ABSTRACT
The forestage is the three-dimensional zone where a proscenium stage and auditorium meet. The forestage geometry may be static or flexible, but it is always a transition zone between performance space and audience space. This chapter examines the typical elements and design considerations of the forestage zone, but keep in mind that it is a rare theater space that incorporates all of the elements described here. It starts at stage level, moves below the stage to the lowest level of the building, and then works the way back up to the roof above. Many theaters have some form of forestage rigging to suspend loudspeakers, lighting trusses, or scenery downstage of the proscenium wall. In rooms for music, the acoustic reflectors over the forestage may be hung on rigging so that their elevation and angle can be adjusted.
