Description and usage
The theater was normally a semicircular open structure capable of seating several thousand people and used for public assemblies.
Translation
In some languages the most appropriate equivalent for “theater” is actually “meeting place.” In other languages translators may use a term that designates an “enclosure.” Translators should avoid a word that has the narrow meaning of “cinema.” The ancient theater was used for a variety of public events, including drama presentations. Perhaps for this reason, CEV has rendered the Greek word theatron in ACT 19:29 as “place where the town meetings were held” and has left the word untranslated in ACT 19:31.