Challenges of Theatre in the Round: Performing and Staging

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Theater in the round—also called an arena stage, central stage, or island stage—is a type of stage that’s surrounded by audience members on all sides. Typically, the stage is on the ground level, or lower, and uses stadium seating. 

This is in contrast to the more common proscenium format, in which the audience sits opposite a raised stage. In this format, an overhead arch separates the audience from performers with the invisible “fourth wall,” which acts as a one-way viewpoint into the reality of the production.

Arena stages were originally used in ancient Greece, and were repopularized in the United States and Europe during the early to mid-20th century. Some actors and performers particularly enjoy working in the round simply because of its history and simplicity.  

“Staging something in the round also feels like we’re going back to our roots of what theater is,” says Tony Award–winning costume and set designer Clint Ramos (“Once on This Island,” “Eclipsed”). “A bunch of people gathered around a fire, telling a story. In a way, it feels like the separation between the audience and the performer is lessened. It’s less formalized.”

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Working in the round has its own unique merits and challenges. “In many ways, it’s very freeing. You can sometimes have a more honest sense of reality, whereas in a proscenium format, you’re worrying more about a stage picture,” says Tony-nominated director and actor Michael Arden (“Spring Awakening,” “Once on This Island”).

Here are some other advantages and disadvantages that come with choosing to stage a production in the round:

Advantages

• Everyone has a good seat: In a proscenium theater, some seats are undeniably better—and more expensive—than others. But in the round, no one has an objectively better view. “It’s truly egalitarian, it’s truly equitable theater,” explains Ramos.
• Audience members get different viewpoints: Because everyone has a different angle on the action and the set, they walk away with their own distinct experience. 
• It becomes more than a play: When watching theater in the round, the audience is more likely to be aware of their fellow audience members due to facing the opposite seats. It can be a reminder that they’re all sharing an immersive experience together on the same level and not just watching a performance. “It feels like more of a community event,” says Ramos.

Disadvantages

• The actors have to keep moving: Actors must be kept on their feet and can’t be parked in one spot for long, since that limits the viewpoints of some audience members. 
• The stage framing can be inconsistent: In a proscenium theater, the actors almost never face away from the audience—but they have to turn their backs to some members throughout a play in the round. 
• Not every production is adaptable: While most plays and musicals can be staged in the round, it might not be the first choice of a director who wants an elaborate set design or a box set for their production.

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Although the stage design is fundamentally different, acting in the round requires all the same basic preparations as any other format. “You still want to understand where you are in space and what your surroundings are, even if they’re imagined,” says Arden.

Actors should keep these considerations in mind to better adapt to the challenges of performing in the round.

• Think about sightlines: Actors have better opportunities to look each other in the eyes and share intense moments in the round. But even more important than that is to avoid making eye contact with the audience. When you’re completely surrounded at eye level, it can be tricky.
• Use your imagination: Since there’s no backdrop or walls to create a sense of space and place in the round, the weight of storytelling is put squarely on the shoulders of the performers. Although this can be difficult for some, others find it a boon. “I think it democratizes the audience in a really interesting way. It also engages the audience’s imagination in a way that proscenium can’t quite do,” says Arden.
• Get involved in blocking: Creating potent, believable scenes is an important aspect of working in the round. To make blocking feel organic and help every audience member see what’s happening, actors can stagger their movements and speed up physically intimate moments. It’s a complex task, so working closely with the director can save time and improve the production.

RELATED: 60+ Theater Terms and Definitions Every Actor Should Know

Courtesy Celebrity Theatre

Directors and crew members must carefully plan productions in the round from the ground up. Unlike traditional theater, the round doesn’t provide the crew with what Ramos calls a “home base” in the backstage. Instead, stage directions and set have to be handled in an innovative manner.

Designing the set

Stage entrances aren’t as straightforward as they are in proscenium theaters, where it’s relatively easy to pull pieces and people onstage—but there are still options when you’re in the round.

Scenery and actors can rise from lifts or trap doors below the set and descend from a rig above the stage. They might also come in from the vomitorium, or the passageway in between audience rows. 

These choices can add to the thrill of theater in the round. “When company members or cast members come through the audience, it’s always exciting...because it’s almost as if something from the audience is being carried onto the stage,” says Ramos. 

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Further, every set piece must be accounted for. The set designer should check the stage from every seat of the theater to make sure no sightlines are blocked. Designers are also somewhat limited in what they can include, as anything too tall or large will block certain sightlines. “Even a post here or there has to be strategically placed,” Ramos adds.

In a proscenium theater, the crew doesn’t have to worry about the backs of pieces, which the audience won’t be able to see. However, that’s not an option when you’re working in the round. You can’t use the backs of set pieces to hide electrical equipment, such as speakers. 

Working with actors

Because actors have less physical architecture to work with, it’s up to directors to help them imagine where they are in their narrative. It’s also their responsibility to make actor blocking feel natural, a necessary element for the audience to remain immersed while also keeping the scene visually dynamic.

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Unless the seating arrangement of a theater is totally interchangeable, such as in a black box, putting on a production in the round isn’t an option in most traditional theater spaces. However, there are some venues that specialize in putting on plays and musicals in the round. Here are a few examples and where you can find them:

• Circle in the Square Theatre: New York City, New York, U.S.
• UC Davis Health Pavilion: Sacramento, California, U.S.
• The Old Globe: San Diego, California, U.S. 
• The Fichandler Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater: Washington D.C., U.S.
• Globe Theatre: Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
• La Boite Roundhouse Theatre: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
• The Royal Exchange: Manchester, Greater Manchester, U.K.

Although it may not always be accessible, it’s worthwhile to seek out a production of theater in the round. According to Arden, “It just expands your horizons of what you might enjoy and what you might learn.”