Box set (theatre)
Encyclopedia
In theatre
, a box set is a set with a proscenium
arch stage and three walls. The proscenium opening is the fourth wall
. Box sets create the illusion of an interior room on the stage, and are contrasted with earlier forms of set in which sliding flats with gaps between them create an illusion of perspective.
Box sets were introduced to the English theatre by Elizabeth Vestris. They later became a feature of realist theatre
, and an example of the "fourth wall removed" principle that characterized the work of noted realists such as Henrik Ibsen
, Emile Zola
, George Bernard Shaw
, or Anton Chekhov
.
In play style of Realism the Box Set of the stage was a room with either plain black back drop or three walls, forth wall was invisible, separating the characters from the audience, the ceiling was tilted down at the far end of the stage and up toward the audience. Doors slammed instead of swinging when being shut just like in a real world.
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...
, a box set is a set 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 stage and three walls. The proscenium opening is the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
. Box sets create the illusion of an interior room on the stage, and are contrasted with earlier forms of set in which sliding flats with gaps between them create an illusion of perspective.
Box sets were introduced to the English theatre by Elizabeth Vestris. They later became a feature of realist theatre
Realism (arts)
Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects "in accordance with secular, empirical rules", as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation...
, and an example of the "fourth wall removed" principle that characterized the work of noted realists such as Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
, Emile Zola
Émile Zola
Émile François Zola was a French writer, the most important exemplar of the literary school of naturalism and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism...
, George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
, or Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
.
In play style of Realism the Box Set of the stage was a room with either plain black back drop or three walls, forth wall was invisible, separating the characters from the audience, the ceiling was tilted down at the far end of the stage and up toward the audience. Doors slammed instead of swinging when being shut just like in a real world.