Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts]] in Saint Louis, Missouri
*[[Crossroads Theatre|Crossroads Theater]] in New Brunswick, New Jersey
*[[George Street Playhouse]] in New Brunswick, New Jersey
*[[Circle in the Square Theatre]], New York City
*[[Vivian Beaumont Theater]] at Lincoln Center, New York
*[[Mystère (Cirque du Soleil)|Mystère]] theater in the [[Treasure Island Hotel and Casino|Treasure Island]] hotel in [[Paradise, Nevada]]
*[[Carolina Actors Studio Theatre]] in Charlotte, North Carolina
*[[Elevation Church]] in Charlotte, North Carolina
*[[O'Reilly Theater]] in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
*Kleberg Stage at the [[Zach Theatre]] in Austin, Texas
*[[Blackfriars Playhouse]] at the [[American Shakespeare Center]] in Staunton, Virginia
*Playhouse at the [[Overture Center|Overture Center for the Arts]] in Madison, Wisconsin
*[[American Players Theatre]] in Spring Green, Wisconsin
*[[Barksdale Theatre]] at the Shops at Willow Lawn in Richmond, Virginia
* [[Theatre Suburbia]] in Houston, Texas
*[[Berkeley Repertory Theatre]] in Berkeley, California

===Europe===
[[File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-P019137, Berlin, Reichssportfeld, Dietrich Eckart-Freilichtbühne.jpg|thumb|right|Waldbühne Berlin]]

====Germany====
*[[Waldbühne]] ("Forest Stage"), Berlin

====Greece====
*Numerous [[Theatre of Ancient Greece|Greek theatres]], such as the one in [[Epidaurus]]

====United Kingdom====
*[[Brighton Open Air Theatre]], Brighton
*[[Questors Theatre]], Ealing
*[[Crucible Theatre]] in Sheffield, England
*[[Gulbenkian Theatre]] in Canterbury, England
*[[Globe Theatre]] in London, England. All other Elizabethan theatres were also in the same style.
*Olivier Theatre in the [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]], London
*[[Everyman Theatre, Liverpool|Everyman Theatre]] in Liverpool, England
*[[Chichester Festival Theatre]]. Notable for the fact that the stage is hexagonal, and is surrounded by the audience on three sides.
*[[Swan Theatre (Stratford)|Swan Theatre]] in Stratford-upon-Avon, England
*[[Royal Shakespeare Theatre]] in Stratford-upon-Avon, England
*[[Courtyard Theatre]] in Stratford-upon-Avon, England <small>(former theatre)</small>
*Quarry Theatre at the [[Leeds Playhouse]]
*[[Riverside Theatre, Coleraine|Riverside Theatre]] in Coleraine, Northern Ireland <small>(former theatre)</small>

===Asia===

====India====
*[[Prithvi Theatre]], Mumbai
*[[Bharat Bhavan]], Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
*[[Ranga Shankara]], Bangalore

====Singapore====
*Ngee Ann Kongsi Theatre, located at [[W!LD RICE]] Funan

===Oceania===

====Australia====
*York Theatre, part of the [[Seymour Centre]], Sydney
*Roundhouse Theatre, part of [[WAAPA]], Perth

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{cite web|url=http://www.rsc.org.uk/transformation/vision/thrust_stage.asp |title=RSC Transformation: The thrust stage |author= |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130809033208/http://www.rsc.org.uk/transformation/vision/thrust_stage.asp |archive-date=August 9, 2013 }}
*{{cite web |url=http://theatredesigner.wordpress.com/theatre-design-101/stage-types-thrust/ |title= Stage Types - Thrust|author= |website= Theatre Design}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080408145334/http://ti.admission.com/images/maps/mapMystere.png ''Mystère'' theatre diagram] Diagram of [[Cirque du Soleil]]'s ''[[Mystère (Cirque du Soleil)|Mystère]]'' theatre
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121022164622/http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=7e1a63b47517dc1a93136ec18b9d7d97&prevstart=12 Thrust stage diagram]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thrust Stage}}
[[Category:Parts of a theatre]]

Thrust stage - Revision history

imported>GoodbyeYellowBrickRoad123 at 18:50, 10 November 2025