Theatre-in-the-round or arena theatre (also referred to as central staging) is any theatre

Theatre

Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...

 space in which the audience surrounds the stage area. In 1947, Margo Jones

Margo Jones

Margo Jones was an influential American stage director and producer best known for launching the American regional theater movement and for introducing the theater-in-the-round concept in Dallas, Texas. In 1947, she established the first regional professional company when she opened Theatre ’47 in...

 established America's first professional theatre-in-the-round company when she opened her Theatre ’47 in Dallas.

As developed by Margo Jones, her theatre-in-the-round concept requires no stage curtain, little scenery and allows the audience to sit on all sides of the stage. That stage design was used by directors in later years for such well-known shows as the original stage production of Man of La Mancha

Man of La Mancha

Man of La Mancha is a musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, lyrics by Joe Darion and music by Mitch Leigh. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay I, Don Quixote, which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cervantes's seventeenth century masterpiece Don Quixote...

and all plays staged at the ANTA Washington Square Theatre (demolished in the late 1960s), including Arthur Miller

Arthur Miller

Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...

's autobiographical After the Fall. Such theatres had previously existed in colleges but not in professional spaces for almost a couple millennia. It is also a popular setup used in contemporary pop concerts in an arena or stadium setting.

Configuration of the stage

The stage itself in this arrangement is typically round, diamond, or triangular, with actors entering and exiting through the audience from different directions or from below the stage. Such a space is usually configured with the stage on an even level with or lowered below the audience in a "pit" or "arena" formation. This configuration lends itself to high-energy productions, and is especially favoured by producers of classical theatre. Theatre-in-the-round was common in ancient theatre, particularly that of Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 and Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 but was not widely explored again until the latter half of the 20th century; it has continued as a creative alternative to the more common Proscenium

Proscenium

A proscenium theatre is a theatre space whose primary feature is a large frame or arch , which is located at or near the front of the stage...

 format.

Theatre-in-the-round presents problems since actors at all times have their back facing some members of the audience. However, it also allows for interesting and realistic staging. The configuration is also commonly employed when theatrical performances are presented in non-traditional spaces such as restaurants, public areas such as fairs or festivals, or street theatre

Street theatre

Street theatre is a form of theatrical performance and presentation in outdoor public spaces without a specific paying audience. These spaces can be anywhere, including shopping centres, car parks, recreational reserves and street corners. They are especially seen in outdoor spaces where there are...

. Special consideration needs to be taken in regard to the set design

Set construction

Set construction is the process by which a set designer works in collaboration with the director of a production to create the set for a theatrical, film or television production...

, so as not to obscure any audience member's view of the performance.

History of Theatre-in-the-Round

In Margo Jones's survey of theatre-in-the-round, the first two sources of central staging in the United States she identified were the productions by Azubah Latham and Milton Smith at Columbia University dating from 1914, and T. Earl Pardoe's productions at Brigham Young University in 1922. In 1924, Gilmor Brown founded the Fairoaks Playbox in Pasadena, California, an important early practitioner of central staging in addition to other stage configurations that it pioneered in its advent of flexible staging. As Indicated by Jones, the centrally staged productions of the Fairoaks Playbox were followed approximately eight years later by the work of Glenn Hughes in his Seattle Penthouse.

Uses in television and concert halls

The innovations of Margo Jones were an obvious influence on Albert McCleery

Albert McCleery

Albert McCleery was a pioneering television producer during the 1950s.He created his innovative Cameo Theatre for television in 1950. A weekly live production, it continued until 1955. On this half-hour series, McCleery offered dramas seen against pure black backgrounds instead of walls of a set...

 when he created his Cameo Theater for television in 1950. Continuing until 1955, McCleery offered dramas seen against pure black backgrounds instead of walls of a set. This enabled cameras in the darkness to pick up shots from any position.

When an arena staging was conceived for the progressive-rock group Yes

Yes (band)

Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...

 by their tour manager Jim Halley in the mid-1970s, it prompted a redesign of rock concerts and venue seating arrangements.

Arena stage archive

George Mason University

George Mason University

George Mason University is a public university based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of and adjacent to the city of Fairfax. Additional campuses are located nearby in Arlington County, Prince William County, and Loudoun County...

 in Fairfax, Virginia

Fairfax, Virginia

The City of Fairfax is an independent city forming an enclave within the confines of Fairfax County, in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Although politically independent of the surrounding county, the City is nevertheless the county seat....

 is home to the largest Arena Stage Archive and contains material from the theatre's 50 year history. Included in the collection are photographs, production notebooks, scrapbooks, playbills, oral histories and handwritten correspondence. According to their website, the total volume is 260 cubic feet (7.4 m³) or 440 feet (134.1 m) linear and is housed in the Fenwick Library.

Theatres in the round

• United Kingdom
  United Kingdom
  The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
  
  
  • Blue Orange Theatre
    Blue Orange Theatre
    The Blue Orange Theatre is an independent theatre located in the Jewellery Quarter in the centre of Birmingham, England. It was founded by the local producer and director Mark Webster and opened in April 2011, aiming to showcase new drama and writing from the city.The main auditorium is a 107-seat...
    
    , Birmingham
    Birmingham
    Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
    
    
  • The Castle Theatre (can be in the round or normal theatre format)
  • Cockpit Theatre
    Cockpit Theatre (Marylebone)
    The Cockpit Theatre is a Fringe Theatre in Marylebone, London. The Cockpit Theatre was designed by Edward Mendelsohn built in 1969-70 by the Inner London Education Authority as a community theatre and is notable as London's first purpose built Theatre In The Round, since the Great Fire of London...
    
    , London
  • New Vic Theatre
    New Vic Theatre
    The New Vic Theatre is situated in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire. It was purpose-built as a theatre in the round and opened in 1986, replacing a converted cinema, the Victoria Theatre, Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent.-History:...
    
    , Newcastle-under-Lyme
    Newcastle-under-Lyme
    Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town in Staffordshire, England, and is the principal town of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is part of The Potteries Urban Area and North Staffordshire. In the 2001 census the town had a population of 73,944...
    
    , Staffordshire
    Staffordshire
    Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
    
    
  • Octagon Theatre
    Octagon Theatre, Bolton
    The Octagon Theatre is a producing theatre located in Bolton, Greater Manchester, England.-Programme:The Octagon produces between eight and nine professional theatre productions a year in its Main Auditorium...
    
    , Bolton
    Bolton
    Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
    
    
  • Orange Tree Theatre
    Orange Tree Theatre
    The Orange Tree Theatre is a 172-seat theatre at 1 Clarence Street, Richmond in south west London, built specifically as a theatre in the round....
    
    , London
    London
    London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
    
    
  • Pembroke Theatre (no longer exists) Croydon
    Croydon
    Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
    
    
  • The Round
    The Round
    The Round was a theatre-in-the-round in the Ouseburn Valley, Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The region's first theatre-in-the-round, it specialised in theatre for children and young people. The Round opened in September 2007, and was home to the Bruvvers Theatre Company.The building in which The...
    
    , Newcastle upon Tyne
    Newcastle upon Tyne
    Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
    
     (closed 2008)
  • Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
    Manchester
    Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
    
    
  • Stephen Joseph Theatre
    Stephen Joseph Theatre
    The Stephen Joseph Theatre is a theatre in the round in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England that was founded by Stephen Joseph and was the first theatre in the round in Britain....
    
    , Scarborough

• United States
  United States
  The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
  
  
  • Arizona
    • Northern Arizona University
      Northern Arizona University
      Northern Arizona University is a public university located in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States. It is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and has 39 satellite campuses in the state of Arizona. The university offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees.As of...
      
      
    • Celebrity Theatre
      Celebrity Theatre
      Celebrity Theatre is a theater in the round located in Phoenix, Arizona.The theater building, designed in 1963, was originally intended to be a conference center, but was redesigned as a theater-in-the-round or arena theater. It was further renovated significantly in 1995.The stage is 30 feet in...
      
      , Phoenix, Arizona
      Phoenix, Arizona
      Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
      
      
    • Hale Centre Theatre, Gilbert, Arizona
      Gilbert, Arizona
      -Demographics:As of July 1, 2009, Maricopa Association of Governments, Census 2000. United States Census Bureau. there were 217,521 people, 74,147 housing units, and 3.01 persons per household....
      
      
  • California
    • The Wells Fargo Pavilion, Sacramento, California
      Sacramento, California
      Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
      
      , home of California Musical Theatre's Music Circus
      Music circus
      Music circus is an American theatrical form begun in Lambertville, New Jersey, by St. John Terrell in 1949. Established as summer stock, the new theatre venues primarily housed light operas and operettas, produced in the round, under a circus-style big top....
      
      
    • Heritage Forum, Anaheim, California http://www.heritageforum.net
    • Glendale Centre Theatre, Glendale, California
      Glendale, California
      Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
      
       http://www.glendalecentretheatre.com
    • Golden Bough Playhouse
      Golden Bough Playhouse
      The Golden Bough Playhouse is a historic theatre in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California on Monte Verde St., between 8th and 9th Avenues. The playhouse occupies the site of the former Carmel Arts and Crafts Clubhouse, Carmel's first cultural center and theatre, built in 1906-07 on Casanova Street, and...
      
      , Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
      Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
      Carmel-by-the-Sea, often called simply Carmel, is a small city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated in 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, the town is known for its natural scenery and rich artistic history...
      
      
    • Marian Theatre, Santa Maria, California http://pcpa.org
    • Solvang Festival Theater, Solvang, California http://pcpa.org
    • Cassius Carter Centre Stage, Old Globe Theatre
      Old Globe Theatre
      The Old Globe is a professional theatre company located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It produces about 15 plays and musicals annually in summer and winter seasons...
      
      , San Diego, CA (demolished 2008)
    • Cheryl and Harvey White Theatre, Old Globe Theatre
      Old Globe Theatre
      The Old Globe is a professional theatre company located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It produces about 15 plays and musicals annually in summer and winter seasons...
      
      , San Diego, CA (expected completion 2010)
    • Circle Star Theater
      Circle Star Theater
      The Circle Star Theater was a performing arts venue in San Carlos, San Mateo County, California). Its name is based on it being a theater in the round, featuring a rotating circular stage with none of its 3,743 seats further than from the stage...
      
      , San Carlos, California
      San Carlos, California
      San Carlos is a city in San Mateo County, California, USA on the San Francisco Peninsula, about halfway between San Francisco and San Jose. It is an affluent small residential suburb located between Belmont to the north and Redwood City to the south. San Carlos' ZIP code is 94070, and it is within...
      
       (torn down for office buildings)
    • Riverside Community Players, Riverside (built in 1953)
    • Valley Music Theater
      Valley Music Theater
      The Valley Music Theater was a theater-in-the-round performing arts hall located at 20600 Ventura Blvd. just south of the Ventura Freeway in Woodland Hills, California...
      
      , Woodland Hills, CA (built 1963, demolished 2007)
    • Shrine Auditorium
      Shrine Auditorium
      The Shrine Auditorium is a landmark large-event venue, in Los Angeles, California, USA. It is also the headquarters of the Al Malaikah Temple, a division of the Shriners.-History:...
      
      , Los Angeles, CA (was temporarily in the round for the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards
      59th Primetime Emmy Awards
      The 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on September 16, 2007 and were televised live on Fox at 8:00 p.m. EDT for the first time in high definition...
      
      )
  • Colorado
    • The Space Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex
      Denver Performing Arts Complex
      The Denver Performing Arts Complex located in Denver, Colorado, is the second largest performing arts center in the world after New York City's Lincoln Center. The DPAC is a four-block, site containing ten performance spaces with over 10,000 seats connected by an tall glass roof...
      
      , Denver, CO
  • District of Columbia
    • Arena Stage
      Arena Stage
      Arena Stage is a not-for-profit regional theater based in Southwest Washington, D.C. Its declared mission"is to produce huge plays of all that is passionate, exuberant, profound, deep and dangerous in the American spirit. Arena has broad shoulders and a capacity to produce anything from vast epics...
      
      , Washington, D.C.
      Washington, D.C.
      Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
      
      
  • Illinois
    • Marriott Theatre
      Marriott Theatre
      The Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, Illinois, USA is a respected Chicago area regional theatre. Attached to the Marriott Lincolnshire Resort, the theatre produces an average of five musicals each year, presented in the round, as well as productions aimed at younger audiences...
      
      , Lincolnshire, Illinois
      Lincolnshire, Illinois
      Lincolnshire is a village in the Vernon Township region of Lake County, in the U.S. state of Illinois. The village is a suburb of Chicago, a city in the adjacent Cook County. Its population was 6,108 at the time of the 2000 census. Lincolnshire was incorporated on August 5, 1957, from the...
      
       http://www.marriotttheatre.com/
    • Mill Run Playhouse
      Mill Run Playhouse
      Mill Run Playhouse was a 1600 seat theater in the round in Niles, Illinois. It was built in 1965 on the grounds of the Golf Mill Shopping Center and was demolished in August 1984. Its last show was a performance by Lou Rawls on August 1....
      
      , Niles, Illinois
      Niles, Illinois
      Niles is a village in Maine and Niles Townships, Cook County, Illinois, United States. The 2010 population from the U.S. Census Bureau is 29,803.The current mayor of Niles is Robert M. Callero.-History:Niles was first settled in 1827....
      
       (demolished 1984)
    • Richmond Hill Theatre, Geneseo, Illinois
      Geneseo, Illinois
      Geneseo is a city in Henry County, Illinois, United States. The population was 6,586 at the 2010 census, up from 6,571 at the 2000 census. Geneseo is located 20 miles east of The Quad Cities and Geneseo is part of the Quad Cities Metro Area....
      
       http://www.rhplayers.com/
  • Indiana
    • Wagon Wheel Theatre, Warsaw, Indiana
      Warsaw, Indiana
      Warsaw is a city in and the county seat of Kosciusko County, Indiana, United States. Cradled among Winona Lake, Pike Lake, Hidden Lake and Center Lake, Warsaw is nicknamed "Lake City," though other cities in the surrounding area are also referred to by that nickname...
      
       http://www.wagonwheeltheatre.com/Index/index.php
  • Iowa
    • Flanagan Studio Theater, Grinnell, Iowa
      Grinnell, Iowa
      Grinnell is a city in Poweshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 9,218 at the 2010 census. Grinnell was named after Josiah Bushnell Grinnell and is the home of Grinnell College.- History :...
      
       http://web.grinnell.edu/theatre/facilities/flanagan.html
  • Maryland
    • Colonial Players, Annapolis, Maryland
      Maryland
      Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
      
      
    • Shady Grove Music Fair, Gaithersburg, MD (Demolished)
    • Painters Mill Music Fair, Owings Mills, MD (Demolished 1991)
  • Massachusetts
    • North Shore Music Theatre
      North Shore Music Theatre
      North Shore Music Theatre is the largest operating regional theater in New England. It is located in Beverly, Massachusetts and is one of the few remaining theatre-in-the-round stages left in the United States.-History:...
      
      , Beverly, Massachusetts
      Beverly, Massachusetts
      Beverly is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 39,343 on , which differs by no more than several hundred from the 39,862 obtained in the 2000 census. A resort, residential and manufacturing community on the North Shore, Beverly includes Beverly Farms and Prides...
      
       http://www.nsmt.org/
    • Cape Cod Melody Tent, Hyannis, Massachusetts
      Hyannis, Massachusetts
      Hyannis is the largest of seven villages in Barnstable, Massachusetts. Also it is the commercial and transportation hub of Cape Cod and was designated an urban area as a result of the 1990 census. Because of this, many refer to Hyannis as the "Capital of the Cape"...
      
      
    • South Shore Music Circus, Cohasset, Massachusetts
      Cohasset, Massachusetts
      Cohasset is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, though it is not contiguous with the main body of the county. The population was 7,542 at the 2010 census.- History :...
      
      
    • The Little Theatre, Newton North High School
      Newton North High School
      Newton North High School, formerly Newton High School, is the larger and longer-established of two public high schools in Newton, Massachusetts, with about 2,000 students, the other being Newton South High School. It is located in the village of Newtonville...
      
      , Newton
      Newton, Massachusetts
      Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.-Villages:...
      
      
    • Balch Arena Theater, Tufts University
      Tufts University
      Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
      
      , Medford, Massachusetts
      Medford, Massachusetts
      Medford is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States, on the Mystic River, five miles northwest of downtown Boston. In the 2010 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 56,173...
      
       http://ase.tufts.edu/drama-dance/
  • Minnesota
    • Theatre in the Round Players in Minneapolis, Minnesota
      Minnesota
      Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
      
      
    • Rarig Center Arena on the campus of the University of Minnesota
      University of Minnesota
      The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
      
       in Minneapolis, Minnesota
      Minnesota
      Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
      
      
  • Missouri
    • Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
      Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
      The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts is a newly inaugurated performing arts center in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, USA, at 16th and Broadway near the Power & Light District, the Sprint Center and the Crossroads Arts District. Its construction was a major part of the ongoing redevelopment...
      
      , Kansas City
      Kansas City, Missouri
      Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
      
      
  • Nevada
    • Le Rêve
      Le Rêve (show)
      Le Rêve was the first production show to open in the Wynn Las Vegas casino resort. It is set in a one million-gallon capacity theater and features diving and feats of strength with state-of-the-art special effects, where no seat is more than 40 feet from the stage. The production was created by...
      
       Theater in the Wynn Las Vegas
      Wynn Las Vegas
      Wynn Las Vegas is a resort and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The US $2.7 billion resort is named after casino developer Steve Wynn and is the flagship property of Wynn Resorts Limited. The resort covers . It is located on Las Vegas Boulevard and Sands Avenue Wynn Las...
      
       casino
      Casino
      In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
      
       resort
      Resort
      A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....
      
       in Las Vegas
      Las Vegas metropolitan area
      The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
      
      
    • LOVE
      LOVE (Cirque du Soleil)
      Love is a 2006 theatrical production by Cirque du Soleil which combines the re-produced and re-imagined music of The Beatles with an interpretive, circus-based artistic and athletic stage performance. The show plays at a specially built theatre at The Mirage in Las Vegas.A joint venture between...
      
       in Las Vegas
  • New Jersey
    • TITR at Seton Hall University
      Seton Hall University
      Seton Hall University is a private Roman Catholic university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by Archbishop James Roosevelt Bayley, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan university in the United States. Seton Hall is also the oldest and largest Catholic university in the...
      
      , South Orange
      South Orange, New Jersey
      -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 16,964 people, 5,522 households, and 3,766 families residing in the township. The population density was 5,945.3 people per square mile . There were 5,671 housing units at an average density of 1,987.5 per square mile...
      
      
  • New York
    • Circle Repertory Company
      Circle Repertory Company
      The Circle Repertory Company, originally named the Circle Theater Company, was a theatre company in New York City that ran from 1969 to 1996. It was founded on July 14, 1969, in Manhattan, in a second floor loft at Broadway and 83rd Street by director Marshall W...
      
      , New York City
      New York City
      New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
      
      
    • The Irish Classical Theatre in Buffalo
      Buffalo, New York
      Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
      
      
    • Capital One Bank Theater at Westbury, Westbury
      Westbury, New York
      Westbury incorporated in 1932 as a village in Nassau County, New York in the United States. The population was 15,146 at the 2010 census.The Village of Westbury is in the Town of North Hempstead....
      
      
    • Westbury Music Fair, Westbury Music Fair
      Westbury Music Fair
      The NYCB Theater at Westbury is an entertainment venue located in Westbury, New York constructed in theater in the round style with seating for 3,000 that was originally developed as a means to present top performers and productions of popular theatrical musicals at a series of venues located in...
      
      
  • Ohio
    • Front Row Theater Columbus, Ohio
      Columbus, Ohio
      Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
      
      
    • Kent State University
      Kent State University
      Kent State University is a public research university located in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university has eight campuses around the northeast Ohio region with the main campus in Kent being the largest...
      
      , Kent, Ohio
      Kent, Ohio
      Kent is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the largest city in Portage County. It is located along the Cuyahoga River in Northeastern Ohio on the western edge of the county. The population was 27,906 at the 2000 United States Census and 28,904 in the 2010 Census...
      
      
  • Oregon
    • The New Theater, Ashland, Oregon; one of the theaters used for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival
      Oregon Shakespeare Festival
      The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is a regional repertory theatre in Ashland, Oregon, United States. The festival annually produces eleven plays on three stages during a season that lasts from February to October...
      
      
  • Pennsylvania
    • F. Otto Haas, the mainstage theater of the Arden Theatre Company
      Arden Theatre Company
      The Arden Theatre Company is a leading regional theatre company located in Stockton-on-Tees, England. Founded in 2002 by Robert Icke and Daniel Hill, the theatre has grown quickly to become one of the premier theatre companies in the region...
      
      , Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
      Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
      Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
      
      
    • Valley Forge Music Fair
      Valley Forge Music Fair
      The Valley Forge Music Fair was an entertainment venue located in Devon, Pennsylvania, outside of Philadelphia, constructed in theater in the round style with seating for 3,000. Initially established in a tent in 1955, a permanent structure was constructed that closed in 1996...
      
      , Valley Forge, PA (Demolished 1997)
  • South Carolina
    • Longstreet Theatre at the University of South Carolina
      University of South Carolina
      The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
      
      
  • Tennessee
    • Ula Love Doughty Carousel Theatre, Knoxville, Tennessee
      Knoxville, Tennessee
      Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
      
      
  • Texas
    • Artisan Center Theater
      Artisan Center Theater
      Artisan Center Theater is a community theater based in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The theater is a 150-seat, theater in the round that features musicals, comedies, and light dramas throughout the year.-History:...
      
      , Hurst
      Hurst, Texas
      Hurst is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, United States. Hurst is one of the Mid-Cities between Fort Worth and Dallas, but is a suburb of Fort Worth. The city was founded by William Letchworth Hurst...
      
      
    • Whisenhunt Stage at the ZACH Theatre in Austin, Texas
      Austin, Texas
      Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
      
      
    • Casa Mañana
      Casa Mañana
      Casa Mañana Theatre, in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, is located in the Fort Worth Cultural District and is known as the "House of Tomorrow." Originally an outdoor amphitheater, Casa opened in 1936 as the part of the official Texas Centennial Celebration....
      
      , Fort Worth
      Fort Worth, Texas
      Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
      
       (converted to thrust stage
      Thrust stage
      In theatre, a thrust stage is one that extends into the audience on three sides and is connected to the backstage area by its up stage end. A thrust has the benefit of greater intimacy between performers and the audience than a proscenium, while retaining the utility of a backstage area...
      
       in 2003)
    • Margo Jones' Theatre '47
      Margo Jones
      Margo Jones was an influential American stage director and producer best known for launching the American regional theater movement and for introducing the theater-in-the-round concept in Dallas, Texas. In 1947, she established the first regional professional company when she opened Theatre ’47 in...
      
      
  • Utah
    • Hale Centre Theatre, West Valley City, Utah
      West Valley City, Utah
      West Valley City is a city in Salt Lake County and a suburb of Salt Lake City in the U.S. state of Utah. The population was 129,480 at the 2010 census,...
      
      
  • Virginia
    • The Barksdale Theater in Richmond, Virginia
      Richmond, Virginia
      Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
      
      
  • Washington
    • Glenn Hughes Penthouse Theatre, Seattle, Washington
      Seattle, Washington
      Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
      
      
    • ACT Theatre, Seattle, Washington
      Seattle, Washington
      Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
      
      
  • Wisconsin
    • Fireside Dinner Theater, Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin
      Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin
      Fort Atkinson is a city in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the Rock River, a few miles upstream from Lake Koshkonong. In 1996, Money Magazine named Fort Atkinson "One of America's Hottest Little Boomtowns." The population was 11,621 at the 2000 census.- History :Fort...
      
      

• Australia
  Australia
  Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
  
  
  • La Boite Theatre

• Canada
  Canada
  Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
  
  
  • Globe Theatre, Regina
    Globe Theatre, Regina
    The Globe Theatre in Regina, Saskatchewan, was founded in 1966 by Ken and Sue Kramer. It was the first professional educational theatre company and the only professional theatre company in Saskatchewan.-Background:...
    
    
  • Medieval Times
    Medieval Times
    Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament is a family dinner theater featuring staged medieval-style games, sword-fighting, and jousting performed by a cast of 75 actors and 20 horses. Each location is housed in a replica 11th-century castle, with the exception of the Toronto location, which is housed...
    
    , Toronto
    Toronto
    Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
    
    

• Malta
  Malta
  Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
  
  
  • Saint James Cavalier
    Saint James Cavalier
    St. James Cavalier is Malta's Millennium Project- A Centre for Creativity. St. James, one of two Cavaliers built out of the originally projected nine, by the Knights of Malta...
    
     Theatre, Valletta
    Valletta
    Valletta is the capital of Malta, colloquially known as Il-Belt in Maltese. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta, and the historical city has a population of 6,098. The name "Valletta" is traditionally reserved for the historic walled citadel that serves as Malta's...
    
    

In popular culture

• In the novel The Prestige
  The Prestige
  The Prestige is a 1995 novel by British writer Christopher Priest. The novel is epistolary in structure: that is, it purports to be a collection of real diaries that were kept by the protagonists and later collated...
  
   by Christopher Priest, the magician Rupert Angier courts controversy by writing that stage magic should be performed "in the round" rather than in theatres with a proscenium
  Proscenium
  A proscenium theatre is a theatre space whose primary feature is a large frame or arch , which is located at or near the front of the stage...
  
   arch.
• Progressive Rock pioneers Yes
  Yes (band)
  Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
  
   were the first rock-era group to perform "in the round" during their 1978-79 Tormato Tour. The band also performed using a round, rotating stage during the Union tour in 1991.
• British rock band Def Leppard
  Def Leppard
  Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell...
  
   played "in the round" for several tours in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Their 1989 live VHS
  VHS
  The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
  
   release was entitled Live: In the Round, in Your Face
  Live: In the Round, in Your Face
  Live: In the Round, in Your Face is a live video from Def Leppard. The video contains a full Def Leppard live show at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado and additional footage from shows at The Omni in Atlanta, Georgia, compiled from footage shot during the band's 1987/1988 US Hysteria...
  
  .
• American thrash metal
  Thrash metal
  Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
  
   band Metallica
  Metallica
  Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
  
   have employed "in the round" staging for their arena shows since the early 1990s
• In order to give a show similar to a three ring circus, American singer Britney Spears
  Britney Spears
  Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
  
   used an in-the-round setting for her 2009 The Circus Starring Britney Spears tour.
• Dane Cook's - Vicious Circle stand up was performed "in the round"
• The Spice Girls used a circular stage in the round setting for their Christmas in Spiceworld tour in 1999
• U2
  U2
  U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
  
  's 360° Tour
  U2 360° Tour
  The U2 360° Tour was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Launched in support of the group's 2009 album No Line on the Horizon, the tour visited stadiums from 2009 through 2011. It was named for a stage configuration that allowed the audience to almost completely surround the stage...
  
   uses a very large circular stage structure.
• The Dixie Chicks
  Dixie Chicks
  The Dixie Chicks are an American country band which has also successfully crossed over into other genres. The band is composed of founding members Martie Erwin Maguire and Emily Erwin Robison, and lead singer Natalie Maines...
  
   Top Of The World Tour used a circular stage, except in venues where it was an end stage.
• Metallica
  Metallica
  Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
  
   have been known to use a rectangular or oval shaped stage in recent years that is placed in the centre of an arena at their concerts. Most recently, their Death Magnetic
  Death Magnetic
  Death Magnetic is the ninth studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released on September 12, 2008 through Warner Bros. Records. It was the band's first album to feature bassist Robert Trujillo and the first to be produced by Rick Rubin, making this Metallica's first album...
  
   tour.
• In a Curb Your Enthusiasm
  Curb Your Enthusiasm
  Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. As of 2011, it has completed 80 episodes over eight seasons. The series was created by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself...
  
   season finale, Larry David, while playing The Producers
  The Producers (musical)
  The Producers is a musical adapted by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan from Brooks' 1968 film of the same name, with lyrics written by Brooks and music composed by Brooks and arranged by Glen Kelly and Doug Besterman. As in the film, the story concerns two theatrical producers who scheme to get rich...
  
  character Max Bialystock said he invented "theater in the square".