The apron is any part of the stage that extends past the proscenium arch and into the audience or seating area. The Elizabethan stage, which was a raised platform with the audience on three sides, is the outstanding example.
Most stages edges are curved slightly outward providing a very small apron. Some have a large playing space protruding into the audience and in turn a very large apron.
An apron stage can also be another name for a thrust stage.
Famous quotes containing the words apron and/or stage:
“Oft have I played at cards and dice,
Because they were so enticing;
But this is a sad and sorrowful day
To see my apron rising.”
—Unknown. The Rantin Laddie (l. 1–4)
“I must ... warn my readers that my attacks are directed against themselves, not against my stage figures.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)