Theatre

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Serge Sudeikin's poster for the Bat Theatre (1922).
Serge Sudeikin's poster for the Bat Theatre (1922).
This article is about the field of performing arts. For the structure theatre is performed in, see theater (structure). For other uses, see Theatre (disambiguation).

Theatre (or theater, see spelling differences) (from French "théâtre", from Greek "theatron", θέατρον, meaning "place of seeing") is the branch of the performing arts concerned with acting out stories in front of an audience using combinations of speech, gesture, mime, puppets, music, dance, sound and spectacle — indeed any one or more elements of the other performing arts. Theatre has been defined as what "occurs when one or more human beings, isolated in time and/or space, present themselves to another or others."[1] In addition to the standard narrative dialogue style, theatre takes other forms, such as opera, ballet, mime, kabuki, puppetry, classical Indian dance, Chinese opera, mummers' plays, improvisational theatre and pantomime.

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[edit] Overview of theatre

New York State Theater, Lincoln Center
New York State Theater, Lincoln Center

"Drama" (literally translated, Action, from a verbal root meaning "I do") is that branch of theatre in which speech, either from written text (plays), or improvised is paramount. The first theatre, the Theatre of ancient Greece, created the definition of a theatre: an audience in a half-circle watching an elevated stage where actors use props staging plays. "Musical theatre" is a form of theatre combining music, songs, dance routines, and spoken dialogue. However, theatre is more than just what one sees on stage. Theatre involves an entire world behind the scenes that creates the costumes, sets and lighting to make the overall effect interesting.

There is a long tradition of political theatre, which aims to educate audiences on contemporary issues and encourage social change. The Catholic church took advantage of the entertainment value of theatre to create passion plays, mystery plays and morality plays.

There are a variety of philosophies, artistic processes, and theatrical approaches to creating plays and drama. Some are connected to political or spiritual ideologies, and some based on purely "artistic" concerns. Some processes focus on a story, some on theatre as event, some on theatre as catalyst for social change. According to Aristotle's seminal theatrical critique Poetics, there are six elements necessary for theatre: Plot, Character, Idea, Language, Song, and Spectacle. The 17th-century Spanish writer Lope de Vega wrote that for theatre one needs "three boards, two actors, and one passion". Others notable for their contribution to theatrical philosophy are Konstantin Stanislavski, Antonin Artaud, Bertolt Brecht, Orson Welles, Peter Brook, Jerzy Grotowski.

The most recognizable figures in theatre are the directors, playwrights and actors, but theatre is a highly collaborative endeavour. Plays are usually produced by a production team that commonly includes a scenic or set designer, lighting designer, costume designer, sound designer, dramaturg, stage manager, and production manager. The artistic staff are assisted by technical theatre personnel who handle creation and execution of the production.

Some theater experts argue that actors should study all of the commonly taught acting methods to perfect their craft, such as the Meisner, Stanislavsky, Strasberg, and Hagen acting methods.

[edit] Genres of theatre

There are a variety of genres that writers, producers and directors can employ in theatre to suit a variety of tastes:

  • Musical theatre: A theatrical genre in which a story is told through the performance of singing (with instrumental music), spoken dialogue and often dance.
  • Natya Sacred classical Indian musical theatre that includes natya proper (mime) and nritta (pure dance).
  • Theatre for social change: Theatre that addresses a social issue and uses performance as a way of illustrating injustice to the audience.
  • Comedy: Comes from the Greek word komos which means celebration, revel or merrymaking. It does not necessarily mean funny, but more focuses on a problem that leads to some form of catastrophe which in the end has a happy and joyful outcome.
  • Farce: A comic dramatic piece that uses highly improbable situations, stereotyped characters, extravagant exaggeration, fast pacing and violent horseplay.
  • Pantomime: A form of musical drama in which elements of dance, mime, puppetry, slapstick, and melodrama are combined to produce an entertaining and comic theatrical experience, often designed for children. These are often presented around the holidays.
  • Romantic comedy: A medley of clever scheming, calculated coincidence, and wondrous discovery, all of which contribute ultimately to making the events answer precisely to the hero's or heroine's wishes, with the focus on love.
  • Comedy of situation: A comedy that grows out of a character's attempt to solve a problem created by a situation. The attempt is often bumbling but ends up happily.
  • Comedy of manners: Witty, cerebral form of dramatic comedy that depicts and often satirises the manners and affectations of a contemporary society. A comedy of manners is concerned with social usage and the question of whether or not characters meet certain social standards.
  • Commedia dell'arte: Very physical form of comedy which was created and originally performed in Italy. Commedia uses a series of stock characters and a list of events to improvise an entire play.
  • Black comedy: Comedy that tests the boundaries of good taste and moral acceptability by juxtaposing morbid or ghastly elements with comical ones.
  • Melodrama: Originally, a sentimental drama with musical underscoring. Often with an unlikely plot that concerns the suffering of the good at the hands of the villains but ends happily with good triumphant. Featuring stock characters such as the noble hero, the long-suffering heroine, and the cold-blooded villain.
  • Tragedy: A drama that treats in a serious and dignified style the sorrowful or terrible events encountered or caused by a heroic individual. The word "Tragedy" comes from the Greek word "Tragos" which is translated to "Goat". The original meaning may come from the mystery plays of the cult of Dionysos, which centered on the god being killed and his body ripped to pieces, and with a goat or other animal as a proxy for the bloodshed.
  • Tragicomedy: A drama that has a bitter/sweet quality, containing elements of tragedy and comedy.
  • Domestic drama: Drama that focuses on the everyday domestic lives of people and their relationships in the community where they live.
  • Fantasy: The creation of a unique landscape on which a hero goes on a quest to find something that will defeat the powers of evil. Along the way, this hero meets a variety of weird and fantastic characters.
  • Morality play: A morality play is an allegory in which the characters are abstractions of moral ideas.
  • Opera: A theatrical genre in which a story is told and emotion is conveyed primarily through singing (with instrumental music).
  • Rock opera: Concept albums and stage works performed in a dramatic context reminiscent of opera, except that the musical form is rock music.
  • Physical theatre: Theatrical performance in which the primary means of communication is the body, through dance, mime, puppetry and movement, rather than the spoken word.
  • Theatre of the Absurd: Term coined by Martin Esslin to refer to playwrights in Europe and the United States after World War II whose work reflected a sense of being adrift in a world where known values had been shattered. No playwrights ever dubbed themselves "Absurdists," although it has become commonplace to refer to Samuel Beckett, Eugène Ionesco, Harold Pinter, and Jean Genet, among others, by this term. Can be seen as related to the philosophy of existentialism.
  • Meta-Theatre: A genre of theatre made popular with mostly modern audiences, although it did start back in the Elizabethan Era. Meta-Theatre is when a play often completely demolishes the so called "fourth wall" and completely engages the audience. Often about a group of actors, a director, writer and so on. It usually blurs the line between what is scripted and what goes on by accident.
  • Grand Guignol: Now broadly used to refer to any play with on-stage violence, the term originally referred to the bloody and gruesome melodramas produced at the Theatre du Grand Guignol in Paris, France.
  • Total Theatre: Most frequently invoked in reference to Richard Wagner's concept of a Gesamtkuntswerk, or "Total Art Work," in which music, drama, and dance operate together. It has also been used by artists such as Steven Berkoff, who created a style where the actors become both characters and set, often using just one prop throughout the entire play. The style uses features of Greek theatre (eg. a chorus or didactic message), exaggeration and surrealism.
  • Poor Theatre: Jerzy Grotowski coined the phrase "Poor Theatre" in reference to the work he was doing with his theater troupe in Poland. Grotowski's style of poor theatre consisted of many important fine points. For one, there was not a separate stage and place for the audience, instead the actors and the audience shared the same space. There were no sets, props, lighting, music, or any other technical features. The actors were paramount, although their costumes were simple. Grotowski had his actors go through physical training, and even would spend many months rehearsing a play. Some of these poor theatre plays would only be performed once, to a small audience. This Poor Theatre style was very popular during the 1960’s and 70’s, and later on, was used by many acting troupes around the world.

This list is somewhat incomplete and some regard it as eurocentric. None of the genres listed are actually mutually exclusive. The richness of live theatre today is such that its practitioners can borrow from all of these elements and more, and present something that is a multi-disciplinary melange of pretty much everything.

[edit] Theatre venues and styles

[edit] Notable theatre festivals

[edit] Awards in theatre

[edit] Technical theatre

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Bernard Beckerman, head of Hofstra University's department of drama, in his book, Dynamics of Drama

[edit] Further reading


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