The stage is at the center of a session/room and is a dynamic area for hosts (and attendees when applicable) to move on/off stage at any time. Configuring and managing the stage can be done at any time, so be careful when making changes in real time.
Important Note: The stage is always on for sessions/rooms using the Webinar theme. However, it is configurable for those using the Workshop theme (on by default) and Meeting theme (off by default).
Configuring the stage (Workshop & Meeting themes only)
Any host can toggle the stage on/off from the Customization panel. Toggling the stage on/off adjusts the layout of the session/room to be in a grid view when the stage is off or a gallery view when the stage is on. When the stage is on, hosts can further adjust the layout using the Grid vs. Speaker layouts. Hosts can also join the stage and add other attendees to the stage from the stage panel.
Managing permissions for the stage
Hosts can configure who can take the stage: Hosts only (default) or Anyone (means any attendee can take the stage without a host inviting them first). Hosts can change these permissions in the Permissions menu within the Customization panel.
Adjusting the look and feel for the stage
Hosts can configure animations for an empty stage, in addition to the color of the stage background. Hosts can change these settings in the Stage menu within the Customization panel.
Inviting attendees to the stage
Hosts can invite attendees to the stage from the Attendees panel. Hosts can also remove attendees from the stage via this same panel.
Note: In the Meeting and Workshop themes, attendees will instantly be added to the stage because their audio/video are already connected. However, in the Webinar theme, attendees will need to accept the invite to the stage and configure their audio/video in a popup dialog before accepting. If an attendee declines an invite to join the stage, the host will be notified via a toast at the top of the screen.
Highlighting chat messages to the stage
Hosts can highlight any chat message to display as a chyron on stage for everyone to see. To do so, they can hover over any chat message to reveal a menu and button to Highlight message. When a message is highlighted, any host has the ability to remove it from the stage by finding the message in chat and clicking Stop highlighting message. Only one message can be highlighted on stage at a time.
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