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proscenium

proscenium

3 9.1
Part of a theatre stage in front of the curtain, often framed by an arch
  • noun
  • /prəˈsiːniəm/
  • Specialized
translation icon : proscenio
  • Marcel Janco's now-lost painting of the Cabaret Voltaire, too, shows the stage as a proscenium large enough for an upright piano and no less than seven performers.
  • proscenium arch

Examples

  • Just like that: the audience walking through an invisible proscenium onto a floor-level stage.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • The engraving shows the proscenium completely open.

    Academic text (1995)
  • Poets found themselves on the proscenium for the last time.

    Academic text (2000)
  • There is no proscenium; there is no scenery.

    Academic text (1998)
  • That's some nice plaster work around the proscenium there.

  • In Collier's text, the play begins when Punch pops up into the proscenium.

    Academic text (1995)
  • For if I had been erect when a portion of one of the flies dropped from the proscenium arch, it would have hit my head.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Here, Guarini created a proscenium through which we apprehend the sacred theater of the Shroud.

    Academic text (1995)
  • Here we see how Guarini's enframing devices of the fluted columns and depressed arch functioned as a proscenium for ceremonial exhibition.

    Academic text (1995)
  • The proscenium arch helps define the stage and separate it from the audience.

Synonyms

apron
vsproscenium
7 7.3

A flat area beside a stage, golf green, or runway where people and vehicles move

focuses on the theater meaning rather than broader nonstage uses
proscenium arch
vsproscenium
  • Specialized
1 8.6

An arch over a stage that makes a frame between the actors and the audience

is the general term covering that frame and the front performance area
proscenium wall
vsproscenium
  • Specialized
9.4

A part of a theatre that separates the stage from the audience and holds the stage opening

can mean either this solid divider or the projecting part in front
forestage
vsproscenium
  • Archaic
9.0

The front part of a theater stage that extends in front of the curtain

usually refers to the structural divider rather than only the projecting performance area

Compounds

proscenium arch
  • Specialized
1 8.6

An arch over a stage that makes a frame between the actors and the audience

proscenium wall
  • Specialized
9.4

A part of a theatre that separates the stage from the audience and holds the stage opening

How Central

center stage
  • US
8 3.9
proscenium
  • Specialized
3 9.1
wing
  • Jargon
30 5.8
offstage
2 4.2

Surface Forms

proscenium singular
prosceniums plural

Etymology

Proscenium comes from Greek parts pros- meaning 'in front of' and skēnē meaning 'stage' or 'scene', and you can see the same root in the English word scene. So proscenium literally means the area 'in front of the stage', which is why it names the front part of a theatre stage or the arch that separates actors from the audience.