Chapter 1: The Nature of Theatre
Origins in ritual practices
Theatre as a form is at least 2500 years old
It has been as varied as the cultures inwhich it has appeared
The role/function of theatre in society hasfluctuated over time
Examples:
Theatre as religious activity
Theatre as traveling performance
Theatre as entertainment
The Nature of Theatre
The value and respectability of theatre has been amatter of debate
Examples:
Theatre forbidden/banned because considered a form oflying
Theatre as a truthful reflection of human behavior
The Nature of Theatre
1.What is the role/function of theatre inyour society today?
2.How does live theatre performance differfrom mediated performance forms such asfilm and television?
3.Do you consider theatre to be a form oflying or a reflection of truth? Why?
What do YOU think?
The Basic Elements of Theatre
3 Basic Elements of theatre:
(1) What is performed
(2) The Performance
(3) The Audience
The most basic definition of theatre is: someoneperforming something for someone else.
A performs B for C
(Eric Bentley)
What is Performed
•Many types of activities may be considered theatre
•What is the essence of theatrical performance?
Possibilities:
•The staged performance of a text
•Storytelling
•Since theatre has a broad range of possibilities, theessence of What is Performed is difficult to define
•Therefore theatre, as a performing art, is difficult todefine
The Performance
Key Components of the Performance include:
• Performance Space:
Where the performance takes place and what therelationship is between the performers and the audience
• Artistic Collaboration:
How the playwright, director, designers, and others worktogether to create the performance
• Theatrical Elements:
Scenery, Costumes, Music, Lighting, and other effects thatcontribute to the performance
The Performance translates the potential of a script, scenario,or plan into actuality.
The Audience
“The only thing that all forms of theatre have in common is theneed for an audience.” Peter Brook
The Audience:
• Completes the cycle ofCreation/Communication
• Provides Immediate Feedback to thePerformers
3-Way Interaction:
Performers Audience
Audience Performers
Audience Audience
Theatre as a Form of Art
What is art? How is art defined?
Pre-18th century:
Art = the systematic application of knownprinciples to achieve some predetermined result
18th century:
Distinction made between Useful and Fine Arts
Useful Arts =
Arts that can be taught and mastered throughspecific techniques
Fine Arts =
Products of genius that cannot be reduced to rulesor principles
• Literature (including Drama)
• Painting
• Music
• Dance
Useful vs. Fine Arts
Popular Culture
Reflects tastes of the general public
Theatre that appeals to popular culture = entertainment,storytelling, and familiar character types and situations
Elitist Culture
Reflects tastes of a smaller group with particularstandards
Theatre that appeals to elitist culture = seeks new types ofartistic expression, challenges views and assumptions, andraises questions
Popular Culture vs. Elitist Culture
The text compares theatre with games, stating thatboth rely upon conventions.
1.What is a convention? How do you define thatterm?
2.Name some conventions of a particular game.
3.Name some conventions of theatre.
4.How are these conventions similar or different?
What do YOU think?
•Art as a means to understand one’s world
•Like other disciplines, such as history, art seeks todiscover and record patterns in human experience.
•While historians, scientists, and other scholars appealto the mind/intellect, artists appeal to the senses.
Purposes of Art
Elements of Theatre Spectatorship
“Willing Suspension of Disbelief”
•Term was coined by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
•Refers to the fact that we know that the events of theplay are not real; however, we agree, during theexperience of the performance, not to disbelieve theevents of the play.
•Example:
•When a character kills another character onstage,we do not rush to the stage to help the victim, yetwe may still weep or feel an emotional response tothe action.
Esthetic Distance
We are detachedenough from theperformance to view itwith some objectivity
Empathy
Feeling ofinvolvement withthe performance
Esthetic distance and empathy seem to be contradictoryconcepts, but they balance each other in performance throughthe audience’s “willing suspension of disbelief.”
Elements of Theatre Spectatorship
Special Qualities of Theatre
Lifelikeness
Theatre recreates everyday experiences.
Ephemerality
Theatre is live performance, and becomes a part of the pastimmediately after it occurs.
Objectivity
Theatre “presents both outer and inner experience throughspeech and action.”
Complexity
Theatre combines varied elements such as movement,lighting, and sound while also drawing from all of theother arts.
Immediacy
Theatre is psychologically immediate, because it transpiresin the simultaneous presence of live actors and spectatorsin the same room.
Special Qualities of Theatre
How do these Special Qualities define the strengthsand weaknesses of theatre?
•Lifelikeness
•Ephemerality
•Objectivity
•Complexity
•Immediacy
What do YOU think?
Art and Value
Theatre as a Humanizing Force
Understanding through role-playing and observation
Theatre as Cultural Expression
Understanding various cultures through their theatre
Multiple Types of Intelligence
1.Linguistic/Verbal
2.Logical/Mathematical
3.Musical
4.Spatial
5.Bodily/Kinesthetic
6.Interpersonal
7.Intrapersonal
Something to Think About: How does theatre incorporatemultiple intelligences?
Something to think about:
(1)Make a list of all of the forms of art that enhanceyour life.
Making Connections:
Chapter 1 encourages us to access the value of art in our lives
(2)Consider how your life would change withoutthese art forms (either for the positive ornegative).
(3)Consider ways in which you can share the art inyour life with others.