Jeff,
My "stage" serves two purposes. One functional, the other artistic. My screen is so large, nearly 14 feet diagonal, that some light was reflected back into the screen from the light gray carpeting. The functional part of the stage is to absorb that light, as it is covered with both black and dark Gray carpet.
The artistic part is that I constructed the stage in a complete semi-circle. The carpet was then cut and laid by myself in the design of a huge film reel. The stage is 8 feet long and extends 4 feet wide, and is a mere five inches tall. The inner part of the "reel" where the film would be wound is illuminated with blue rope-lighting. When the screen is lowered, it drops slowly and stops at the back lip of the stage.