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The interior of the Auditorium Building in Chicago built in 1887. The arch around the stage is a proscenium.

A Proscenium theater is a theater space whose primary feature is a large archway (the proscenium arch) at or near the front of the stage, through which the audience views the play. The audience directly faces the stage, which is typically raised several feet above front row audience level. The main stage is the space behind the proscenium arch, often marked by a curtain which can be lowered or drawn closed. The space in front of the curtain is called the "apron." The areas obscured by the proscenium arch and any curtains serving the same purpose (often called legs or tormentors) are called the wings. Any space not viewable to the audiences is collectively referred to as offstage. Proscenium stages range in size from small enclosures to several stories tall. In general practice, a theatre space is referred to as a "proscenium" any time the audience directly faces the stage, with no audience on any other side, even if there is not a formal proscenium arch over the stage. Because of the somewhat incongruous nature of a theatre called a proscenium theatre without a proscenium arch, these theatres are often referred to as "end-on" theatre spaces.

A Greek proscenium portraying a three-doored temple facade, posited in the early 20th century as a possible origin for the design of the templon.

The term has a complex origin and originally meant something very different. It derives from the Greek proskenion, meaning 'in front of the scene'. The skene was a building with doors that served as the backdrop in Ancient Greek theatre. The proskenion was a raised stage in front of the skene which appeared in the Hellenistic era and in Roman theatre; it served simply to make the actors higher to aid visibility, and to separate them from the chorus. Ancient theatres thus lacked the modern proscenium arch. It was also absent from Renaissance theatres.

The proscenium arch developed in seventeenth century theatres, alongside the development of illusionistic scenery. This design has been the most common for theatre spaces in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries in Western theatre.

The proscenium arch creates a 'window' around the scenery and actors. The advantages are that it gives everyone in the audience a good view because the actors need only focus on one direction rather than continually moving around the stage to give a good view from all sides. A proscenium theatre layout also simplifies the hiding and obscuring of objects from the audience's view (sets, actors not currently performing, and theatre technology). Anything that is not meant to be seen is simply placed outside the 'window' created by the proscenium arch.

The side of the stage that faces the audience is referred to as the "fourth wall". The phrase "breaking the proscenium" refers to when the actor addresses the audience directly as part of the dramatic production (is also known as breaking the fourth wall).

Proscenium theatres have fallen out of favour in some theatre circles because they perpetuate the fourth wall concept. The staging in proscenium theatres often implies that the characters performing on stage are doing so in a four-walled environment, with the "wall" facing the audience being invisible. Many modern theatres attempt to do away with the fourth wall concept and so are instead designed with a thrust stage that projects out of the proscenium arch and "reaches" into the audience (technically, this can still be referred to as a proscenium theatre because it still contains a proscenium arch, however the term thrust stage is more specific and more widely used).

• Alley Theater: The stage is surrounded on two sides by the audience.
• Thrust: The stage is surrounded on three sides (or 270˚) by audience. Can be modification of proscenium staging. Sometimes known as "Three Quarter Round".
• Theatre in the round: The stage is surrounded by audience on all sides.
• Environmental theatre: The stage and audience either blend together, or are in numerous or oddly shaped sections. Includes any form of staging that is not easily classifiable under the above categories.
• Studio Theatre Layout: Not technically a form of staging, rather a theatre that can be reconfigured to accommodate many forms of staging.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Proscenium

• Safety curtain
• Templon

• Scenography - The Theatre Design Website Diagram and images of Proscenium stage