Page 92 - Theatre_Arts_Form_5

Theatre Arts for Advanced Secondary Schools

Other essential parts of stage
Apart from upstage, downstage and centre stage, there are other parts of the stage
essential in theatre performances. These include offstage and backstage.

Offstage
FOR ONLINE READING ONLY
This is one among the parts of the stage that are usually not visible to the audience.
This part of the stage is accessible to performers but not to audience. Examples of
offstage include the wings and crossovers.

Backstage
This is the area of a stage where the actors and actresses wait until it is time to
walk on stage and act out their roles. It is a place where the performers can relax,
memorise lines and step out of their characters without fear of disrupting the
performance. It is where various kinds of informal conversation and actions may
take place.

Activity 3.4

1. Visit any performing space near your school and stand at different parts
of the performing space facing the audience. Identify each part of the
stage.

2. Design an area for staging a theatrical performance.

Revision exercise 3

1. Now you are aware of all performing spaces. Elaborate the types of
performing spaces found in your community.

2. You have come to realise that every performing space is entered or exited
differently. Explain how actors on arena stage enter and exit the stage
compared to proscenium stages. How does the difference in entering or
exiting affect the stage performance?

3. Baluu, your old classmate, has approached you to seek elaboration on
how indoor stages and outdoor stages differ from each other. Differentiate
the stages to help Baluu understand the two.

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