Shell (theater)

In theater, a shell (also known as an acoustical shell, choral shell or bandshell) is a curved, hard surface designed to reflect sound towards an audience.

Often shells are designed to be removable, either rolling away on wheels or flying into a flyspace. Shells are most commonly used for orchestras, bands and choirs, although they can also be used in any application that requires passive sound amplification. Shells are generally made of hard materials because they are designed to absorb as little sound as possible.

See also

Gazebo

A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal or turret-shaped, often built in a park, garden or spacious public area.

Design

Gazebos are freestanding or attached to a garden wall, roofed, and open on all sides. They provide shade, shelter, ornamental features in a landscape, and a place to rest. Some gazebos in public parks are large enough to serve as bandstands or rain shelters.

Types

Gazebos include pavilions, kiosks, alhambras, belvederes, follies, pergolas, and rotundas. Such structures are popular in warm and sunny climates. They feature in the literature of China, Persia, and many other classical civilizations. Examples of such structures are the garden houses at Montacute House in Somerset, England. The gazebo at Elton on the Hill in Nottinghamshire, thought to date from the late 18th or early 19th century, is a square crenelated, brick and stone tower with an arched opening. It is part of an extensive system of red-brick walled gardens.

In contemporary England and North America, gazebos are typically built of wood and covered with standard roofing materials, such as shingles. Gazebos can be tent-style structures of poles covered by tensioned fabric. Gazebos may have screens to aid in the exclusion of flying insects.