Globe A7 The Roman Theatre at Orange in Provence, Southern France.

The Vitruvian theater in Arausio (Orange) is well preserved. Probably with an Augustan date, it is built into the hill at the center of Orange, facing north. Estimated capacity ranges from 5850 to 7300. The orchestra is 19 meters wide; the stage was 61 meters long, 7 meters wide and 1.12 meters high. The rear wall is 103 meters broad and 37 meters high. Covered by marble and mosaics, with niches for statuary, it had many columns. The stage had three doors for actors: the largest central, and the others on either side. Above the middle door a large statue has been replaced, with head and arms restored as Augustus, in the stage wall. On either side of the emperor kneeled defeated Gauls. The stage had a sounding board roof, slanting down from the front, as is evident on the side and back walls of the theater. The wallÂ’s top had apparatus for an awning to shade spectators. Until the 19th c, the theater was filled with houses and the external wall supported other buildings, all demolished in 1835. Data from "The Aruusio Roman Theatre" by Clara Hardy, Professor of Classics, Carleton College: http://www.whitman.edu/theatre/theatretour/Orange/commentary/Arausio.commentary.htm