Apron stage

The apron is any part of the stage that extends past the proscenium arch and into the audience or seating area.

The Elizabethan stage was typically found in public theatres as plays were no longer performed outside.

Theatres were simple in structure, mostly circular in form, within was a courtyard open to the sky, surrounded by two or three tiers of covered galleries.

The vestigial platform was called the apron which stood in front of the proscenium arc and accommodated most of the acting.

Today, most stages have edges curved slightly outward providing a very small apron.