Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of
performing art
The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perfor ...
that uses live performers, usually
actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of
gesture, speech, song,
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...
, and
dance. Elements of art, such as painted scenery and
stagecraft such as
lighting
Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylig ...
are used to enhance the physicality, presence and immediacy of the experience. The specific place of the performance is also named by the word "theatre" as derived from the
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...
θέατρον (théatron, "a place for viewing"), itself from θεάομαι (theáomai, "to see", "to watch", "to observe").
Modern Western theatre comes, in large measure, from the
theatre of ancient Greece
Ancient Greek theatre was a theatrical culture that flourished in ancient Greece from 700 BC. The city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political, and religious place during this period, was its centre, where the theatre was ...
, from which it borrows technical terminology, classification into
genres
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
, and many of its
theme
Theme or themes may refer to:
* Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work
* Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos
* Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...
s,
stock characters, and plot elements. Theatre artist
Patrice Pavis defines theatricality,
theatrical language, stage writing and the
specificity of theatre as synonymous expressions that differentiate theatre from the other
performing arts,
literature
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
and the arts in general.
Modern theatre includes performances of
plays
Play most commonly refers to:
* Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment
* Play (theatre), a work of drama
Play may refer also to:
Computers and technology
* Google Play, a digital content service
* Play Framework, a Java framework
* P ...
and
musical theatre. The art forms of
ballet
Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
and
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...
are also theatre and use many conventions such as
acting, costumes and staging. They were influential to the development of
musical theatre; see those articles for more information.
History of theatre
Classical and Hellenistic Greece
![Phlyax scene Louvre CA7249](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Phlyax_scene_Louvre_CA7249.jpg)
The
city-state
A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...
of
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
is where Western theatre originated. It was part of a broader
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...
of theatricality and performance in
classical Greece that included
festivals
A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...
,
religious rituals
Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...
,
politics
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...
,
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
, athletics and gymnastics,
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...
,
poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
, weddings, funerals, and ''
symposia
''Symposia'' is a genus of South American araneomorph spiders in the family Cybaeidae, and was first described by Eugène Simon in 1898.
Species
it contains six species in Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic o ...
''.
Participation in the city-state's many festivals—and mandatory attendance at the
City Dionysia
The Dionysia (, , ; Greek: Διονύσια) was a large festival in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus, the central events of which were the theatrical performances of dramatic tragedies and, from 487 BC, comedies. It was the s ...
as an audience member (or even as a participant in the theatrical productions) in particular—was an important part of
citizenship
Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection".
Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
. Civic participation also involved the evaluation of the
rhetoric of
orators
Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech delive ...
evidenced in performances in the
law-court or
political assembly, both of which were understood as analogous to the theatre and increasingly came to absorb its dramatic vocabulary. The Greeks also developed the concepts of
dramatic criticism
Theatre criticism is a genre of arts criticism, and the act of writing or speaking about the performing arts such as a play or opera.
Theatre criticism is distinct from drama criticism, as the latter is a division of literary criticism whereas t ...
and theatre architecture. Actors were either amateur or at best semi-professional. The
theatre of ancient Greece
Ancient Greek theatre was a theatrical culture that flourished in ancient Greece from 700 BC. The city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political, and religious place during this period, was its centre, where the theatre was ...
consisted of three types of
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...
:
tragedy
Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...
,
comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
, and the
satyr play
The satyr play is a form of Attic theatre performance related to both comedy and tragedy. It preserves theatrical elements of dialogue, actors speaking verse, a chorus that dances and sings, masks and costumes. Its relationship to tragedy is str ...
.
The origins of theatre in ancient Greece, according to
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...
(384–322 BCE), the first theoretician of theatre, are to be found in the festivals that honored Dionysus. The performances were given in semi-circular auditoria cut into hillsides, capable of seating 10,000–20,000 people. The stage consisted of a dancing floor (orchestra), dressing room and scene-building area (skene). Since the words were the most important part, good acoustics and clear delivery were paramount. The actors (always men) wore masks appropriate to the characters they represented, and each might play several parts.
Athenian tragedy—the oldest surviving form of tragedy—is a type of
dance-drama that formed an important part of the theatrical culture of the city-state. Having emerged sometime during the 6th century BCE, it flowered during the 5th century BCE (from the end of which it began to spread throughout the Greek world), and continued to be popular until the beginning of the
Hellenistic period
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
.
No tragedies from the 6th century BCE and only 32 of the more than a thousand that were performed in during the 5th century BCE have survived. We have complete texts
extant by
Aeschylus
Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek ...
,
Sophocles
Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or c ...
, and
Euripides
Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars a ...
. The origins of tragedy remain obscure, though by the 5th century BCE it was
institutionalised in competitions (''
agon'') held as part of festivities celebrating
Dionysus
In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Roma ...
(the
god
In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
of
wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
and
fertility
Fertility is the capability to produce offspring through reproduction following the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility rate is the average number of children born by a female during her lifetime and is quantified demographically. Fertili ...
). As contestants in the City Dionysia's competition (the most prestigious of the festivals to stage drama) playwrights were required to present a
tetralogy
A tetralogy (from Greek τετρα- '' tetra-'', "four" and -λογία ''-logia'', "discourse") is a compound work that is made up of four distinct works. The name comes from the Attic theater, in which a tetralogy was a group of three tragedie ...
of plays (though the individual works were not necessarily connected by story or theme), which usually consisted of three tragedies and one satyr play. The performance of tragedies at the City Dionysia may have begun as early as 534 BCE; official records (''didaskaliai'') begin from 501 BCE, when the satyr play was introduced.
Most Athenian tragedies dramatise events from
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...
, though ''
The Persians
''The Persians'' ( grc, Πέρσαι, ''Persai'', Latinised as ''Persae'') is an Greek tragedy, ancient Greek tragedy written during the Classical Greece, Classical period of Ancient Greece by the Greek tragedian Aeschylus. It is the second and on ...
''—which stages the
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
response to news of their military defeat at the
Battle of Salamis in 480 BCE—is the notable exception in the surviving drama. When Aeschylus won first prize for it at the City Dionysia in 472 BCE, he had been writing tragedies for more than 25 years, yet its tragic treatment of recent history is the earliest example of
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...
to survive. More than 130 years later, the philosopher
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...
analysed 5th-century Athenian tragedy in the oldest surviving work of
dramatic theory—his ''
Poetics'' (c. 335 BCE).
Athenian comedy is conventionally divided into three periods, "Old Comedy", "Middle Comedy", and "New Comedy". Old Comedy survives today largely in the form of the eleven surviving plays of
Aristophanes
Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme Kydathenaion ( la, Cydathenaeum), was a comic playwright or comedy-writer of ancient Athens and a poet of Old Attic Comedy. Eleven of his for ...
, while Middle Comedy is largely lost (preserved only in relatively short fragments in authors such as
Athenaeus of Naucratis
Athenaeus of Naucratis (; grc, Ἀθήναιος ὁ Nαυκρατίτης or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; la, Athenaeus Naucratita) was a Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing about the end of th ...
). New Comedy is known primarily from the substantial papyrus fragments of
Menander. Aristotle defined comedy as a representation of laughable people that involves some kind of blunder or ugliness that does not cause pain or disaster.
In addition to the categories of comedy and tragedy at the City Dionysia, the festival also included the
Satyr Play
The satyr play is a form of Attic theatre performance related to both comedy and tragedy. It preserves theatrical elements of dialogue, actors speaking verse, a chorus that dances and sings, masks and costumes. Its relationship to tragedy is str ...
. Finding its origins in rural, agricultural rituals dedicated to Dionysus, the satyr play eventually found its way to Athens in its most well-known form. Satyr's themselves were tied to the god Dionysus as his loyal woodland companions, often engaging in drunken revelry and mischief at his side. The satyr play itself was classified as tragicomedy, erring on the side of the more modern burlesque traditions of the early twentieth century. The plotlines of the plays were typically concerned with the dealings of the pantheon of Gods and their involvement in human affairs, backed by the chorus of
Satyrs
In Greek mythology, a satyr ( grc-gre, σάτυρος, sátyros, ), also known as a silenus or ''silenos'' ( grc-gre, σειληνός ), is a male nature spirit with ears and a tail resembling those of a horse, as well as a permanent, exag ...
. However, according to
Webster, satyr actors did not always perform typical satyr actions and would break from the acting traditions assigned to the character type of a mythical forest creature.
Roman theatre
![Pompeii - Villa del Cicerone - Mosaic - MAN](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Pompeii_-_Villa_del_Cicerone_-_Mosaic_-_MAN.jpg)
Western theatre developed and expanded considerably under the
Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
. The Roman historian
Livy
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...
wrote that the Romans first experienced theatre in the 4th century BCE, with a performance by
Etruscan __NOTOC__
Etruscan may refer to:
Ancient civilization
*The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy
*Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization
**Etruscan architecture
**Etruscan art
**Etruscan cities
** Etrusca ...
actors. Beacham argues that they had been familiar with "pre-theatrical practices" for some time before that recorded contact. The
theatre of ancient Rome
The architectural form of theatre in Rome has been linked to later, more well-known examples from the 1st century BC to the 3rd Century AD. The theatre of ancient Rome referred to as a period of time in which theatrical practice and performance t ...
was a thriving and diverse art form, ranging from
festival
A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival ...
performances of
street theatre, nude dancing, and
acrobatics, to the staging of
Plautus
Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the ...
's broadly appealing situation
comedies
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term origin ...
, to the
high-style, verbally elaborate
tragedies
Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...
of
Seneca
Seneca may refer to:
People and language
* Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname
* Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America
** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people
Places Extrat ...
. Although Rome had a native tradition of performance, the
Hellenization
Hellenization (other British spelling Hellenisation) or Hellenism is the adoption of Greek culture, religion, language and identity by non-Greeks. In the ancient period, colonization often led to the Hellenization of indigenous peoples; in the H ...
of
Roman culture
The culture of ancient Rome existed throughout the almost 1200-year history of the civilization of Ancient Rome. The term refers to the culture of the Roman Republic, later the Roman Empire, which at its peak covered an area from present-day Lo ...
in the 3rd century BCE had a profound and energizing effect on Roman theatre and encouraged the development of
Latin literature
Latin literature includes the essays, histories, poems, plays, and other writings written in the Latin language. The beginning of formal Latin literature dates to 240 BC, when the first stage play in Latin was performed in Rome. Latin literature ...
of the highest quality for the stage. The only surviving plays from the Roman Empire are ten dramas attributed to
Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 BCE–65 CE), the Corduba-born Stoic philosopher and tutor of Nero.
Indian theatre
![Demon Yakshagana](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Demon_Yakshagana.jpg)
The first form of
Indian theatre
Theatre of India is one of the most ancient forms of theatre and it features a detailed textual, sculptural, and dramatic effects which emerged in mid first millennium BC. Like in the areas of music and dance, the Indian theatre is also defin ...
was the
Sanskrit theatre, earliest-surviving fragments of which date from the 1st century CE. It began after the development of
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
and
Roman theatre and before the development of theatre in other parts of Asia. It emerged sometime between the 2nd century BCE and the 1st century CE and flourished between the 1st century CE and the 10th, which was a period of relative peace in the
history of India during which hundreds of plays were written. The wealth of archeological evidence from earlier periods offers no indication of the existence of a tradition of theatre. The ancient ''
Vedas
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute th ...
'' (
hymn
A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hy ...
s from between 1500 and 1000 BCE that are among the earliest examples of
literature
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
in the world) contain no hint of it (although a small number are composed in a form of
dialogue) and the
ritual
A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized ...
s of the
Vedic period
The Vedic period, or the Vedic age (), is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas (ca. 1300–900 BCE), was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, betwe ...
do not appear to have developed into theatre. The ''
Mahābhāṣya
''Mahabhashya'' ( sa, महाभाष्य, IAST: '','' , "great commentary"), attributed to Patañjali, is a commentary on selected rules of Sanskrit grammar from Pāṇini's treatise, the ''Aṣṭādhyāyī'', as well as Kātyāyana's ''V ...
'' by
Patañjali
Patanjali ( sa, पतञ्जलि, Patañjali), also called Gonardiya or Gonikaputra, was a Hindu author, mystic and philosopher. Very little is known about him, and while no one knows exactly when he lived; from analysis of his works it i ...
contains the earliest reference to what may have been the seeds of Sanskrit drama. This treatise on
grammar
In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraints, a field that includes domain ...
from 140 BCE provides a feasible date for the beginnings of theatre in India.
The major source of evidence for Sanskrit theatre is ''Natyashastra, A Treatise on Theatre'' (''Nātyaśāstra''), a compendium whose date of composition is uncertain (estimates range from 200 BCE to 200 CE) and whose authorship is attributed to Bharata Muni. The ''Treatise'' is the most complete work of dramaturgy in the ancient world. It addresses
acting,
dance,
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...
, Dramaturgy, dramatic construction, Theatre architecture, architecture, Costume design, costuming, Theatrical makeup, make-up, Theatrical properties, props, the organisation of companies, the audience, competitions, and offers a Hindu mythology, mythological account of the origin of theatre. In doing so, it provides indications about the nature of actual theatrical practices. Sanskrit theatre was performed on sacred ground by priests who had been trained in the necessary skills (dance, music, and recitation) in a [hereditary process]. Its aim was both to educate and to entertain.
Under the patronage of royal courts, performers belonged to professional companies that were directed by a stage manager (''sutradhara''), who may also have acted. This task was thought of as being analogous to that of a Puppetry, puppeteer—the literal meaning of "''sutradhara''" is "holder of the strings or threads". The performers were trained rigorously in vocal and physical technique. There were no prohibitions against female performers; companies were all-male, all-female, and of mixed gender. Certain sentiments were considered inappropriate for men to enact, however, and were thought better suited to women. Some performers played characters their own age, while others played ages different from their own (whether younger or older). Of all the elements of theatre, the ''Treatise'' gives most attention to acting (''abhinaya''), which consists of two styles: realistic (''lokadharmi'') and conventional (''natyadharmi''), though the major focus is on the latter.
Its drama is regarded as the highest achievement of Sanskrit literature. It utilised
stock characters, such as the hero (''nayaka''), heroine (''nayika''), or clown (''vidusaka''). Actors may have specialized in a particular type. Kālidāsa in the 1st century BCE, is arguably considered to be ancient India's greatest Sanskrit dramatist. Three famous romantic plays written by Kālidāsa are the ''Mālavikāgnimitram'' (''Mālavikā and Agnimitra''), ''Vikramuurvashiiya'' (''Pertaining to Vikrama and Urvashi''), and ''The Recognition of Sakuntala, Abhijñānaśākuntala'' (''The Recognition of Shakuntala''). The last was inspired by a story in the ''Mahabharata'' and is the most famous. It was the first to be translated into English language, English and German language, German. ''Abhijñānaśākuntalam, Śakuntalā'' (in English translation) influenced Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Goethe's ''Goethe's Faust, Faust'' (1808–1832).
The next great Indian dramatist was Bhavabhuti (c. 7th century CE). He is said to have written the following three plays: ''Malati-Madhava'', ''Mahaviracharita'' and ''Uttar Ramacharita''. Among these three, the last two cover between them the entire epic of ''Ramayana''. The powerful Indian emperor Harsha (606–648) is credited with having written three plays: the comedy ''Ratnavali'', ''Priyadarsika'', and the Buddhist drama ''Nagananda''.
East Asian theatre
![Lijiang Yunnan China-Naxi-people-carrying-baskets-01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Lijiang_Yunnan_China-Naxi-people-carrying-baskets-01.jpg)
The Tang dynasty is sometimes known as "The Age of 1000 Entertainments". During this era, Ming Huang formed an acting school known as The Pear Garden to produce a form of drama that was primarily musical. That is why actors are commonly called "Children of the Pear Garden." During the dynasty of Empress Ling, Shadow play, shadow puppetry first emerged as a recognized form of theatre in China. There were two distinct forms of shadow puppetry, Pekingese (northern) and Cantonese (southern). The two styles were differentiated by the method of making the puppets and the positioning of the rods on the puppets, as opposed to the type of Play (theatre), play performed by the puppets. Both styles generally performed plays depicting great adventure and fantasy, rarely was this very stylized form of theatre used for political propaganda.
Japanese forms of Kabuki, Noh, Nō, and Kyōgen developed in the 17th century CE.
Cantonese shadow puppets were the larger of the two. They were built using thick leather which created more substantial shadows. Symbolic color was also very prevalent; a black face represented honesty, a red one bravery. The rods used to control Cantonese puppets were attached perpendicular to the puppets' heads. Thus, they were not seen by the audience when the shadow was created. Pekingese puppets were more delicate and smaller. They were created out of thin, translucent leather (usually taken from the belly of a donkey). They were painted with vibrant paints, thus they cast a very colorful shadow. The thin rods which controlled their movements were attached to a leather collar at the neck of the puppet. The rods ran parallel to the bodies of the puppet and then turned at a ninety degree angle to connect to the neck. While these rods were visible when the shadow was cast, they laid outside the shadow of the puppet; thus they did not interfere with the appearance of the figure. The rods are attached at the necks to facilitate the use of multiple heads with one body. When the heads were not being used, they were stored in a muslin book or fabric-lined box. The heads were always removed at night. This was in keeping with the old superstition that if left intact, the puppets would come to life at night. Some puppeteers went so far as to store the heads in one book and the bodies in another, to further reduce the possibility of reanimating puppets. Shadow puppetry is said to have reached its highest point of artistic development in the eleventh century before becoming a tool of the government.
In the Song dynasty, there were many popular plays involving acrobatics and music. These developed in the Yuan dynasty into a more sophisticated form known as ''zaju'', with a four- or five-act structure. Yuan drama spread across China and diversified into numerous regional forms, one of the best known of which is Peking Opera which is still popular today.
Xiangsheng is a certain traditional Chinese comedic performance in the forms of monologue or dialogue.
Indonesian theatre
![Ramawijaya dan Shinta pada Sendratari Ramayana Prambanan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Ramawijaya_dan_Shinta_pada_Sendratari_Ramayana_Prambanan.jpg)
In Indonesia, theatre performances have become an important part of local culture, theatre performances in Indonesia have been developed for thousands of years. Most of Theatre of Indonesia, Indonesia's oldest theatre forms are linked directly to local literary traditions (oral and written). The prominent puppet theatre, puppet theatres — wayang golek (wooden rod-puppet play) of the Sundanese people#culture, Sundanese and wayang kulit (leather shadow-puppet play) of the Javanese culture, Javanese and Balinese culture, Balinese—draw much of their repertoire from indigenized versions of the Ramayana and Mahabharata. These tales also provide source material for the wayang wong (human theatre) of Java and Bali, which uses actors. Some wayang golek performances, however, also present Muslim stories, called ''menak''.
Wayang is an ancient form of storytelling that renowned for its elaborate puppet/human and complex musical styles.
The earliest evidence is from the late 1st millennium CE, in medieval-era texts and archeological sites.
The oldest known record that concerns wayang is from the 9th century. Around 840 AD an Old Javanese (Kawi) inscriptions called Jaha Inscriptions issued by Maharaja Sri Lokapalaform Medang Kingdom in Central Java mentions three sorts of performers: atapukan, aringgit, and abanol. Aringgit means Wayang puppet show, Atapukan means Mask dance show, and abanwal means joke art. Ringgit is described in an 11th-century Javanese poem as a leather shadow figure.
Medieval Islamic traditions
Theatre in the Islamic Golden Age, medieval Islamic world included 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 ''Shahid, shaheed'' (martyrdom) of Ali's sons Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali. Secular plays were known as ''akhraja'', recorded in medieval ''Adab (behavior), adab'' literature, though they were less common than puppetry and ''ta'ziya'' theatre.
Early modern and modern theatre in the West
Theatre took on many alternative forms in the West between the 15th and 19th centuries, including ''commedia dell'arte'' from Italian theatre, and melodrama. The general trend was away from the poetic drama of the Greeks and the Renaissance and toward a more naturalistic prose style of dialogue, especially following the Industrial Revolution.
Theatre took a big pause during 1642 and 1660 in England because of the Puritans, Puritan Interregnum.
The rising anti-theatrical sentiment among Puritans saw William Prynne write ''Histriomastix'' (1633), the most notorious attack on theatre prior to the ban.
Viewing theatre as sinful, the Puritans ordered the London theatre closure 1642, closure of London theatres in 1642. On 24 January 1643, the actors protested against the ban by writing a pamphlet titled ''The Actors remonstrance or complaint for the silencing of their profession, and banishment from their severall play-houses''. This stagnant period ended once Charles II came back to the throne in 1660 in the Restoration (England), Restoration. Theatre (among other arts) exploded, with influence from French culture, since Charles had been exiled in France in the years previous to his reign.
![Theatre Royal 20130408 023](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Theatre_Royal_20130408_023.JPG)
In 1660, two companies were licensed to perform, the Duke's Company and the King's Company. Performances were held in converted buildings, such as Lisle's Tennis Court. The first West End theatre, known as Theatre Royal in Covent Garden, London, was designed by Thomas Killigrew and built on the site of the present Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
One of the big changes was the new theatre house. Instead of the type of the Elizabethan era, such as the Globe Theatre, round with no place for the actors to prepare for the next act and with no "theatre manners", the theatre house became transformed into a place of refinement, with a stage in front and stadium seating facing it. Since seating was no longer all the way around the stage, it became prioritized—some seats were obviously better than others. The king would have the best seat in the house: the very middle of the theatre, which got the widest view of the stage as well as the best way to see the point of view and vanishing point that the stage was constructed around. Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg was one of the most influential set designers of the time because of his use of floor space and scenery.
Because of the turmoil before this time, there was still some controversy about what should and should not be put on the stage. Jeremy Collier, a preacher, was one of the heads in this movement through his piece ''A Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage''. The beliefs in this paper were mainly held by non-theatre goers and the remainder of the Puritans and very religious of the time. The main question was if seeing something immoral on stage affects behavior in the lives of those who watch it, a controversy that is still playing out today.
The seventeenth century had also introduced women to the stage, which was considered inappropriate earlier. These women were regarded as celebrities (also a newer concept, thanks to ideas on individualism that arose in the wake of Renaissance Humanism), but on the other hand, it was still very new and revolutionary that they were on the stage, and some said they were unladylike, and looked down on them. Charles II did not like young men playing the parts of young women, so he asked that women play their own parts. Because women were allowed on the stage, playwrights had more leeway with plot twists, like women dressing as men, and having narrow escapes from morally sticky situations as forms of comedy.
![Charles XII High Life below Stairs Mr](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Charles_XII_High_Life_below_Stairs_Mr._Macready_1829.jpg)
Comedies were full of the young and very much in vogue, with the storyline following their love lives: commonly a young roguish hero professing his love to the chaste and free minded heroine near the end of the play, much like Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Sheridan's ''The School for Scandal''. Many of the comedies were fashioned after the French tradition, mainly Molière, again hailing back to the French influence brought back by the King and the Royals after their exile. Molière was one of the top comedic playwrights of the time, revolutionizing the way comedy was written and performed by combining Italian commedia dell'arte and Neoclassicism, neoclassical French comedy to create some of the longest lasting and most influential satiric comedies. Tragedies were similarly victorious in their sense of righting political power, especially poignant because of the recent Restoration of the Crown. They were also imitations of French tragedy, although the French had a larger distinction between comedy and tragedy, whereas the English fudged the lines occasionally and put some comedic parts in their tragedies. Common forms of non-comedic plays were sentimental comedies as well as something that would later be called ''tragédie bourgeoise'', or domestic tragedy—that is, the tragedy of common life—were more popular in England because they appealed more to English sensibilities.
While theatre troupes were formerly often travelling, the idea of the national theatre gained support in the 18th century, inspired by Ludvig Holberg. The major promoter of the idea of the national theatre in Germany, and also of the ''Sturm und Drang'' poets, was Abel Seyler, the owner of the Hamburgische Entreprise and the Seyler Theatre Company.
[Wilhelm Kosch, "Seyler, Abel", in ''Dictionary of German Biography'', eds. Walther Killy and Rudolf Vierhaus, Vol. 9, Walter de Gruyter editor, 2005, , .]
![Tartu asv2022-04 img27 Vanemuine small building](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Tartu_asv2022-04_img27_Vanemuine_small_building.jpg)
Through the Nineteenth-century theatre, 19th century, the popular theatrical forms of Romanticism, melodrama, Victorian burlesque and the well-made plays of Eugène Scribe, Scribe and Victorien Sardou, Sardou gave way to the problem plays of Naturalism (theatre), Naturalism and Realism (theatre), Realism; the farces of Georges Feydeau, Feydeau; Richard Wagner, Wagner's
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...
tic ''Gesamtkunstwerk'';
musical theatre (including Gilbert and Sullivan's operas); F. C. Burnand's, W. S. Gilbert's and Oscar Wilde's drawing-room comedies; Symbolism (arts), Symbolism; proto-Expressionism in the late works of August Strindberg and Henrik Ibsen; and Edwardian musical comedy.
These trends continued through the Twentieth-century theatre, 20th century in the Realism (theatre), realism of Konstantin Stanislavski, Stanislavski and Lee Strasberg, the political theatre of Erwin Piscator and Bertolt Brecht, the so-called Theatre of the Absurd of Samuel Beckett and Eugène Ionesco, American and British musicals, the collective creations of companies of actors and directors such as Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop, experimental and postmodern theatre of Robert Wilson (director), Robert Wilson and Robert Lepage, the Postcolonialism, postcolonial theatre of August Wilson or Tomson Highway, and Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed.
Types
Drama
Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance. The term comes from a Ancient Greek, Greek word meaning "Action (philosophy), action", which is derived from the verb δράω, ''dráō'', "to do" or "to act". The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a Stage (theatre), stage before an audience, presupposes Collaboration, collaborative modes of production and a collective form of reception. The Dramatic structure, structure of dramatic texts, unlike other forms of
literature
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
, is directly influenced by this collaborative production and collective reception. The English Renaissance theatre, early modern
tragedy
Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...
''Hamlet'' (1601) by William Shakespeare, Shakespeare and the Theatre of ancient Greece, classical Athenian tragedy ''Oedipus Rex'' (c. 429 BCE) by
Sophocles
Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or c ...
are among the masterpieces of the art of drama. A modern example is ''Long Day's Journey into Night'' by Eugene O'Neill (1956).
Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been contrasted with the Epic poetry, epic and the Lyric poetry, lyrical modes ever since
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...
's ''
Poetics'' (c. 335 BCE); the earliest work of
dramatic theory. The use of "drama" in the narrow sense to designate a specific ''type'' of Play (theatre), play dates from the Nineteenth-century theatre, 19th century. Drama in this sense refers to a play that is ''neither'' a comedy nor a tragedy—for example, Émile Zola, Zola's ''Thérèse Raquin'' (1873) or Anton Chekhov, Chekhov's ''Ivanov (play), Ivanov'' (1887). In Ancient Greece however, the word ''drama'' encompassed all theatrical plays, tragic, comic, or anything in between.
Drama is often combined with theatre music, music and
dance: the drama in
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...
is generally sung throughout; Musical theatre, musicals generally include both spoken
dialogue and songs; and some forms of drama have incidental music or musical accompaniment underscoring the dialogue (melodrama and Japanese Noh, Nō, for example). In certain periods of history (the ancient Ancient Rome, Roman and modern Romanticism, Romantic) some dramas have been written to be Closet drama, read rather than performed. In Improvisational theatre, improvisation, the drama does not pre-exist the moment of performance; performers devise a dramatic script spontaneously before an audience.
Musical theatre
![Palladium Theatre (16427934069)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Palladium_Theatre_%2816427934069%29.jpg)
Music and theatre have had a close relationship since ancient times—Classical Athens, Athenian
tragedy
Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...
, for example, was a form of
dance-
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...
that employed a Greek chorus, chorus whose parts were sung (to the accompaniment of an ''aulos''—an instrument comparable to the modern oboe), as were some of the actors' responses and their 'solo songs' (Monody, monodies). Modern
musical theatre is a form of theatre that also combines music, spoken dialogue, and dance. It emerged from comic opera (especially Gilbert and Sullivan), Variety show, variety, vaudeville, and music hall genres of the late Nineteenth-century theatre, 19th and early Twentieth-century theatre, 20th century. After the Edwardian musical comedy that began in the 1890s, the Princess Theatre, New York City, Princess Theatre musicals of the early 20th century, and comedies in the 1920s and 1930s (such as the works of Rodgers and Hammerstein), with ''Oklahoma!'' (1943), musicals moved in a more dramatic direction. Famous musicals over the subsequent decades included ''My Fair Lady'' (1956), ''West Side Story'' (1957), ''The Fantasticks'' (1960), ''Hair (musical), Hair'' (1967), ''A Chorus Line'' (1975), ''Les Misérables (musical), Les Misérables'' (1980), ''Cats (musical), Cats'' (1981), ''Into the Woods'' (1986), and ''The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical), The Phantom of the Opera'' (1986), as well as more contemporary hits including ''Rent (musical), Rent'' (1994), ''The Lion King (musical), The Lion King'' (1997), ''Wicked (musical), Wicked'' (2003), ''Hamilton (musical), Hamilton'' (2015) and ''Frozen (musical), Frozen'' (2018).
Musical theatre may be produced on an intimate scale Off-Broadway, in Community theatre, regional theatres, and elsewhere, but it often includes spectacle. For instance, Broadway theatre, Broadway and West End theatre, West End musicals often include lavish costumes and sets supported by multimillion-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 (play), 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. Black Comedy can have several genres like slapstick humour, dark and sarcastic comedy.
Tragedy
Aristotle's phrase "several kinds being found in separate parts of the play" is a reference to the structural origins of drama. In it the spoken parts were written in the Attic dialect whereas the choral (recited or sung) ones in the Doric Greek, Doric dialect, these discrepancies reflecting the differing religious origins and Metre (poetry), poetic metres of the parts that were fused into a new entity, the theatrical ''drama''.
Tragedy refers to a specific Poetic tradition, tradition of
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...
that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of Western culture, Western civilisation. That tradition has been multiple and discontinuous, yet the term has often been used to invoke a powerful effect of cultural identity and historical continuity—"the Classical Athens, Greeks and the Elizabethan era, Elizabethans, in one cultural form; Hellenistic civilization, Hellenes and Christians, in a common activity," as Raymond Williams puts it. From its obscure origins in the Theatre of ancient Greece, theatres of Athens 2,500 years ago, from which there survives only a fraction of the work of
Aeschylus
Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek ...
,
Sophocles
Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or c ...
and
Euripides
Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars a ...
, through its singular articulations in the works of William Shakespeare, Shakespeare, Lope de Vega, Jean Racine, Racine, and Friedrich Schiller, Schiller, to the more recent Naturalism (theatre), naturalistic tragedy of August Strindberg, Strindberg, Samuel Beckett, Beckett's Modernism, modernist meditations on death, loss and suffering, and Heiner Müller, Müller's Postmodernism, postmodernist reworkings of the tragic canon, tragedy has remained an important site of cultural experimentation, negotiation, struggle, and change. In the wake of Aristotle's ''
Poetics'' (335 BCE), tragedy has been used to make genre distinctions, whether at the scale of poetry in general (where the tragic divides against Epic poetry, epic and Lyric poetry, lyric) or at the scale of the drama (where tragedy is opposed to
comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
). In the Modernity, modern era, tragedy has also been defined against drama, melodrama, Tragicomedy, the tragicomic, and epic theatre.
Improvisation
Improvisation has been a consistent feature of theatre, with the Commedia dell'arte in the sixteenth century being recognised as the first improvisation form. Popularized by Nobel Prize Winner Dario Fo and troupes such as the Upright Citizens Brigade improvisational theatre continues to evolve with many different streams and philosophies. Keith Johnstone and Viola Spolin are recognized as the first teachers of improvisation in modern times, with Johnstone exploring improvisation as an alternative to scripted theatre and Spolin and her successors exploring improvisation principally as a tool for developing dramatic work or skills or as a form for situational comedy. Spolin also became interested in how the process of learning improvisation was applicable to the development of human potential. Spolin's son, Paul Sills popularized improvisational theatre as a theatrical art form when he founded, as its first director, The Second City in Chicago.
Theories
![Kirmestheater1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Kirmestheater1.JPG)
Having been an important part of human culture for more than 2,500 years, theatre has evolved a wide range of different Dramatic theory, theories and practices. Some are related to political or spiritual ideologies, while others are based purely on "artistic" concerns. Some processes focus on a story, some on theatre as event, and some on theatre as catalyst for social change. The Ancient Greek philosophy, classical Greek philosopher
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...
, in his seminal treatise, ''
Poetics'' (c. 335 BCE) is the earliest-surviving example and its arguments have influenced theories of theatre ever since. In it, he offers an account of what he calls "poetry" (a term which in Greek literally means "making" and in this context includes
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...
—
comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
,
tragedy
Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...
, and the
satyr play
The satyr play is a form of Attic theatre performance related to both comedy and tragedy. It preserves theatrical elements of dialogue, actors speaking verse, a chorus that dances and sings, masks and costumes. Its relationship to tragedy is str ...
—as well as lyric poetry, epic poetry, and the dithyramb). He examines its "first principles" and identifies its genres and basic elements; his analysis of
tragedy
Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...
constitutes the core of the discussion.
Aristotle argues that tragedy consists of six qualitative parts, which are (in order of importance) ''Mythos (Aristotle), mythos'' or "plot", ''ethos'' or "character", ''dianoia'' or "thought", ''Lexis (Aristotle), lexis'' or "diction", ''wikt:melos, melos'' or "song", and ''opsis'' or "spectacle". "Although Aristotle's ''Poetics'' is universally acknowledged in the Western culture, Western critical tradition", Marvin Carlson explains, "almost every detail about his seminal work has aroused divergent opinions." Important theatre practitioners of the Twentieth-century theatre, 20th century include Konstantin Stanislavski, Vsevolod Meyerhold, Jacques Copeau, Edward Gordon Craig, Bertolt Brecht, Antonin Artaud, Joan Littlewood, Peter Brook, Jerzy Grotowski, Augusto Boal, Eugenio Barba, Dario Fo, Viola Spolin, Keith Johnstone and Robert Wilson (director).
Stanislavski treated the theatre as an The arts, art-form that is Medium specificity, autonomous from
literature
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
and one in which the playwright's contribution should be respected as that of only one of an ensemble of creative artists. His innovative contribution to modern acting theory has remained at the core of mainstream Western culture, western performance training for much of the last century. That many of the precepts of his Stanislavski's system, system of actor training seem to be common sense and self-evident testifies to its hegemonic success. Actors frequently employ his basic concepts without knowing they do so. Thanks to its promotion and elaboration by acting teachers who were former students and the many translations of his theoretical writings, Stanislavski's 'system' acquired an unprecedented ability to cross cultural boundaries and developed an international reach, dominating debates about acting in Europe and the United States. Many actors routinely equate his 'system' with the North American Method acting, Method, although the latter's exclusively psychological techniques contrast sharply with Stanislavski's multivariant, holistic and Psychophysiology, psychophysical approach, which explores character and action both from the 'inside out' and the 'outside in' and treats the actor's mind and body as parts of a continuum.
Technical aspects
![Vienna - Vienna Opera Backstage - 9729](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Vienna_-_Vienna_Opera_Backstage_-_9729.jpg)
Theatre presupposes Collaboration, collaborative modes of production and a collective form of reception. The Dramatic structure, structure of dramatic texts, unlike other forms of
literature
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
, is directly influenced by this collaborative production and collective reception. The production of Play (theatre), plays usually involves contributions from a playwright, theatre director, director, a Cast member, cast of actors, and a technical production team that includes a set designer, scenic or set designer, lighting designer, costume designer, sound designer, Stage management, stage manager, Production manager (theatre), production manager and technical director. Depending on the production, this team may also include a composer, Dramaturge, dramaturg, video designer or fight director.
![Yokatsomo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Yokatsomo.jpg)
Stagecraft is a generic term referring to the technical aspects of theatrical, film, and video production. It includes, but is not limited to, constructing and rigging scenery, hanging and focusing of lighting, design and procurement of costumes, makeup, procurement of props, stage management, and recording and mixing of sound. Stagecraft is distinct from the wider umbrella term of scenography. Considered a technical rather than an artistic field, it relates primarily to the practical implementation of a designer's artistic vision.
In its most basic form, stagecraft is managed by a single person (often the stage manager of a smaller production) who arranges all scenery, costumes, lighting, and sound, and organizes the cast. At a more professional level, for example in modern Broadway houses, stagecraft is managed by hundreds of skilled carpenters, painters, electricians, stagehands, stitchers, wigmakers, and the like. This modern form of stagecraft is highly technical and specialized: it comprises many sub-disciplines and a vast trove of history and tradition. The majority of stagecraft lies between these two extremes. Regional theatres and larger community theatres will generally have a technical director and a complement of designers, each of whom has a direct hand in their respective designs.
Sub-categories and organization
There are many modern theatre movements which go about producing theatre in a variety of ways. Theatrical enterprises vary enormously in sophistication and purpose. People who are involved vary from novices and hobbyists (in community theatre) to professionals (in Broadway and similar productions). Theatre can be performed with a shoestring budget or on a grand scale with multimillion-dollar budgets. This diversity manifests in the abundance of theatre sub-categories, which include:
* Broadway theatre and West End theatre
* Street theatre
* Community theatre
* Playback theatre
* Dinner theater
* Fringe theatre
* Off-Broadway and Off West End
* Off-Off-Broadway
* Regional theater in the United States, Regional theatre in the United States
* Touring theatre
* Summer stock theatre
Repertory companies
![Cruikshank Pierce' Egan's Real Life - Drury Lane Theatre 1821](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Cruikshank_Pierce%27_Egan%27s_Real_Life_-_Drury_Lane_Theatre_1821.jpg)
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. The Royal National Theatre in London performs on a repertory system.
Repertory theatre generally involves a group of similarly accomplished actors, and relies more on the reputation of the group than on an individual star actor. It also typically relies less on strict control by a director and less on adherence to theatrical conventions, since actors who have worked together in multiple productions can respond to each other without relying as much on convention or external direction.
Producing vs. presenting
![Panorámica interior del Teatro Colón (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Panor%C3%A1mica_interior_del_Teatro_Col%C3%B3n_%28cropped%29.jpg)
In order to put on a piece of theatre, both a theatre company and a theatre (structure), 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, who do not have their own theatre venue, 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 more 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.
Some performance groups perform in non-theatrical spaces. Such performances can take place outside or inside, in a non-traditional performance space, and include
street theatre, and site-specific theatre. Non-traditional venues can be used to create more immersive or meaningful environments for audiences. They can sometimes be modified more heavily than traditional theatre venues, or can accommodate different kinds of equipment, lighting and sets.
A touring theatre, 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 (AEA, 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.
See also
* Acting
* Antitheatricality
* Black light theatre
* Culinary theatre
* Illusionistic tradition
* List of awards in theatre
* List of playwrights
* List of theatre personnel
* List of theatre festivals
* List of theatre directors
* Lists of theatres
* Performance art
* Puppetry
* Reader's theatre
* Site-specific theatre
* Theatre consultant
* Theatre for development
* Theater (structure)
* Theatre technique
* Theatrical style
* Theatrical troupe
* World Theatre Day
Explanatory notes
Citations
General sources
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Further reading
* Aston, Elaine, and George Savona. 1991. ''Theatre as Sign-System: A Semiotics of Text and Performance''. London and New York: Routledge. .
* Walter Benjamin, Benjamin, Walter. 1928. ''The Origin of German Tragic Drama.'' Trans. John Osborne. London and New York: Verso, 1998. .
* Brown, John Russell. 1997. ''What is Theatre?: An Introduction and Exploration.'' Boston and Oxford: Focal P. .
* Bryant, Jye (2018). Writing & Staging A New Musical: A Handbook. Kindle Direct Publishing. .
* Carnicke, Sharon Marie. 2000. "Stanislavsky's System: Pathways for the Actor". In Hodge (2000, 11–36).
* Dacre, Kathy, and Paul Fryer, eds. 2008. ''Stanislavski on Stage.'' Sidcup, Kent: Stanislavski Centre Rose Bruford College. .
* Gilles Deleuze, Deleuze, Gilles and Félix Guattari. 1972. ''Anti-Œdipus''. Trans. Robert Hurley, Mark Seem and Helen R. Lane. London and New York: Continuum, 2004. Vol. 1. New Accents Ser. London and New York: Methuen. .
* Rita Felski, Felski, Rita, ed. 2008. ''Rethinking Tragedy.'' Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP. .
* Harrison, Martin. 1998. ''The Language of Theatre''. London: Routledge. .
* Phyllis Hartnoll, Hartnoll, Phyllis, ed. 1983. ''The Oxford Companion to the Theatre''. 4th ed. Oxford: Oxford UP. .
* Hodge, Alison, ed. 2000. ''Twentieth-Century Actor Training''. London and New York: Routledge. .
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* Leach, Robert, and Victor Borovsky, eds. 1999. ''A History of Russian Theatre.'' Cambridge: Cambridge UP. .
* Meyer-Dinkgräfe, Daniel. 2001. ''Approaches to Acting: Past and Present.'' London and New York: Continuum. .
* Vsevolod Meyerhold, Meyerhold, Vsevolod. 1991. ''Meyerhold on Theatre''. Ed. and trans. Edward Braun. Revised edition. London: Methuen. .
* Mitter, Shomit. 1992. ''Systems of Rehearsal: Stanislavsky, Brecht, Grotowski and Brook.'' London and NY: Routledge. .
* O'Brien, Nick. 2010. ''Stanislavski In Practise''. London: Routledge. .
* Rayner, Alice. 1994. ''To Act, To Do, To Perform: Drama and the Phenomenology of Action.'' Theater: Theory/Text/Performance Ser. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. .
* Roach, Joseph R. 1985. ''The Player's Passion: Studies in the Science of Acting''. Theater:Theory/Text/Performance Ser. Ann Arbor: U of Michigan P. .
* Speirs, Ronald, trans. 1999. ''The Birth of Tragedy and Other Writings.'' By Friedrich Nietzsche. Ed. Raymond Geuss and Ronald Speirs. Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy ser. Cambridge: Cambridge UP. .
External links
Theatre Archive Project (UK)British Library & University of Sheffield.
University of Bristol Theatre CollectionMusic Hall and Theatre History of Britain and Ireland
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Theatre,
Stage terminology
Performing arts