Theatre Arts

J. Serafica
 “The past can hurt. But the way I see it,
you can either run from it or learn from it”
– The Lion King
(cheerful)
“The only way to get what you want
in this world is through hard work”
- The Princess and the Frog
(sad)
 “Can anybody be happy if they
aren’t free?” – Beauty and the Beast
(Angry)
“Remember who you are”
-The Lion King
(Hysterical)
“Your identity is your most valuable
possession. Protect it” – The
Incredibles
(Afraid)
“Being brave doesn’t mean you go
looking for trouble” – The Lion
King
(Flirty)
“The problem is not the problem. The
problem is your attitude about the
problem. Do you understand?” – 
Pirates of the Caribbean
(Scolding someone)
 “From failure we learn, from
success not so much” – Meet the
Robinsons
(Proud)
 “A queen is never late.
Everyone else is simply
early” – The Princess Diaries
(Disappointed)
 Introduction
● Theatre appears to exist and have existed in all societies in some form.

● Origins of Theatre -- Theories: No clear evidence, so all theories are

conjecture. – Art of Imitation

● Theatre probably came from the dithyramb, a hymn sung or chanted

before religious rituals in honor of Dionysus, the god of wine, rebirth,
and fertility.
 Theatre - What is it?
● The word theatre comes from the Greek theatron, literally "seeing
place," or "place where something is seen." 
● A performing art
● A graphic art
● A literary art (although sometimes not written down)
● A popular art (entertainment) - diversion for a mass audience.
 Theatre as an art:
Theatre is a combination of many art forms
● An art for everyone.
● Acting, directing, design, construction, running crew (musicians,
singers, dancers).
● An amalgam of all the arts -- making it either the least pure or the most
pure.
● Needs talent and skill to plan and execute, from all elements of the
production.
● Final product is a result of the efforts of many.
 Theatre Arts
Holds audience's attention-the
primary form of public
entertainment until the advent of
radio and movies
"To enter a theater for a performance
is to be inducted into a magical
space, to be ushered into the
sacred arena of the imagination."
—Simon Callow
 "No emotion ever made, or ever will make, a
good play if we do not know what kind of
forces set emotion going. Emotion, to be
sure, is as necessary to a play as barking
to a dog."
—Lajos Igri
"Art is not a mirror to reflect reality,
but a hammer with which to shape
it."

—Bertolt Brecht
"The role of the artist is to ask
questions, not to answer them."

—Anton Cheknov
"Theater is the art form of the
present: it exists only in the
present, and then it's gone."

—Simon Mcburney
Therefore, we could look at the theatre in four
ways:
1. an entertainment
2. an instrument of education
3. a weapon of social/political change
4. as a document of history
Types of Stage
in Theatre Arts
 Essential Qualities of Theatre
1.Audience
2.Performers
3.Performance
4.What is being performed? – a script/play –
improvisation
5.Environment
 Basic Elements of a Play
1. Plot - Aristotle tells us that it is the arrangement of the incidents
that take place in a play.
• It has three parts – the beginning, middle, end.
• Beginning – introduction/ who, what, where, when, and
why through revealing information called EXPOSITION.
• Middle – composed of a series of conflicts - climax or
turning point
• End – conflict resolution
 Basic Elements of a Play
2. Character – Protagonist/Antagonist – contains the message from the
writer.

3. Thought/Theme – the main idea/concept of the play

4. Diction/Language – helps the audience to understand the story

5. Song/Music – establish/sets the mood and enhance the overall experience

of the audience

6. Spectacle – visual elements – props, make up, costume etc.

https://www.alyve.org/theatre/classes/docs/acting/5.1-Structure.pdf
 Different Genres of a Play
• theatre in education (TiE) - often has a very clear moral or social message for
young people, who are its target audience.

• physical theatre - emphasizes the use of physical movement for expression,

precise gesture, body language, mime etc.

• Epic theatre - often features a montage (group of different scenes containing

highlights of the main concept of the play)

• political theatre - can be used to present a campaign or show an injustice to an

audience in the hope of making changes to the situation shown.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zmn9382/revision/1
 Different Genres of a Play
• Comedy – uses humor as a driving force

• Tragedy – almost always demonstrates some sort of human suffering by the

central character, with the intention of invoking catharsis within an
audience.

• Melodrama – It uses exaggeration and stereotyped characters to appeal to

the audience’s emotions (voices, gestures).
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zmn9382/revision/1
END