auditorium, the part of a public building where an audience sits, as distinct from the stage, the area on which the performance or other object of the audience’s attention is presented. In a large theatre an auditorium includes a number of floor levels frequently designed as stalls, private boxes, dress circle, balcony or upper circle, and gallery. A sloping floor allows the seats to be arranged to give a clear view of the stage. The walls and ceiling usually contain concealed light and sound equipment and air extracts or inlets and may be highly decorated.
The term auditorium is also applied commonly to a large lecture room in a college, to a reception room in a monastery, and, rarely, to the audience area in a religious building.