scene design and stage lighting: Ancient Rome

In the Roman theater the apron of the stage was created by extending the playing area over the orchestra, where important members of the audience were seated. The entire structure was often enclosed and built on level ground. The background, the three-door skene, was always a street; from the point of view of the actor facing the audience, off left indicated the town or adjacent points and off right indicated an exit to the country or distant points. A curtain was sometimes used to open the play; it was dropped into a trough as the play began. The Romans were probably the first to use torches and lamps at evening performances.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• The Twentieth Century
• The Nineteenth Century
• The Eighteenth Century
• The Renaissance to the Seventeenth Century
• The Middle Ages
• Ancient Rome
• Ancient Greece
• Bibliography

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