What is the Theatre?

The word “theatre”

comes from the Greek
theatron

which means “seeing place”

 What is Drama?

Comes from the Greek word

dran
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? R E
A T
HE or
E R
T A T
H E Theater?
T
Theatre is French/British Theater is German
They are pronounced identically & both spellings are
incorporated into American usage.
 Theatre vs Drama
Theatre 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 Architecture
The Greek Theatre
The skene
Historical Theatre Architecture
Shakespeare’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 performance
Presentational vs representational
 Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Famously said theatre was……

“The willing suspension of disbelief”

 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.”