客席

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 客席, read きゃくせき, refers to the seats or seating area for an audience.
• Basic usage: In 開演前に客席の照明がゆっくり暗くなった。, the lights over the audience seating gradually dim before the performance.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Stage and audience seating
  • 舞台から客席を見渡して describes the actor looking from the stage across the audience area. 客席 focuses on the audience seating rather than the entire theater building.