Where does the proscenium arch come from? Ultimately, this happened during the Renaissance, when the attempt to create an illusion of reality or verisimilitude was on the rise. Design and architecture combined to radically alter the relationship between stage and auditorium and, with the help of ancient Roman examples to draw on, the stage developed significantly. The stage was moved indoors at this time, techniques were discovered to create perspective settings, and the evolution of changing settings occurred during the Renaissance. The oldest indoor theater of the modern era, the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, is sometimes incorrectly offered as a prime example. of a proscenium theater. In ancient Rome, the stage in front of the scaenae frons, the ornate background of a Roman theater stage, was known as the "proscenium", meaning "in front of the scenery".[1] The Teatro Olimpico was a reconstruction of an open-air Roman theater and names for parts of the stage were also retained and led to the stage area being referred to as the proscenium, which could very well induce the mislead people by referring to the theater facades as the proscenium. the stage does not quite correspond to the modern sense of a proscenium arch in that its arch is too small to serve as a sort of frame for the stage, but rather forms part of the backdrop to the stage action on stage.[1] suggest that the central arcade in the middle of the proscenium arch was the inspiration for the later development of the full-size proscenium arch. The proscenium space takes its name from the architectural element most often seen in most traditional theaters. was ...... middle of paper ......enium arch, the scene was visually enlarged. Using the arched structure, Italian set designers experimented with linear perspective and quickly added moving sets to change scenery, giving the audience the illusion of an expansive setting. Although some stages can be up to a hundred feet deep and require few illusions, the proscenium arch theater still paves the way for set designers, actors and actresses, and audiences to enjoy and use the theater. Works CitedBanham, Martin. The Cambridge Theater Guide (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995) Brocket, Oscar and Hildy, Franklin. History of Theater. (Boston: Pearson Education, Inc., 2007) Trumbull, Eric. “The Renaissance/Neoclassicism in Italy.” Introduction to Theater. November 16, 2007. Northern Virginia Community College. Can 4, 2011.