The notion that the actors performed (principally) on a stage whilst the chorus performed (principally) in the orchêstra is another important twentieth-century chimaera. Although alien to Dörpfeld's view of the Greek theatre, this idea was integral to Fiechter's vision of performance before a grand façade. Pickard-Cambridge was alive to the issue at stake:

Pickard-Cambridge's sentiments are in line with Plato's view that tragedy is essentially a form of choral dance. Aristotle, taking the opposite view, argued that the chorus should function as a character within the drama, and also states that the central character is not exceptional but just better than average. We should note the corollary that, being homogeneous, both chorus and protagonists ought to share the same acting space. Pickard-Cambridge stressed the hieratic aspect of tragic performance and we need also to consider the democratic aspect. Accounts of Reinhardt's production of Oedipus – from the days when Dörpfeld still held sway in Germany – illustrate the primary implication of using a stage: a mass of Thebans at the foot of a stage emphasized the larger-than-life stature of Oedipus the tragic hero.