CLARENCE BROWN THEATRE
UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE
UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSE
CLARENCE BROWN THEATRE
YEAR:
1970
LOCATION:
Knoxville, TN
SIZE:
600 Seats
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:
Clarence Brown Theater serves as a teaching and presentation facility for the Department of Speech and Drama at The University of Tennessee. In addition to a main theater seating 600 people, it includes a 120-seat theater for smaller productions. Continental-style seating eliminates interrupting aisles, reinforcing the unity of the seating “room.” The theater is designed to accommodate experimental production methods, as well as traditional theatrical productions.
The shape of the proscenium arch was de-emphasized to enhance the intimacy of the stage-audience relationship implied by the small seating capacity. This arrangement allows the seating space to flow into the stage with little physical demarcation. Side stages and a hydraulically operated orchestra lift-thrust stage further enhance this effect.