The Role of the Space

I’ve been thinking recently about the importance of THE SPACE in any theatrical setting. This is something I’ve always known, but for some reason, I’ve been taking more note of it in recent theatergoing. Of course it is all my opinion, too. I think the impressions started with my first visit to the Lucie Stern Theatre in Palo Alto last December. I found TheatreWorks’ original venue to be disappointingly amateurish for a company of their stature. It offers a very small lobby space and a high school style main auditorium, with beige walls and little decorations. It seemed to not fit with TheatreWorks and their high status as a major regional LORT theatre, with deliberately inclusive casting and a varied output of productions.

My company, Porchlight, is often praised for the simplicity and beauty of its performance space, nestled in a grove of Redwoods. I've added a picture from our 2009 production of THREE SISTERS to illustrate the effect. In this case, the natural environment becomes a character in itself. Indeed, that same production's opening night was interrupted by an energetic windstorm, so fierce that it knocked over several props and the actors added a few improvisations to cope with (and be heard above) the wind. Last year with DANGEROUS LIAISONS, the elements were more cooperative. The directors chose to use the space to the story's advantage, with a climactic fight beginning backstage in the wings and several characters entering and exiting from offstage.

The Bay Area's flagship theatre, ACT, boasts one of the most traditionally theatrical spaces in the region. The Geary Theater offers three levels of audience seating, and two bars in the basement and third floors. Further description is offered in this Wikipedia article. In the half-dozen or so plays I have attended at ACT, most recently just last night, I've found that the theatricality is both positive and negative. The performers seem to be aspiring to a higher, or highest theatrical standard with great conviction in their line delivery and interaction onstage. The design reflects an understanding of the space, as seen in two distinct staircases for two of this season's earlier productions. But sometimes the directors and designers forget about the balcony, as with last night when key action occurred in an invisible house left, and my first production there in 2006 (TRAVESTIES) when the actors onstage were lost amidst the Stoppard language.

For something local and in between, the tight-knit elegance of the Berkeley City Club comes to my mind. I can't find a specific photo of their theatre online, but the hotel website's virtual tour conveys the larger elegance of the building. Originally home to the Aurora Theatre Company, the space is now housed by Central Works, an especially innovative local theatre group. In past visits, I have been impressed how Central Works uses the space to its advantage, squeezing in no more than 60 or so audience members... and yet conveying different scenes and places through subtle lighting changes and usage of varying entrances and exits.

I suppose this topic is another one that may cross people's minds but (in the larger picture) not be discussed with regularity. It would be intriguing and beneficial to send a random poll, someday, over people's impressions of theatrical spaces - from professionals to novices, donors to patrons, and designers to actors.