The performing arts cover forms of music (orchestral, choral, pop/rock and jazz), opera,

musicals, dance and drama.

It is acknowledged that the performing arts also cover music-theatre, musicals, comedies,
music-hall, variety, vaudeville, puppet shows, revues, mime, cabaret, folk music, live art, and
street performers, as well as experimental theatre, military tattoos and circuses.
the performing arts are concerned with a space for a live performance experienced by an
audience within a set period of time
The space is defined by specific technical and spatial demands and requires a conducive
atmosphere for both audience and performer.
The expectation is for professional music, dance, drama and other types of performing arts to be
available to all in congenial auditoria, and also for facilities to be generally available in the
community for amateur groups to perform as a leisure activity.
The performing arts are born of the creative processes of writing plays, composing music,
choreographing dance, directing productions and designing settings: realization is found through
conductors, musicians, singers, dancers, actors and other performers.
Experiment in the performing arts may bring new forms of auditorium: electronic music
compositions have challenged the requirements of the concert hall whose traditional forms are
based on non-amplified acoustic instruments. Similarly promenade drama presentations
do not require fixed seating and stage positions, the characteristic of traditional theatre
auditoria, while street theatre with only nominal technical backup contrasts with the increasing
sophistication of stage machinery and sound and lighting technology for ever larger theatrical
productions.
The pattern of provision includes buildings, either for a resident company or for receiving
touring companies, owned and managed by local government, commercial enterprises, private
trusts and voluntary bodies

Types of production
Classical music

symphony orchestra with an average of 90 players but may be up to 120, plus sometimes a
choir of 100 or more, with conductor and possibly vocal and instrumental soloists.
chamber orchestra of 4050 players, with conductor, sometimes soloists, and/or small
choir.
small ensemble, with recitals including instrumentalists and singers.
The number of performers may change within an evenings programme of music, but the
basic focus of the orchestra, choir and soloists on the conductor remains; though in piano
concertos, the piano and player are in front of the conductor on the platform.
Some modern orchestral compositions can challenge this traditional format with, for
example, the soloists dispersed among the members of the orchestra (sometimes moving
about during the performance) and even within the audience seating.
However, the development of classical music has also experienced variation in the
acoustical environment. Until the nineteenth century, music was composed in response to
 its environment, with, as an example, the liturgical recitation in the basilican church using
the effect of the long reverberation time as an integral part of the music. The present-day
programming of music requires the understanding historically of the relationship between
the composer and the acoustics of the space for which the music was originally written as
well as liturgical music, other periods have distinct characteristics with the music of Mozart
and his immediate followers contrasting with the late romantic and choral music and
modern classical music.
Consideration should be given also to the needs of the small ensemble or solo pianist and
singer where the acoustic requirements suggest a separate (and more intimate) recital
room.

Opera

Largescale opera with casts over 200 including principals and chorus and an orchestra of up to
120 players
Standard opera which consists of medium-scale productions with casts up to 100 including
principals and chorus and an orchestra of up to 50 players
Chamber opera which consists of small-scale productions with casts up to 15 including principals
and chorus and an orchestra of up to 20 players
Opera combines music and drama, each of which modifies the other, and it is an entertainment
of ceremony and ritual. Dialogue is mostly in verse and sung to orchestral accompaniment. The
primary classification is music with the lyrics as an important element, with the components of
conductor, orchestra, principal singers (tenor, baritone, contralto, soprano and so
on), chorus of singers and, possibly, dancers. The scenic setting simulates a particular location
and heightens the theatrical context.
The experience also includes the evocation of atmosphere on the stage and the visual
composition of performers and scenic setting.
the proscenium stage with the orchestra in a pit between audience and stage. This form has
allowed the conductor in front of the orchestra to control not only the musicians but also the
singers on the stage.
Rise of opera in 16 the century, mode of social interaction, application of laws of perspective,
change of scenery rapidly during performance introduction of fly tower
The modern opera house is often required to combine these if it is to offer a programme of the
major historical productions plus contemporary pieces, usually in repertoire i.e. Italian opera
house with its short reverberation time suitable for Mozartian operas, and Wagnerian opera
with different acoustic conditions and greater blending of the orchestra with the singer
Technology has not dramatically changed the traditional format. However, electronic devices
allow larger numbers to attend a single performance (with video screens projecting action on
the stage and by using amplification), while less costly and physically smaller productions with a
small orchestra using amplification (as developed by the Stockholm Folk Opera) make touring
easier and enables larger numbers to experience opera in often modest and rural facilities.
With both these examples the intention is to make opera more accessible to the public: the
mass audience at one venue and the increasing ease of touring to dispersed populations.

Dance
 Dance is essentially a form of performance in which a company of dancers perform (usually
without words), with expressive physical movements, to music which can be live, recorded or
electronic. Dance is conveniently divided into ballet and modern dance.
Ballet productions can consist of a cast of up to 100 including the soloists and corps de ballet,
and an orchestra of up to 50 players.
The format is as for opera: the proscenium stage with orchestra in a pit between audience and
stage.
For the audience, the quality of the music and visual composition as well as the interpretation of
the work within the ballet conventions are essential.
Modern dance is concerned with the expression through the physical movement of the
performers in a realistic or abstract context, accompanied by live or recorded music (classical,
jazz, pop/rock), electronic music and no music.
Two formats may be considered for the presentation of modern dance: the traditional
relationship, as for ballet, with the orchestra pit between stage and audience; no orchestra pit if
the performance relies on taped music, or musicians on or off stage. The lack of orchestra and
modest setting associated with modern dance productions can be economical and make them
easier to take on tour than traditional ballet productions.

Musicals

Musicals follow a similar format to the description under opera, with soloists, chorus, dancers,
orchestra and conductor: the stage/orchestra pit/audience relationship remains the same as for
opera,
The orchestra can be located away from the stage area in a specially designed room. The music
is received by the audience through the amplification system.

Jazz

The club scale is concerned with the intimacy of the experience for audience and performer and
is usually connected with the activities of eating and drinking. Provision exclusively for jazz
music is rare and it is the club location which predominates.
The number of players varies from solo, trio, groups up to 10, and orchestras up to 30 with
soloists as instrumentalists and singers. Amplification is an accepted feature of the music and
indeed for orchestral works can be an integral part of the performance.

Pop/rock music

For concerts of popular music, the orchestra is usually on the stage behind the singers and
dancers in the tradition of the dance band and hall.
The focus is on the principal singer or group of singers supplemented by dancers and other
singers. The orchestra can be up to 50 musicians.
Amplification of the music is normal.
The rock concert tends to be for a group of instrumentalists and/or singers. Not only is
amplification a normal ingredient of the music but also the electronic guitar is an essential
instrument in the development of the music.
 It has developed a variety of distinctive approaches including theatrical staging and lighting
effects which can be on large and spectacular scales.
The mass audience can range from 10 000 to 30 000 and considerably more, usually as one-off
events with temporary staging and facilities
Sports stadia, gardens of stately homes and open spaces have been adapted to accommodate
such concerts for outdoor events, as have large indoor enclosures, such as the arena.
Large video screens and amplification aid the visual and aural presentation.
Rock music is also played on a much smaller scale in clubs, usually with the club owner as
promoter, who books groups to perform in relatively modest venues.
Scale apart, the format remains simple with a raised stage and the audience facing the stage. A
fore-stage may extend into the audience for the principal singer.

Drama

There are various scales of drama production:

medium or normal scale which consists of casts of up to 20,
large scale such as Shakespearean histories with many extras,
and small scale with casts restricted to under 10 (this scale refers to the small- small touring
company playing in studio and school theatres).
For medium and large scales an orchestra may be required of up to 10 players.
They are presented by a company of actors within a scenic setting to a script by a playwright and
under the interpretation of a director.
The performance aims include comprehension of the text, interpretation through dramatic
effect and the communication with the audience by the acting and setting.
The acoustic aim is to ensure that every member of the audience can hear clearly the spoken
word: the visual aim is for the audience to see the facial expressions and physical gestures of the
actors.
Actors require that they can command the audience while the stage space and scenery neither
dwarf nor crowd them.
Prior to the mid-nineteenth century, one particular format for drama tended to dominate its
particular period and country
The proscenium stage may be seen as the mainstream format audience so that they are facing
the acting area on one side only:
The audience and actors are, in effect, in separate rooms.
The open stage formats are those arrangements where the audience in part, or wholly, surround
the acting area, and descend from Greek, Roman, Restoration and Elizabethan theatres
places the audience closer to the performance.
Open stage formats heighten the three-dimensional and live nature of a performance.
Scenery doesnt play significant role
There are two broad categories of play type: the naturalistic and the epic.
The naturalistic play is more sympathetically presented within the proscenium format while with
the open stage it is less easy to accommodate the illusionary content of naturalism and so it is
the preferred home of the epic approach
Audiences

Five distinct sequential phases

Planning and anticipation: awareness by advertisements, word of mouth, reviews, cost, time,
ticket access
Travel to facility: method (walking, public or private transport), ease for parking and convenient
public transportation
Experience of facility: sequence of activities to and from seating, quality of the performance,
associated activities such as eating, drinking and visits to art gallery, exhibitions and shops, staff
response to public: box office, access to seats, directions
Travel from facility: travel time and method convenience of public transport
Recollection: feedbacks lead to cycle of next visit from the experience of audience

the actual market is subject to the particular programme, quality of facility, costs, awareness through
publicity, tradition of participation in musical events and theatre-going in the area and the effect of
competing leisure attractions for the same market.

There are three further groups of users who may require consideration:
public use of non-performance spaces such as restaurant, coffee bar and bar as informal
activities
groups and organizations using the auditorium for non-performance activities such as
conferences, lectures and commercial presentations
meeting rooms for hire by groups and organizations within the building complex for activities
not necessarily related to attendance at a performance: seminars, gatherings, social occasions

Changes in audience

Increase in the audience no. than the reversing trend before after discovery other leisure activities:

changes in supply: the improved quality of the facilities, with increased audience comfort as an
example. Ancillary accommodation, such as bars and restaurants, has become more attractive
for the public. Facilities for performers and technicians have improved substantially. New and
noticeably improved buildings, less civic in character, have generated interest and stimulated
attendance.
improvement of the product the live performance in content and presentation.
marketing has become more positive and exposure for the performing arts has widened in the
media in general.
active support from the public sector for music, dance, and drama, endorsed by a political
concern to sustain cultural activities. Subsidies in the form of government grants have removed
both deficits and the pressure to be profitable. A result has been the allowance of a level of risk
in form and content which has made experiment possible. This has encouraged in particular new
writing, musical composition and developments in dance, as well as live art and new
collaborative work.
level of tourism has grown due to increased affluence in the population and improved, and less
costly, travel arrangements. The West End theatres in London, for example. Thus, proliferating
the music/drama festivals. Attract cultural tourist.
 higher educational attainment, more disposable income and increased mobility
perception of programmes as being part of a wider role: organization of travel facilities,
provision of all-day activities in the facility, organization of supporters clubs, special
programmes and workshops to attract children and young persons, cooperation with local
education authorities with visits to schools through a Theatre-in-Education programme.

A more realistic definition of a category should consider the following factors:

Location: defined by catchment area, numbers in the population and level of accessibility:

metropolitan centre

regional centre

town centre

neighbourhood centre

resort: urban, rural, seaside

specialist centre

one-off event

Owner and/or occupier:

local government

educational institution

commercial organization

private trust

voluntary organization

community organization

Type of production:

predominant type of production: classical music,

opera, dance musicals, jazz, pop/rock music,

drama

combination of compatible productions and/or

other activities such as sports, in a multipurpose

auditorium

Auditorium form:

proscenium stage format

 open platform/stage format: single direction,

partially or fully surrounding the performance

area by the audience

combination of formats

Seating capacity, standard and scale of auditorium:

under 250

250500

5001000

10001500

15002000

2000

mass audience events

Role of facility:

housing resident professional company

hosting touring professional companies or groups

for community use

for teaching purposes

for festival use

Production selection:

new works

established works

experimental

Pattern of use

repertoire (several productions are presented

intermittently)

repertory (productions run for a limited period)

seasonal

one-off event

Audience type and numbers:

 open to all

restricted to a particular section of the public, e.g.

children

targeted towards a particular section of the public

tourists

Financial policy:

profit making

non-profit making with or without subsidies

Building policy:

permanent or temporary

indoor or outdoor

formal or informal

degree of adaptation

standard of provision, including space allocation,

finishes and fittings, environmental factors

such as ventilation, acoustics, sound isolation

to the auditorium

Associated activities:

complementary functions in auditorium, e.g.

conference

production facilities on site if resident producing

company

public facilities such as bars and restaurant

other arts facilities

other activities

Building complex

more than one auditorium and support facilities

larger complex, such as an educational Institution

The staff categories of a building for the performing arts are considered under two broad headings:

Building with a resident company. The management structure may be divided into functional
areas of responsibility:

public-related staff: usherettes, sales staff, box-office staff, fire officers, house manager;

management: artistic and financial direction, administration, audience development, publicity;

performance-related staff: actors, musicians, singers; stage lighting, sound, machinery and
management; repair and maintenance staff; stage door keeper these may be production related,
seasonal contracts or longer term;

production-related staff: company organization, rehearsal and practice, storage and the preparation of
scenery, properties and costumes, if applicable.

building maintenance: maintenance staff, cleaners.

Building which hosts touring companies.

The functional requirements include administration, artistic policy and the planning and development
of an annual or seasonal programme of productions and events.

These may be carried out by one person the director with or without back-up staff according to the
scale of the operation.

Permanent staff can also include technicians (which may be restricted to an electrician and repair and
maintenance staff), usherettes, firemen, sales staff and box office staff, and also cleaners, maintenance
staff and a stage door keeper.