What Is Theatre? Flashcards
The word “theatre”
comes from the Greek
theatron which means?
Seeing place
Drama comes from the Greek word
dran which means?
To do
Drama is something done - an ?
Action
Theatre is something seen - an
Action witnesses
Theat’re is ?
French/ British
Theat’er is
German
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
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
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 occupatio
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”
Theatre as a Collaborative Art Form
Troupes
• Playmakers
• Thespians
Occupations in Theatre
Producing
• Directing
• Acting
• Designing
• Building
• Crewing
• Stage Management
• House Management and Playwriting
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 (game-like), 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
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.
