The intermediate step between the modern theatre and its classical antecedents was the Renaissance stage—an obvious, if by no means simple, step, for while texts of classical plays were more or less readily available, there was no knowledge of what Roman theatre had looked like and how plays had been performed. This program traces the earliest Renaissance attempts to stage classical drama through the application of medieval concepts of production; follows the deductions made from Vitruvius’ De Architectura and the impetus provided by the appearance of dramas in Italian; the building of the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza and the theatres in Ferrara and Parma; shows the varying uses of perspective in scene painting and the development of moveable scenery; and explains how, when the façade was eliminated and the door opened to reveal the scenery behind, the proscenium arch and the picture frame theatre were born. (30 minutes)