As opposed to an
auditorium or
hall, a black box theatre is essentially that - a black box.
The floor plan to such a space is usually a
square, but sometimes is a
rectangle. The
walls,
floor, and
cieling are almost always painted
black (duh). In such a space, the audience may sit on any, all, or some combination thereof of the four walls, usually in
folding chairs or some manner of
chair that can be removed from or about the space. Some spaces feature a removable wall, so that one side of the theatre may open into an adjacent space, providing additional seating for
patrons.
Some theatres may feature an upper level, usually nothing more than a
catwalk along one or more walls of the theatre. There may be space to hang lights on the walls or in the corner, but they are usually suspended in the "
flyspace," even though there is little to none of this in the typical black box. The
stage manager(-s: though no production done in this space will be very large, usually only one is required) may sit in a small booth adjacent to the space, with a window looking into it, though many
calls can be made with no better idea of what's going on onstage than what comes through the
house mics.
What is the point of using such a space, you may ask. The two main reasons are flexibility and intimacy. Firstly, since the space usually has so few
permanent fixtures, a lot can be changed and tailored to fit each particular
production. Since there is usually no actual set built into the theatre (just the floor), an individual piece can be built to suit the specific needs of the play; incorporating a
rake or not, allowing the
actors to play to all four sides or not, etc. Secondly, in a black box, the audience is seated much closer to the
stage and
actors. This configuration is especially effective for
one-man shows and other
narrative works. Also, the
director may choose to present a work in
theatre in the round, which a black box is optimal for. The biggest downside to this is that productions of this style are
notoriously hard to
direct,
stage, and
act, because the actors’ backs are always to a quarter of the audience.
In any case, the black box theatre is very well suited to certain types of theatre productions, however it usually takes a talented
director and
cast to make it work effectively - but when it does, it makes for a theatre experience unlike anything you'd see in an auditorium.