Many works of traditional performing arts are staged in a square or a plaza. Those squares or plazas are usually a space in front of some temple. That’s why a square is a public space, a place where we could all participate in performing arts. Basically, there are no boundaries for the performances in a square. As of today, the square has developed into a theatre in a building, and there are distinct boundaries for onstage and offstage.
In a public square, the audience would be the common people, or the audience would be the deities of a temple if the performance is held there. If a performance is given in a palace, the most important spectator would be the emperor, and the purpose of that performance is to start a dialogue with the emperor. If that emperor is open-minded, then the dialogue would be developmental and critical; but if the emperor is conservative, the performance would become ritualised, decorative, and formalised. Then, all would become some sort of glorification, maybe it’d be dancing or singing; everything would become just a ritual.