INTRODUCTION TO THEATER ARTS

WHAT IS THEATER?

Theatre comes from a Greek word theatron, which means “seeing place”. Thus, at its most basic
definition, a theatre is a location where something is seen. Theatre entails both those who watch
and those who are watched --- the audience and the actors. However, theatre can have many
different meanings. Additionally, we use it to indicate the location of film screenings, as in
“movie theatre.” It is also used to refer to a location where wars and surgeries take place, as in
“theatre of operations” and “operating theatre.”

HISTORY OF THEATER ARTS

The history of theatre can be traced back to the development of the art form over the last 2500
years. The history of theatre is largely concerned with the emergence and subsequent
development of performance traditions all over the world. Theatre, as a cultural expression,
reflects the cultures of society. Stories and themes of performances are based on community life
experiences. It mirrors social realities, thus encouraging intercultural communication throughout
its history.

ORIGINS OF THEATRE

Ritual

The roots of theatre may be traced back to ritual, in which actors re-create, magnify, and make
meaningful shared myths, beliefs, tales, and traditions. The term ritual refers to a particular
ceremonial observance that is performed to confer certain benefits on the participants. A ritual is
a religious or cultural practice performed by members of a community.

Community rituals bind people together by reinforcing their common history and goals. They
help to create the yearly calendar as well as the various rites of passage in human life cycle,
including birth, death, marriage, and coming of age.

Storytelling

Storytelling originated shortly after ceremonial activities began. It depends on a single voice;
therefore, it’s a single point of view. It is more personalized than a collective ritual performance.
Every narrative must have a listener-spectator who either does not know the story being told or is
eager to hear it again. Because of the use of impersonation--- creating voices and facial
expressions that represent the characteristics of the characters---and the aim to communicate
distinct emotions, storytelling develops character.

Shamanism

Dance-drama, an early kind of theatre, arose from the combination of ritual and storytelling.
Dance-dramas originated from the African continent and spread to tribal groups all over the
world, where they are being performed even until today.

Animism, a catch-all word reflecting the ancient tribal culture’s underlying religious drive, refers
to the belief in the ability of such spirits to animate things. In the same broad sense, shamans are
humans who take on an animist duty to mediate between spirit and earthly reality.

THEATER IN THE WEST

During the middle of the millennium B.C., the city-state of Athens produced four of the finest
playwrights and the most influential dramatic theorist in the theater’s long history. Greek theatre
established the formal foundations of Western theatre, which developed and defined key
concepts such as tragedy, comedy, characters, and plotlines, all of which are still vital in play as
we know it today.

GREEK DRAMA

The Athenian theatre developed the essential genres of tragedy and comedy via a spectacular
combination of legend, myth, social criticism, philosophy, dance, music, poetry, visual
magnificence and audience involvement.

Aristotle and other academics believe that Greek tragedy evolved from dithyrambs, ancient
orgiastic rites in songs and dances in homage to the deity of fertility and wine, Dionysus.
Adoring Dionysus involved ecstatically worshipping fertility symbols like phalluses, while
chanting ancient poetry and drinking lavish wine.

Both forms of drama in Greek theatre were initially staged on the ground in a basic wheat-
threshing area (called the orchestra), with a dressing/retiring space (skene) behind it. The
audience was situated on a nearby slope (called the theatron). Actors entered and exited in the
parodos. The words orchestra, scene, and theatre are retained up to these days.

ROMAN DRAMA

Roman builders abandoned the Greek hillside theatron and threshing-circle orchestra in favour of
designing a theatre that surrounded the audience while remaining open to the sky. They also
divided the orchestra in half and built tunnel entrances (called vomitoria) on both sides. The
basic Greek skene evolved into an ornate three-story wall (called the frons scaenae) adorned with
hundreds of sculptures. The Romans introduced the use of stage traps (openings in the stage floor
for the scent and descent of actors).

Plautus. Plautus is a well-known dramatist whose comedic impact stems from exaggeration,
burlesque and frequently harsh humor, fast movement, aand a purposely upside-down depiction
of reality.

Terence. Terence’s plays are all about young love and usually have a double storyline. Terence’s
language achieves perfection in proper expression, lightness, clarity, and elegance.

Seneca. Seneca’s plays, best renowned for their depictions of brutality and terror, were
reworkings of Greek tragedies (Euripides, Aeschyluss, and Sophocles).
MEDIEVAL DRAMA

Medieval drama in Europe began with the celebration of divine resurrection during Easter
service. As part of the service, officiating monks reenacted the Biblical story of the visitation of
the Three Marys in the tom of Jesus. This playlet popularly known as Quem Quaeritis (Whom
seek ye?) re-enacted the appearance of an angel who told Mary that Jesus of Nazareth has risen
already.

Types of Medieval Plays

Mystery Play. A mystery play was based on stories derived from the Holy Bible.

 Cain killing his brother Abel

 Noah and the Great Flood

Miracle Plays. A miracle play, or saint’s play, depicted the saint’s real and apocryphal lives.
Actors were usually from the communities and organized by the play master, their version of
the director.

 Magdalene
 Virgin Mary
 Passion Play

Morality Plays. A morality play tackled stories of the struggle of humans between good and evil.
Everyman was the most famous morality play written in about 1500, which dramatized the final
hours of man before his death.

ELEMENTS OF THEATRE

The Audience

The essence of theatre is the exchange, the chemistry, and the energy between the audience and
the actors on stage. The audience interaction with the other audience’ members influence the
watching experience in the theatre. Audience participates in the whole theatre experience
through imagination.

The Performers

Another key element of theatre is the performers, the individuals onstage portraying characters in
dramatic action.

Challenges in Acting

 Finding the inner truth of the characters.

 Appropriate use of the body and voice.
 Integrating inner and outer acting abilities.

The Script/Text

The script is considered as the blueprint for production. A playwright, a writer who writes the
script, creates the dramatic script by transforming stories (such as incidents and biographical
events) into a sequence of events showing characters interacting with each other. A playwright
develops dramatic structure by giving life to characters; creating their personalities and conflict
to arouse the interest of the audience. A playwright creates the subject, the tone, the structure and
the point of view of the script.

Qualities of a Fine Play

Cohen and Sherman (2017) listed the following seven qualities of a fine play:

1. Credibility and Intrigue

2. Speakability, Stageability, and Flow
3. Richness
4. Depth and Characterization
5. Gravity and Pertinence
6. Compression, Economy, and Intensity
7. Celebration

The Director

The director is responsible for rehearsing the actors and coordinating the works of the designers
(scenic, costumes, lighting, sound) and other members of the team to ensure that the performance
is both coherent and interesting. The director is responsible for ensuring that the event is
conducted properly, wisely, and excitingly. A theatre director shapes the play’s narrative and
establishes its style, tempo, and how the actors study and create their characters and interact with
one another.

Types of Director

1. Traditional Director
In this directing approach, the script is the starting point of the production. Also called
the text-based method, the director chooses the script to be staged, analyses it and
prepares for the production mounting.
2. Auteur
Auteur is a French word which means author. In this directing approach, the directors
also serve as authors who can easily create changes or transformations of the material. An
Auteur director takes full responsibility for every transformation
3. Postmodern
A postmodern director creates productions that are radical, free-form and sometimes
rebellious. This kind of production employs a process called deconstruction, which
involves taking a part of the text which may be altered, reassembled, deleted, or taken out
of context. It also abandons the classical, linear, or narrative structure.

Responsibility of the Director

The theatre director brings together all the aspects of production. Directors are responsible to
produce a unified and coherent piece that can move us, enlighten us or even amuse us. If the
director has carefully orchestrated the whole production involving good complementation of all
production elements, he will produce meaningful, unforgettable and exciting experiences for the
audience. The director is responsible for the overall design and execution of all other elements in
theatre creation.