Castañeda Joshua V

BSOA -3A

Art Appreciation
1. What is theater?

Theater art is also known as drama as a play. Theater is an art concerned almost exclusively
with live performances in which the action is precisely planned to create a coherent and significant
sense of drama. The word “theater” comes from the Greek theatron - the part of the Greek
theater where the audience sat. Its literal meaning is “a place for seeing.” However for the Greeks, this
implied more than the sense experience of vision which, indeed, forms an important part of the
theatrical production. To the ancient Greeks, “to see” also may include comprehension and
understanding. Further, the ancient Greek, theatron, while a physical part of the theater building
implied a non-physical place – a special state of being of those who together watched the lives of the
persons of the drama.

2. History of theater

The civilizations of the Mediterranean basin in general, the Far East, northern Europe, and the Western
Hemisphere before the voyages of Christopher Columbus in the second half of the 15th century have all
left evidence of constructions whose association with religious ritual activity relates them to the theatre.
Studies in anthropology suggest that their forerunners were the campfire circles around which members
of a primitive community would gather to participate in tribal rites. Karnak in ancient Egypt, Persepolis in
Persia, and Knossos in Crete all offer examples of architectural structures, purposely ceremonial in
design, of a size and configuration suitable for large audiences. They were used as places of assembly at
which a priestly caste would attempt to communicate with supernatural forces.

The transition from ritual involving mass participation to something approaching drama, in which a clear
distinction is made between active participants and passive onlookers, is incompletely understood.
Eventually, however, the priestly caste and the performer became physically set apart from the
spectators. Thus, theatre as place emerged.

3. Identify the elements of theater

1.) Performers

People onstage presenting characters in dramatic action.

The audience is coming to see a performer pretend to be someone else.

When the actor/actress is on stage, they must be believable as the character they are portraying. If they
are not believable, th been the audience will be less interested in the production.

2) Audience

The essence of theater is the interaction between the performer and audience. Theater needs to be
experienced live. There is a “call and response” atmosphere that can not be witnessed in a movie theater.

~ In a live theater experience, when the audience laughs out loud, or cries, then the actors respond to
that energy.~ In a movie, there is no connection between the actors and audience, only reactions from
the audience.

3) Director
The director makes certain that the performers understand the text and deliver the script excitingly and
appropriately. The director also makes sure the blocking, costume designs, set designs and other aspects
of the show blend together to make a production that works together.All the aspects of theater should
compliment each other, and the director oversees all these things.

4) Theater Space

Another necessary element of theater is the space in which performers or audiences come together. It is
essential to have a stage, or some equivalent area, where actors and actresses can perform. It is also
essential to have a place for audience members to sit or stand.

5) Design Aspects

Visual Aspects – costumes, lighting, and some form of scenic background

Nonvisual Aspect – sou nd.

4.) Theater Improvisation(periods)

Improvisation, in theatre, the playing of dramatic scenes without written dialogue and with minimal or no
predetermined dramatic activity. The method has been used for different purposes in theatrical history.

The theatrical form known as the commedia dell’arte was highly improvisational, although through
repeated performances its characters developed stock speeches and stage business and its scenarios
gained fairly standard form. Much of Asian dance and theatrical activity comprises improvised
arrangements of stock scenes, movements, and speech.