ABSTRACT
The Greeks were the first culture to build large theatres specifically for entertainment, and invented the amphitheatre, which is largely the same today as it was back then. Roman theatres for plays were constructed in much the same manner as the Greek ones were, with the major differences being that the elevated stage area was greatly enlarged and elaborated upon, and the circular choral area was cut in half to form a semicircle. The black box style of theatre is especially popular with off-off-Broadway theatre groups because of its low cost, extreme intimacy, and its ability to conform to more experimental genres of performance. Professional touring companies of commercial Broadway shows play only in proscenium theatres because they allow for a large audience capacity and also because of the similarity of stage equipment available in all proscenium houses.
