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The Stage Unveiled

From Ancient Rituals to Modern Spectacle: Understanding the Art of Performance.

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What is Theatre?

Collaborative Art Form

Theatre is fundamentally a collaborative performing art that utilizes live performers, typically actors, to present experiences of real or imagined events to a live audience within a designated space, frequently a stage.a This dynamic interplay involves performers communicating through a combination of gesture, speech, song, music, and dance.b

Historical Roots and Terminology

As the oldest form of drama, theatre has evolved significantly, now complemented by modern recorded media. The term itself originates from the Ancient Greek word "theatron" (θέατρον), meaning "a place for viewing," derived from "theáomai" (θεάομαι), meaning "to see" or "to watch."a Western theatre's lineage traces substantially back to ancient Greece, inheriting its technical terminology, genre classifications, thematic elements, stock characters, and plot structures.c

Theatrical Entities

A theatre company is an organization dedicated to producing theatrical performances. This is distinct from a theatre troupe or acting company, which refers specifically to a group of performers working collaboratively.345 Modern theatre encompasses a broad spectrum, including plays, musical theatre, ballet, and opera, all of which employ core theatrical conventions like acting, costumes, and staging.

A Journey Through Time

Classical Greece

Western theatre originated in Athens, becoming an integral part of its cultural fabric alongside festivals, religious rituals, politics, and music.789c The city-state's festivals, particularly the City Dionysia, mandated audience participation, fostering a culture of theatricality.141516 Greek theatre developed distinct genres: tragedy, comedy, and the satyr play, with Aristotle identifying its origins in Dionysian festivals.22 The structure typically included an orchestra (dancing floor) and a skene (scene building area), with actors, all male, wearing masks.22

Roman Theatre

Roman theatre, heavily influenced by Greek traditions and Etruscan practices, expanded considerably. It encompassed diverse forms from street performances to sophisticated comedies by Plautus and tragedies by Seneca.4445 While interest in full-length drama waned in favor of other entertainments, Roman theatre notably allowed female performers, a departure from Greek tradition.47

Indian Theatre

Sanskrit theatre, emerging between the 2nd century BCE and 1st century CE, represents the earliest form of Indian theatre, flourishing between the 1st and 10th centuries CE.575859 The foundational text, the Nāṭyaśāstra by Bharata Muni, details aspects of acting, dance, music, and dramatic construction.62 Key figures like Kālidāsa and Bhavabhūti contributed significantly to Sanskrit drama. Traditional forms like Yakshagana and Koodiyattam continue to draw from epic narratives.64

East Asian & Indonesian Theatre

Chinese theatre saw developments during the Tang Dynasty with the "Age of 1000 Entertainments" and the emergence of shadow puppetry. Japanese theatre flourished in the 17th century with forms like Kabuki, Nō, and Kyōgen.64 Indonesian theatre, particularly Wayang (puppet theatre) and Wayang Wong (human theatre), draws heavily from the Ramayana and Mahabharata epics, showcasing intricate storytelling traditions.6567

Medieval Islamic Traditions

The medieval Islamic world featured diverse theatrical expressions, including puppet theatre (hand, shadow, and marionette) and live passion plays known as ta'ziyeh, which reenacted key events from Muslim history, particularly the martyrdom of Hasan and Husayn.69 Secular plays, though less common, were also documented.

Western Theatre: Renaissance to Modern

From the Renaissance onwards, Western theatre evolved through forms like commedia dell'arte and melodrama, gradually shifting towards more naturalistic prose.70 The English theatre experienced a significant pause during the Puritan Interregnum (1642-1660) before flourishing again during the Restoration, influenced by French styles and the introduction of women on stage.7176 The 19th and 20th centuries saw further transformations with the rise of Realism, Naturalism, musical theatre, and avant-garde movements, driven by influential practitioners like Stanislavski and Brecht.82

Forms and Genres

Drama

Drama is the specific mode of fiction presented through performance, derived from the Greek word for "action." It involves actors on a stage before an audience, necessitating collaborative production and collective reception.8384 Masterpieces like Shakespeare's Hamlet and Sophocles' Oedipus Rex exemplify the art of drama.8586

Musical Theatre

Musical theatre integrates music, spoken dialogue, and dance, evolving from genres like comic opera and variety shows.88s It emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with landmark productions like Oklahoma! (1943) marking a shift towards more dramatic narratives.s Contemporary musicals often feature elaborate productions with significant budgets.

Comedy

Comedy utilizes humor to convey a narrative, ranging from classical plays like As You Like It to modern farces such as Boeing Boeing. Black comedy specifically employs humor to address bleak, controversial, or taboo subjects through various styles, including dark and sarcastic tones.90

Tragedy

Tragedy, as defined by Aristotle, is an imitation of a serious, complete action that evokes pity and fear, leading to the purgation of these emotions.90 It has historically played a significant role in shaping Western cultural identity, evolving through distinct periods and styles from ancient Greece to contemporary works.9192939495t

Improvisation

Improvisation, a consistent feature in theatre, finds its roots in forms like the 16th-century Commedia dell'arte. Modern pioneers like Keith Johnstone and Viola Spolin developed distinct philosophies and techniques for improvisational theatre, emphasizing spontaneity and skill development.99 Dario Fo, a Nobel laureate, is renowned for his highly improvisational style.969798

The Essence of Drama

Defining Drama

Drama is the literary mode specifically designed for performance, originating from the Greek word "drāma" (δρᾶμα), meaning "action." This inherent connection to action distinguishes it from other literary forms, as its structure is intrinsically shaped by the collaborative process of production and the collective experience of the audience.8384

Dramatic Structure and Performance

Unlike narrative literature, dramatic texts are conceived with performance in mind, influencing their construction and reception. The interplay between playwright, director, actors, and the technical production team is crucial for bringing a dramatic work to life.84

Integration with Music and Dance

Drama frequently integrates music and dance. Opera, for instance, is sung throughout, while musicals combine spoken dialogue with songs and dance. Certain dramatic forms incorporate incidental music or use musical accompaniment to underscore dialogue, as seen in melodrama or Japanese Nō theatre.p

Music in Theatre

Historical Symbiosis

Music and theatre share a profound historical connection dating back to antiquity. Athenian tragedy, for example, incorporated sung choral passages accompanied by instruments like the aulos, alongside actors' responses and solo songs.87

Modern Musical Theatre

Modern musical theatre represents a distinct genre that synthesizes music, spoken dialogue, and dance. Its roots lie in late 19th and early 20th-century genres such as comic opera, variety shows, and music hall traditions.88 Landmark productions have continually pushed the boundaries of narrative and performance, often featuring lavish staging and complex musical scores.

The Art of Comedy

Defining Comedy

Comedy in theatre employs humor as a primary narrative device. This encompasses a wide range of styles, from the intricate plots of classical comedies like Shakespeare's As You Like It to the more contemporary farces such as Boeing Boeing.90

Black Comedy

A distinct subgenre, black comedy, tackles sensitive or taboo subjects through deliberate humor. It often incorporates elements of slapstick, dark satire, and sardonic wit to explore complex themes, challenging audience perceptions through laughter.

Ancient Roots

The masks of Tragedy and Comedy, depicted in Roman mosaics, symbolize the enduring duality and distinct traditions within dramatic arts. Ancient Greek comedy, particularly Old Comedy and New Comedy, laid foundational principles for humorous dramatic expression.l

The Power of Tragedy

Aristotelian Definition

Aristotle's seminal work, Poetics, defines tragedy as an imitation of a serious, complete, and significant action. It aims to evoke pity and fear in the audience, thereby achieving a catharsis or purgation of these emotions.90

Cultural Significance

Tragedy has historically served as a critical element in the self-definition of Western civilization, providing a continuous yet evolving site for cultural experimentation and reflection.9192 From its Athenian origins through the works of Shakespeare and beyond, it has consistently engaged with profound human experiences.94

Evolution and Adaptation

The concept of tragedy has been continually redefined and adapted across historical periods, contrasting with other dramatic forms like comedy, melodrama, and epic theatre. Its enduring influence lies in its capacity to explore complex societal and individual struggles.t

Improvisation in Practice

Spontaneity and Skill

Improvisational theatre emphasizes spontaneous creation, a practice with historical precedents in forms like Commedia dell'arte. Pioneers such as Keith Johnstone and Viola Spolin developed influential methodologies for improvisational performance and training.99

Modern Innovators

The Nobel laureate Dario Fo is celebrated for his highly improvisational style, demonstrating the artistic potential of spontaneous performance.969798 Institutions like Chicago's The Second City, founded by Paul Sills (son of Viola Spolin), have further popularized improvisation as a significant theatrical art form.

Theoretical Frameworks

Aristotle's Poetics

Aristotle's Poetics (c. 335 BCE) remains the foundational text in dramatic theory, analyzing theatre's core elements. He identified six key components of tragedy: plot (mythos), character (ethos), thought (dianoia), diction (lexis), song (melos), and spectacle (opsis), arguing for the primacy of plot.101102 His arguments have profoundly influenced subsequent theatrical thought.103

Key Practitioners

The 20th century saw the emergence of influential theatre practitioners who shaped modern performance theory and practice. Konstantin Stanislavski developed a comprehensive acting system focusing on psychophysical approaches, contrasting with the more narrowly psychological Method acting.104105106107u Other significant figures include Bertolt Brecht (epic theatre), Antonin Artaud (theatre of cruelty), Augusto Boal (Theatre of the Oppressed), and Viola Spolin (improvisation).

Technical Aspects

Stagecraft Defined

Stagecraft encompasses the technical elements essential for theatrical production, including the design and execution of scenery, lighting, costumes, sound, and props. It is the practical realization of artistic visions, distinct from the broader field of scenography.121

The Production Ensemble

A theatrical production involves a collaborative team comprising a playwright, director, actors, and a technical crew. This crew includes specialists such as set designers, lighting designers, costume designers, sound designers, stage managers, and technical directors, all working in concert to realize the performance.84

Beyond Traditional Venues

Modern theatre often utilizes non-traditional spaces, such as outdoor locations or modified indoor environments, for site-specific or immersive productions. These venues can offer unique atmospheric qualities and accommodate diverse technical requirements, enhancing the audience's engagement.121

Professional Organizations

Representing Theatre Professionals

Numerous unions represent various professionals within the theatre industry, ensuring fair labor practices and standards. These organizations include Actors' Equity Association (AEA) for U.S. actors and stage managers, Equity in the UK, and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) for designers and technicians.122123

Global Reach

These unions span international boundaries, with organizations like the Canadian Actors' Equity Association and the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance in Australia representing artists and employees in their respective regions. The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC) also plays a vital role in advocating for directors and choreographers.122

References

Source Citations

  1. ^ Originally spelled theatre and teatre. (c. 1380), from around 1550 to 1700 or later, the most common spelling was theater. Between 1720 and 1750, theater was dropped in British English, but was either retained or revived in American English (Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, 2009, CD-ROM: Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2011) Archived 18 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine). Recent dictionaries of American English list theatre as a less common variant, e.g., Random House Webster's College Dictionary (1991); The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition (2006); New Oxford American Dictionary, third edition (2010);
  2. ^ Drawing on the "semiotics" of Charles Sanders Peirce, Pavis goes on to suggest that "the specificity of theatrical signs may lie in their ability to use the three possible functions of signs: as icon (mimetically), as index (in the situation of enunciation), or as symbol (as a semiological system in the fictional mode). In effect, theatre makes the sources of the words visual and concrete: it indicates and incarnates a fictional world by means of signs, such that by the end of the process of signification and symbolization the spectator has reconstructed a theoretical and aesthetic model that accounts for the dramatic universe."2
  3. ^ Brown writes that ancient Greek drama "was essentially the creation of classical Athens: all the dramatists who were later regarded as classics were active at Athens in the 5th and 4th centuries BCE (the time of the Athenian democracy), and all the surviving plays date from this period".7 "The dominant culture of Athens in the fifth century", Goldhill writes, "can be said to have invented theatre".9
  4. ^ A theatre company is an organisation that produces theatrical performances, as distinct from a theatre troupe (or acting company), which is a group of theatrical performers working together.
  5. ^ A theatre troupe is a group of theatrical performers working together.
  6. ^ A theatre troupe is a group of theatrical performers working together.
  7. ^ Brown writes that ancient Greek drama "was essentially the creation of classical Athens: all the dramatists who were later regarded as classics were active at Athens in the 5th and 4th centuries BCE (the time of the Athenian democracy), and all the surviving plays date from this period".7 "The dominant culture of Athens in the fifth century", Goldhill writes, "can be said to have invented theatre".9
  8. ^ Goldhill argues that although activities that form "an integral part of the exercise of citizenship" (such as when "the Athenian citizen speaks in the Assembly, exercises in the gymnasium, sings at the symposium, or courts a boy") each have their "own regime of display and regulation", nevertheless the term "performance" provides "a useful heuristic category to explore the connections and overlaps between these different areas of activity".13
  9. ^ Taxidou notes that "most scholars now call 'Greek' tragedy 'Athenian' tragedy, which is historically correct".25
  10. ^ Brown writes that ancient Greek drama "was essentially the creation of classical Athens: all the dramatists who were later regarded as classics were active at Athens in the 5th and 4th centuries BCE (the time of the Athenian democracy), and all the surviving plays date from this period".7 "The dominant culture of Athens in the fifth century", Goldhill writes, "can be said to have invented theatre".9
  11. ^ Cartledge writes that although Athenians of the 4th century judged Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides "as the nonpareils of the genre, and regularly honoured their plays with revivals, tragedy itself was not merely a 5th-century phenomenon, the product of a short-lived golden age. If not attaining the quality and stature of the fifth-century 'classics', original tragedies nonetheless continued to be written and produced and competed with in large numbers throughout the remaining life of the democracy—and beyond it".28
  12. ^ We have seven by Aeschylus, seven by Sophocles, and eighteen by Euripides. In addition, we also have the Cyclops, a satyr play by Euripides. Some critics since the 17th century have argued that one of the tragedies that the classical tradition gives as Euripides'—Rhesus—is a 4th-century play by an unknown author; modern scholarship agrees with the classical authorities and ascribes the play to Euripides; see Walton (1997, viii, xix). (This uncertainty accounts for Brockett and Hildy's figure of 31 tragedies.)
  13. ^ The theory that Prometheus Bound was not written by Aeschylus adds a fourth, anonymous playwright to those whose work survives.
  14. ^ Exceptions to this pattern were made, as with Euripides' Alcestis in 438 BCE. There were also separate competitions at the City Dionysia for the performance of dithyrambs and, after 488–87 BCE, comedies.
  15. ^ Jean-Pierre Vernant argues that in The Persians Aeschylus substitutes for the usual temporal distance between the audience and the age of heroes a spatial distance between the Western audience and the Eastern Persian culture. This substitution, he suggests, produces a similar effect: "The 'historic' events evoked by the chorus, recounted by the messenger and interpreted by Darius' ghost are presented on stage in a legendary atmosphere. The light that the tragedy sheds upon them is not that in which the political happenings of the day are normally seen; it reaches the Athenian theatre refracted from a distant world of elsewhere, making what is absent seem present and visible on the stage"; Vernant and Vidal-Naquet (1988, 245).
  16. ^ Aristotle, Poetics, line 1449a: "Comedy, as we have said, is a representation of inferior people, not indeed in the full sense of the word bad, but the laughable is a species of the base or ugly. It consists in some blunder or ugliness that does not cause pain or disaster, an obvious example being the comic mask which is ugly and distorted but not painful'.
  17. ^ For more information on the ancient Roman dramatists, see the articles categorised under "Ancient Roman dramatists and playwrights" in Wikipedia.
  18. ^ From the beginning of the empire, however, interest in full-length drama declined in favour of a broader variety of theatrical entertainments.
  19. ^ The major source of evidence for Sanskrit theatre is A Treatise on Theatre (Nāṭyaśāstra), 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, dramatic construction, architecture, costuming, make-up, props, the organisation of companies, the audience, competitions, and offers a mythological account of the origin of theatre.62
  20. ^ Aristotle, Poetics:
  21. ^ Other native dramatic authors of Magna Graecia, in addition to the Syracusan Formides mentioned, are Achaeus of Syracuse, Apollodorus of Gela, Philemon of Syracuse and his son Philemon the younger. From Calabria, precisely from the colony of Thurii, came the playwright Alexis. While Rhinthon, although Sicilian from Syracuse, worked almost exclusively for the colony of Taranto in Apulia.
  22. ^ Beacham argues that Romans had been familiar with "pre-theatrical practices" for some time before that recorded contact.
  23. ^ The first important works of Roman literature were the tragedies and comedies that Livius Andronicus wrote from 240 BC.49 Five years later, Gnaeus Naevius also began to write drama.49
  24. ^ Roman theatre was more varied, extensive and sophisticated than that of any culture before it.
  25. ^ From the later years of the republic and by means of the Roman Empire (27 BC-476 AD), theatre spread west across Europe, around the Mediterranean and reached England; Roman theatre was more varied, extensive and sophisticated than that of any culture before it.
  26. ^ The Mahābhāṣya by Patañjali contains the earliest reference to what may have been the seeds of Sanskrit drama. This treatise on grammar from 140 BCE provides a feasible date for the beginnings of theatre in India.
  27. ^ By the beginning of the 2nd century BC, drama was firmly established in Rome and a guild of writers (collegium poetarum) had been formed.
  28. ^ The Roman comedies that have survived are all fabula palliata (comedies based on Greek subjects) and come from two dramatists: Titus Maccius Plautus (Plautus) and Publius Terentius Afer (Terence).
  29. ^ In re-working the Greek originals, the Roman comic dramatists abolished the role of the chorus in dividing the drama into episodes and introduced musical accompaniment to its dialogue (between one-third of the dialogue in the comedies of Plautus and two-thirds in those of Terence). The action of all scenes is set in the exterior location of a street and its complications often follow from eavesdropping.
  30. ^ Plautus, the more popular of the two, wrote between 205 and 184 BC and twenty of his comedies survive, of which his farces are best known; he was admired for the wit of his dialogue and his use of a variety of poetic meters. All of the six comedies that Terence wrote between 166 and 160 BC have survived; the complexity of his plots, in which he often combined several Greek originals, was sometimes denounced, but his double-plots enabled a sophisticated presentation of contrasting human behaviour.
  31. ^ Theatre in the medieval Islamic world included puppet theatre (which included hand puppets, shadow plays and marionette productions) and live passion plays known as ta'ziyeh, where actors re-enact episodes from Muslim history. In particular, Shia Islamic plays revolved around the istishhād (martyrdom) of Ali's sons Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali. Secular plays were known as akhraja, recorded in medieval adab literature, though they were less common than puppetry and ta'ziya theatre.
  32. ^ 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.
  33. ^ Theatre took a big pause during 1642 and 1660 in England because of the Puritan Interregnum. Viewing theatre as sinful, the Puritans ordered the closure of London theatres in 1642.
  34. ^ 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.
  35. ^ 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.
  36. ^ Charles II did not like young men playing the parts of young women, so he asked that women play their own parts.
  37. ^ Japanese forms of Kabuki, Nō, and Kyōgen developed in the 17th century CE.
  38. ^ 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 Indonesia's oldest theatre forms are linked directly to local literary traditions (oral and written). The prominent puppet theatres—wayang golek (wooden rod-puppet play) of the Sundanese and wayang kulit (leather shadow-puppet play) of the Javanese and 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.
  39. ^ Through the 19th century, the popular theatrical forms of Romanticism, melodrama, Victorian burlesque and the well-made plays of Scribe and Sardou gave way to the problem plays of Naturalism and Realism; the farces of Feydeau; Wagner's operatic 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; proto-Expressionism in the late works of August Strindberg and Henrik Ibsen; and Edwardian musical comedy.
  40. ^ Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance.
  41. ^ The structure of dramatic texts, unlike other forms of literature, is directly influenced by this collaborative production and collective reception.
  42. ^ Music and theatre have had a close relationship since ancient times—Athenian tragedy, for example, was a form of dance-drama that employed a 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' (monodies).
  43. ^ 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, vaudeville, and music hall genres of the late 19th and early 20th century.
  44. ^ Famous musicals over the subsequent decades included My Fair Lady (1956), West Side Story (1957), The Fantasticks (1960), Hair (1967), A Chorus Line (1975), Les Misérables (1980), Cats (1981), Into the Woods (1986), and The Phantom of the Opera (1986), as well as more contemporary hits including Rent (1994), The Lion King (1997), Wicked (2003), Hamilton (2015) and Frozen (2018).
  45. ^ Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude: in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not of narrative; through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions.
  46. ^ Tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of Western civilisation.
  47. ^ 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 Greeks and the Elizabethans, in one cultural form; Hellenes and Christians, in a common activity", as Raymond Williams puts it.
  48. ^ From its obscure origins in the theatres of Athens 2,500 years ago, from which there survives only a fraction of the work of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, through its singular articulations in the works of Shakespeare, Lope de Vega, Racine, and Schiller, to the more recent naturalistic tragedy of Strindberg, Beckett's modernist meditations on death, loss and suffering, and Müller's postmodernist reworkings of the tragic canon, tragedy has remained an important site of cultural experimentation, negotiation, struggle, and change.
  49. ^ 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 and lyric) or at the scale of the drama (where tragedy is opposed to comedy). In the modern era, tragedy has also been defined against drama, melodrama, the tragicomic, and epic theatre.
  50. ^ See Carlson 1993, Pfister 2000, Elam 1980, and Taxidou 2004. Drama, in the narrow sense, cuts across the traditional division between comedy and tragedy in an anti- or a-generic deterritorialization from the mid-19th century onwards. Both Bertolt Brecht and Augusto Boal define their epic theatre projects (Non-Aristotelian drama and Theatre of the Oppressed respectively) against models of tragedy. Taxidou, however, reads epic theatre as an incorporation of tragic functions and its treatments of mourning and speculation.
  51. ^ Improvisation has been a consistent feature of theatre, with the Commedia dell'arte in the sixteenth century being recognized as the first improvisation form.
  52. ^ Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance.
  53. ^ The structure of dramatic texts, unlike other forms of literature, is directly influenced by this collaborative production and collective reception.
  54. ^ The early modern tragedy Hamlet (1601) by Shakespeare and the classical Athenian tragedy Oedipus Rex (c. 429 BCE) by Sophocles are among the masterpieces of the art of drama.
  55. ^ A modern example is Long Day's Journey into Night by Eugene O'Neill (1956).
  56. ^ Having been an important part of human culture for more than 2,500 years, theatre has evolved a wide range of different 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 classical Greek philosopher Aristotle, in his seminal treatise, Poetics (c. 335 BCE) is the earliest-surviving example and its arguments have influenced theories of theatre ever since.
  57. ^ See the entries for "opera", "musical theatre, American", "melodrama" and "Nō" in Banham 1998
  58. ^ While there is some dispute among theatre historians, it is probable that the plays by the Roman Seneca were not intended to be performed. Manfred by Byron is a good example of a "dramatic poem". See the entries on "Seneca" and "Byron (George George)" in Banham 1998.
  59. ^ Some forms of improvisation, notably the Commedia dell'arte, improvise on the basis of 'lazzi' or rough outlines of scenic action (see Gordon 1983 and Duchartre 1966). All forms of improvisation take their cue from their immediate response to one another, their characters' situations (which are sometimes established in advance), and, often, their interaction with the audience. The classic formulations of improvisation in the theatre originated with Joan Littlewood and Keith Johnstone in the UK and Viola Spolin in the US; see Johnstone 2007 and Spolin 1999.
  60. ^ Music and theatre have had a close relationship since ancient times—Athenian tragedy, for example, was a form of dance-drama that employed a 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' (monodies).
  61. ^ The first "Edwardian musical comedy" is usually considered to be In Town (1892), even though it was produced eight years before the beginning of the Edwardian era; see, for example, Fraser Charlton, "What are EdMusComs?" (FrasrWeb 2007, accessed May 12, 2011).
  62. ^ After the Edwardian musical comedy that began in the 1890s, the 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.
  63. ^ Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude: in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not of narrative; through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions.
  64. ^ Tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of Western civilisation.
  65. ^ 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 Greeks and the Elizabethans, in one cultural form; Hellenes and Christians, in a common activity", as Raymond Williams puts it.
  66. ^ From its obscure origins in the theatres of Athens 2,500 years ago, from which there survives only a fraction of the work of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, through its singular articulations in the works of Shakespeare, Lope de Vega, Racine, and Schiller, to the more recent naturalistic tragedy of Strindberg, Beckett's modernist meditations on death, loss and suffering, and Müller's postmodernist reworkings of the tragic canon, tragedy has remained an important site of cultural experimentation, negotiation, struggle, and change.
  67. ^ 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 and lyric) or at the scale of the drama (where tragedy is opposed to comedy). In the modern era, tragedy has also been defined against drama, melodrama, the tragicomic, and epic theatre.
  68. ^ See Carlson 1993, Pfister 2000, Elam 1980, and Taxidou 2004. Drama, in the narrow sense, cuts across the traditional division between comedy and tragedy in an anti- or a-generic deterritorialization from the mid-19th century onwards. Both Bertolt Brecht and Augusto Boal define their epic theatre projects (Non-Aristotelian drama and Theatre of the Oppressed respectively) against models of tragedy. Taxidou, however, reads epic theatre as an incorporation of tragic functions and its treatments of mourning and speculation.
  69. ^ See Carlson 1993, Pfister 2000, Elam 1980, and Taxidou 2004. Drama, in the narrow sense, cuts across the traditional division between comedy and tragedy in an anti- or a-generic deterritorialization from the mid-19th century onwards. Both Bertolt Brecht and Augusto Boal define their epic theatre projects (Non-Aristotelian drama and Theatre of the Oppressed respectively) against models of tragedy. Taxidou, however, reads epic theatre as an incorporation of tragic functions and its treatments of mourning and speculation.
  70. ^ Improvisation has been a consistent feature of theatre, with the Commedia dell'arte in the sixteenth century being recognized as the first improvisation form.
  71. ^ Improvisation has been a consistent feature of theatre, with the Commedia dell'arte in the sixteenth century being recognized as the first improvisation form.
  72. ^ He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1997.
  73. ^ 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.
  74. ^ La Scala, Milan, Italy, is the world's most famous opera house.
  75. ^ 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.
  76. ^ There are many theatre unions, including: Actors' Equity Association (AEA), for actors and stage managers in the U.S.); Canadian Actors' Equity Association, for actors in Canada; Equity, for many kind of performing artists as well as designers, directors, and stage managers in the UK; International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), for designers and technicians).; Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC)
  77. ^ Equity, for many kind of performing artists as well as designers, directors, and stage managers in the UK
  78. ^ Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, an Australian union created in 1992 as a merger of the unions covering actors, journalists and entertainment industry employees
  79. ^ There are many theatre unions, including: Actors' Equity Association (AEA), for actors and stage managers in the U.S.); Canadian Actors' Equity Association, for actors in Canada; Equity, for many kind of performing artists as well as designers, directors, and stage managers in the UK; International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), for designers and technicians).; Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC)
  80. ^ There are many theatre unions, including: Actors' Equity Association (AEA), for actors and stage managers in the U.S.); Canadian Actors' Equity Association, for actors in Canada; Equity, for many kind of performing artists as well as designers, directors, and stage managers in the UK; International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), for designers and technicians).; Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC)
  81. ^ There are many theatre unions, including: Actors' Equity Association (AEA), for actors and stage managers in the U.S.); Canadian Actors' Equity Association, for actors in Canada; Equity, for many kind of performing artists as well as designers, directors, and stage managers in the UK; International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), for designers and technicians).; Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC)
  82. ^ There are many theatre unions, including: Actors' Equity Association (AEA), for actors and stage managers in the U.S.); Canadian Actors' Equity Association, for actors in Canada; Equity, for many kind of performing artists as well as designers, directors, and stage managers in the UK; International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), for designers and technicians).; Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC)
  83. ^ Stanislavski treated the theatre as an art-form that is autonomous from literature and one in which the playwright's contribution should be respected as that of only one of an ensemble of creative artists.
  84. ^ His innovative contribution to modern acting theory has remained at the core of mainstream western performance training for much of the last century.
  85. ^ His innovative contribution to modern acting theory has remained at the core of mainstream western performance training for much of the last century.
  86. ^ His innovative contribution to modern acting theory has remained at the core of mainstream western performance training for much of the last century.
  87. ^ His innovative contribution to modern acting theory has remained at the core of mainstream western performance training for much of the last century.
  88. ^ That many of the precepts of his system of actor training seem to be common sense and self-evident testifies to its hegemonic success.
  89. ^ That many of the precepts of his system of actor training seem to be common sense and self-evident testifies to its hegemonic success.
  90. ^ That many of the precepts of his system of actor training seem to be common sense and self-evident testifies to its hegemonic success.
  91. ^ 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.
  92. ^ Many actors routinely equate his 'system' with the North American Method, although the latter's exclusively psychological techniques contrast sharply with Stanislavski's multivariant, holistic and 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.
  93. ^ Many actors routinely equate his 'system' with the North American Method, although the latter's exclusively psychological techniques contrast sharply with Stanislavski's multivariant, holistic and 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.
  94. ^ 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.
  95. ^ La Scala, Milan, Italy, is the world's most famous opera house.
  96. ^ 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.
  97. ^ There are many theatre unions, including: Actors' Equity Association (AEA), for actors and stage managers in the U.S.); Canadian Actors' Equity Association, for actors in Canada; Equity, for many kind of performing artists as well as designers, directors, and stage managers in the UK; International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), for designers and technicians).; Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC)
  98. ^ Equity, for many kind of performing artists as well as designers, directors, and stage managers in the UK
  99. ^ Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, an Australian union created in 1992 as a merger of the unions covering actors, journalists and entertainment industry employees

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References

References

  1.  The theory that Prometheus Bound was not written by Aeschylus adds a fourth, anonymous playwright to those whose work survives.
  2.  See the entries for "opera", "musical theatre, American", "melodrama" and "Nō" in Banham 1998
  3.  Gordon 2006, p. 194.
A full list of references for this article are available at the Theatre Wikipedia page

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