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Theatre

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Literature types; Theatre

   Serge Sudeikin's poster for the Bat Theatre (1922).
   Enlarge
   Serge Sudeikin's poster for the Bat Theatre (1922).

   Theatre or theatre (from French "théâtre", from Greek "theatron",
   θέατρον, meaning "place of seeing") is the branch of the performing
   arts concerned with acting out stories in front of an audience using
   combinations of speech, gesture, mime, puppets, music, dance, sound and
   spectacle — indeed any one or more elements of the other performing
   arts. Bernard Beckerman, head of Hofstra University's department of
   drama, in his book, Dynamics of Drama, defines theatre as what "occurs
   when one or more human beings, isolated in time and/or space, present
   themselves to another or others." In addition to the standard narrative
   dialogue style, theatre takes such forms as opera, ballet, mime,
   kabuki, puppetry, classical Indian dance, Chinese opera, mummers'
   plays, and pantomime.

Overview of theatre

   "Drama" (literally translated, Action, from a verbal root meaning "I
   do") is that branch of theatre in which speech, either from written
   text ( plays), or improvised is paramount. The first theatre, the
   Theatre of ancient Greece, created the definition of a theatre: an
   audience in a half-circle watching an elevated stage where actors use
   props staging plays. " Musical theatre" is a form of theatre combining
   music, songs, dance routines, and spoken dialogue. However, theatre is
   more than just what one sees on stage. Theatre involves an entire world
   behind the scenes that creates the costumes, sets and lighting to make
   the overall effect interesting. There is a particularly long tradition
   of political theatre, intended to educate audiences on contemporary
   issues and encourage social change. Various creeds, Catholicism for
   instance, have built upon the entertainment value of theatre and
   created (for example) passion plays, mystery plays and morality plays.

   There is variety of philosophy, artistic process, and theatrical
   approach to creating plays and drama. Some are connected to political
   or spiritual ideologies, and some based on purely "artistic" concerns.
   Some processes focus on a story, some on theatre as event, some on
   theatre as catalyst for social change. According to Aristotle's seminal
   theatrical critique Poetics, there are six elements necessary for
   theatre: Plot, Character, Idea, Language, Song, and Spectacle. The
   17th-century Spanish writer Lope de Vega wrote that for theatre one
   needs "three boards, two actors, and one passion". Others notable for
   their contribution to theatrical philosophy are Konstantin
   Stanislavski, Antonin Artaud, Bertolt Brecht, Orson Welles, Peter
   Brook, Jerzy Grotowski.

   The most recognizable figures in theatre are the directors, playwrights
   and actors, but theatre is a highly collaborative endeavour. Plays are
   usually produced by a production team that commonly includes a scenic
   or set designer, lighting designer, costume designer, sound designer,
   dramaturg, stage manager, and production manager. The artistic staff
   are assisted by technical theatre personnel who handle creation and
   execution of the production.

   Some believe it is important for actors to study all commonly taught
   acting methods to perfect their craft. Methods include: Meisner,
   Stanislavsky, Strasberg, and Hagen.

Genres of theatre

   Konstantin Somov's illustration for The Theatre by Alexander Blok
   (1909).
   Enlarge
   Konstantin Somov's illustration for The Theatre by Alexander Blok
   (1909).

   There are a variety of genres that writers, producers and directors can
   employ in theatre to suit a variety of tastes:
     * Musical theatre: A theatrical genre in which a story is told
       through the performance of singing (with instrumental music),
       spoken dialogue and often dance.

     * Natya Sacred classical Indian musical theatre that includes natya
       proper (mime) and nritta (pure dance).

     * Rock opera: Same style as opera, except that the musical form is
       rock music.

     * Theatre for social change: Theatre that addresses a social issue
       and uses performance as a way of illustrating injustice to the
       audience.

     * Comedy: Comes from the Greek word komos which means celebration,
       revel or merrymaking. It does not necessarily mean funny, but more
       focuses on a problem that leads to some form of catastrophe which
       in the end has a happy and joyful outcome.

     * Farce: A comic dramatic piece that uses highly improbable
       situations, stereotyped characters, extravagant exaggeration, fast
       pacing and violent horseplay.

     * Pantomime: A form of musical drama in which elements of dance,
       mime, puppetry, slapstick, and melodrama are combined to produce an
       entertaining and comic theatrical experience, often designed for
       children. These are often presented around the holidays.

     * Romantic comedy: A medley of clever scheming, calculated
       coincidence, and wondrous discovery, all of which contribute
       ultimately to making the events answer precisely to the hero's or
       heroine's wishes, with the focus on love.

     * Comedy of situation: A comedy that grows out of a character's
       attempt to solve a problem created by a situation. The attempt is
       often bumbling but ends up happily.

     * Comedy of manners: Witty, cerebral form of dramatic comedy that
       depicts and often satirises the manners and affectations of a
       contemporary society. A comedy of manners is concerned with social
       usage and the question of whether or not characters meet certain
       social standards.

     * Commedia dell'arte: Very physical form of comedy which was created
       and originally performed in Italy. Commedia uses a series of stock
       characters and a list of events to improvise an entire play.

     * Black comedy: Comedy that tests the boundaries of good taste and
       moral acceptability by juxtaposing morbid or ghastly elements with
       comical ones.

     * Melodrama: Originally, a sentimental drama with musical
       underscoring. Often with an unlikely plot that concerns the
       suffering of the good at the hands of the villains but ends happily
       with good triumphant. Featuring stock characters such as the noble
       hero, the long-suffering heroine, and the cold-blooded villain.

     * Tragedy: A drama that treats in a serious and dignified style the
       sorrowful or terrible events encountered or caused by a heroic
       individual. The word "Tragedy" comes from the Greek word "Tragos"
       which is translated to "Goat".

     * Tragicomedy: A drama that has a bitter/sweet quality, containing
       elements of tragedy and comedy.

     * Domestic drama: Drama in which the focus is on the everyday
       domestic lives of people and their relationships in the community
       that they live in.

     * Fantasy: The creation of a unique landscape on which a hero goes on
       a quest to find something that will defeat the powers of evil.
       Along the way, this hero meets a variety of weird and fantastic
       characters.

     * Morality play: A morality play is an allegory in which the
       characters are abstractions of moral ideas.

     * Opera: A theatrical genre in which a story is told and emotion is
       conveyed primarily through singing (with instrumental music).

     * Physical theatre: Theatrical performance in which the primary means
       of communication is the body, through dance, mime, puppetry and
       movement, rather than the spoken word.

     * Theatre of the Absurd: Term coined by Martin Esslin, theatre in
       which characters are engaged in an absurd, that is meaningless,
       activity or life. Related to existentialism.

     * Meta-Theatre: A genre of theatre made popular with mostly modern
       audiences, although it did start back in the Elizabethan Era.
       Meta-Theatre is when a play often completely demolishes the so
       called " fourth wall" and completely engages the audience.
       Oftentimes about a group of actors, a director, writer and so on.
       It usually blurs the line between what is scripted and what goes on
       by accident.

     * Grand Guignol: Now broadly used to refer to any play with on-stage
       violence, the term originally referred to the bloody and gruesome
       melodramas produced at the Theatre du Grand Guignol in Paris,
       France.

     * Total Theatre: The creation of Steven Berkoff, a style where the
       actors become both characters and set, often using just one prop
       throughout the entire play. The style uses features of greek
       theatre (eg. a chorus or didactic message), exageration and
       surrealism.

   This list is somewhat incomplete and some regard it as eurocentric.
   None of the genres listed are actually mutually exclusive. The richness
   of live theatre today is such that its practitioners can borrow from
   all of these elements and more, and present something that is a
   multi-disciplinary melange of pretty much everything.

Theatre venues and styles

     * Art Deco style theatre
     * Broadway and the West End
     * Community theatre
     * Dinner theatre
     * Fringe festival
     * Improvisational theatre
     * In-yer-face theatre
     * National Tours
     * Off-Broadway and the London fringe
     * Off-Off-Broadway
     * Opera houses
     * Physical theatre
     * Post style theatre
     * Postmodern theatre
     * Proletcult Theatre
     * Reader's Theatre
     * Regional theatre
     * Repertory theatre
     * Street theatre
     * Summer stock theatre
     * Temple dance
     * UK Theatre Network
     * Vanguard style theatre
     * School and church theatres and town halls community theatre

Notable theatre festivals

     * Edinburgh International Festival.
     * Golden Mask Festival (Russia).
     * Galway Arts Festival (Galway Ireland).
     * Project06 (Galway Ireland).
     * Natyanjali Classical Indian musical theatre festival in the Hindu
       temples of South India.
     * Bogotá's Iberoamerican International Festival.
     * Pacific Playwrights Festival at South Coast Repertory ( Costa Mesa,
       California).
     * Festival Internacional de Artistas de Rua da Bahia - Brazil.
       (Street artists).
     * Curitiba Theatre Festival - Brazil.

Theatre conventions

   Technical theatre
     * LDI (USA)
     * United States Institute for Theatre Technology

Awards in theatre

     * Manchester Evening News Annual Drama Awards (United Kingdom)
     * Elliot Norton Awards ( Boston, MA USA)
     * European Theatre Award
     * Evening Standard Awards (United Kingdom)
     * Laurence Olivier Awards (United Kingdom)
     * London Critics' Circle Theatre Awards (United Kingdom)
     * Tony Award (USA)
     * Golden Mask Award (Russia)
     * Molière Award (France)
     * Hans-Reinhart-Ring (Switzerland)
     * Lucille Lortel Award (USA)
     * Drama Desk Award (USA)
     * Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (India)
     * Joseph Jefferson Award (USA)
     * Sangeet Natak Academy Award (India)

   Masks (Quebec, Canada)
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
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