Amphitheatre Theatre Vs Roman Theatre

First of all, the Roman Colosseum is not a theatre. It is a Roman Amphitheatre. (take note that the contemporary American definition of "amphitheatre" is NOT what the Romans would call an amphitheatre. Rather than looking like a Roman Amphitheatre, modern-day "amphitheatres" look more like Greek theatres! But I digress...) Roman theatres were half-moon shaped buildings whereas amphitheatres were fully round. Theatres were for plays and similar entertainments, whereas amphitheatres were primarily for gladitorial games and that kind of thing. Greek theatres changed greatly over time from the Classical period until and through the Hellenistic Age. However, the most noticable differences were that the Roman Theatre was a separate stand-alone building,

whereas Greek theatres were outdoor spaces built into the landscape, in a fan-like structure that went about 270 degrees of a circle, whereas the Roman structure only had a 180 degrees. The Greek stage was lower, with a large orchestra (meaning "dancing place") space where acting and dancing and singing took place, and a smallish building or backdrop behind the stage. The Roman theatre had seating in the orchestra space (much of the time--sometimes used for performance: there are many tales of that area being flooded for nautical themes. It's likewise believed that the Colosseum was flooded in it's very early years--before the understage was built--to facilitate naval battles) and a higher stage with a very large and very ornate backdrop building behind the stage. The Roman theatres also had a kind of cloth roof that may have been retractable in some way