What is the Theatre?

The word “theatre” comes from the Greek

theatron

which means “seeing place”

What is Drama?

Comes from the Greek worddran

which means “to do”.

Theatre - Drama

Drama is something done - an action.

Theatre is something seen - an action witnessed.

Which is it?

Is it Theatre?

or

Theater?

Theatre is French/British Theater is GermanThey are pronounced identically & both spellings are

incorporated into American usage.

THEATR

E

THEATE

R

Theatre vs DramaTheatre and Drama are often used

interchangeably, but they also have distinct meanings

Theatre can mean a building, drama does not. Theatre refers to all the theatrical arts: architecture, the design, construction, marketing, etc.

Drama focuses mainly on the written actions and the words of a play

Theatre vs Drama

If we say something is “dramatic” we are suggesting actions that are compelling.

When we call something “theatrical”, we are usually implying “showy” or sensational behavior.

What do we need?

• A person performing• An audience• A place

• Peter Brook writes of the “Empty Space”

What does theater mean?• A building• Metaphorically it can mean a place where

surgeries or wars take place• The players (and owners, managers,

and technicians) who perform in a space -- a company.

• An occupation

Theatre architecture

• Proscenium Theatre• Thrust Theater• Arena Theater• Black Box

Proscenium

The 4th wall removed

Thrust Theater

• Seats on 3 sides• More “intimate”.

Arena Theatre• Seats on all 4 sides• Very intimate• More emphasis on

props & costumes than on scenery.

The Black Box• A flexible space• The “empty space”

Historical Theatre ArchitectureThe Greek Theatre

The skene

Historical Theatre ArchitectureShakespeare’s Wooden “O”

Theatre as a Collaborative Art Form

• Troupes• Playmakers• Thespians

Occupations in Theatre• Producing• Directing• Acting• Designing• Building• Crewing• Stage Management• House Management and…………….

Playwriting

• (the one and only craft of the theatre that can be (and usually is) executed away from the theatre building and shops.

• The use of the word “play” – theatre is a kind of “playing”

• Think of child’s play (gamelike) , or “playing” cops and robbers (meaning impersonate).

Art

• Theatre is an “art” complete with creativity, imagination, elegance, power, & aesthetic

harmony.• Meant to capture the human spirit• Integrating our emotions with our intellect

Impersonation

• Unlike other forms of art - poetry, painting, sculpture, music, cabaret acts – the theatre involves actors impersonating characters

• The theater has a long tradition of using masks

Performance

What is a performance?– 2 people talking is communication– 2 people talking for the benefit (attention,

entertainment, enlightenment, or involvement) of someone else becomes a performance.

Modes of performancePresentational vs representational

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

“The willing suspension of disbelief”

Famously said theatre was……

Live Performance

• Living and breathing• Audience is sharing the same “space” as

the performers – live theatre creates a relationship among the audience members

• Actors can “control” their finished product on stage – there is no film editor who can chop out your scene after you have performed it.

Scripted and Rehearsed

• Although most modern performances are prepared according to written and well rehearsed scripts -- improvisation and ad- libbing contribute to the preparation process.

• But the text of a play, is not by itself, a play• The play fully exists only in its performance

A “script” is not a “play”

• Words on paper……. create ideas of an author• But it only becomes a

“play” when it is per-formed, with structural patterns in motion, quick interplay, action, scenery, and costumes.

Is Theatre in danger of extinction?

• Is it an endangered species?– More people have seen the Broadway musical

Phantom of the Opera than have seen the movie Titanic.

– New theatres continue to be built each year– 12.3 million spectators saw a Broadway show

last year– Theatre is unique - It is LIVE!

Where do we find Theatre in our daily lives?

• Sports • Politics• Education• The Courts• On the job (the interview!)

Where do we find Theatre in our daily lives?

• Family dynamics• Religion

– Weddings– Funerals– Bar Mitzvahs– Christenings

Arthur Miller

“When the cannons have stopped firing, and the great victories of finance are reduced to surmise and are long forgotten it is the art of the people that will

confront future generations. [Art] can do more to sustain the

peace than all the wars, the armaments, and the threats and warnings of the politicians.”