The following is taken from the Arena Stage website:
"Arena Stage today stands as a flagship American theater. We were one of the first not-for-profit theaters in the United States as well as a pioneer of the regional theater movement. We were the first regional theater to transfer a production to Broadway, the first invited by the U.S. State Department to tour behind the Iron Curtain, and the first to receive a Tony Award. Taking a leadership role in extending theater's horizons, we have implemented groundbreaking policies and programs, promoting diversity in all aspects of theater, from theatergoing to production.
Our legacy of world-class productions includes vast epics, charged dramas, rousing musicals, and probing profiles. From the monumental to the developmental, we've helped build the canon of American theater. While we produce American classics, Arena Stage premieres new American plays and supported works in progress. We've nurtured artistic growth and engaged our community, broadening and intensifying the theatrical experience for one and all. And yet, in spite of it all, in our second half-century we see ourselves as more fresh, restless and dynamic than ever."
Theatre "In The Round", or arena theatre, is any theatre space in which the audience is seated on all sides of the stage.
In an arena theater, there is an audience on every side of the performers; in effect there are four fourth walls.
The stage itself in this arrangement is typically round, square, or triangular, with actors entering and exiting through the audience from different directions.