Auditorium

For other uses, see Auditorium (disambiguation).
"Dress circle" redirects here. For Dress Circle Theatre Shop, see Dress Circle (Theatre Shop).
The auditorium of the Vienna State Opera.

An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances at venues such as theatres. For movie theatres, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community halls, and theaters, and may be used for rehearsal, presentation, performing arts productions, or as a learning space.

Etymology

The term is taken from Latin (from audītōrium, from audītōrius (“‘pertaining to hearing’”)); the concept is taken from the Greek auditorium, which had a series of semi-circular seating shelves in the theatre, divided by broad 'belts', called diazomata, with eleven rows of seats between each.

The auditorium of the Municipal Theatre.

Auditorium structure

The audience in a modern theatre are usually separated from the performers by the proscenium arch, although other types of stage are common.

The price charged for seats in each part of the auditorium (known in the industry as the house) usually varies according to the quality of the view of the stage. The seating areas can include some or all of the following:

Similar structures at other venues

Sports venues such as stadiums and racetracks also have royal boxes or enclosures, for example at the All England Club and Ascot Racecourse, where access is limited to royal families or other distinguished personalities. In other countries, sports venues have luxury boxes, where access is open to anyone who can afford tickets.

See also

External links

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