CH 1

Important points from Chapter one:



* The word THEATRE comes from the Greek theatron, or "seeing place" - the companion term DRAMA comes from the Greek work dran, meaning "to do". Thus we can surmise that THEATRE = something seen and something done. An ACTION is witnessed.


* Three primary ways to use the word THEATRE


a) The Theatre Building - The actual space where theatre takes place. The primary concerns are a place to perform and a place to watch. There are 4 different staging configurations (we will cover this in depth is Ch 5)


b) The Company of Players / Troupe/ Ensemble/ etc - Theatre is a collaborative art involving often hundreds of people working together to create a whole product. These people are often refereed to collectively as the troupe or ensemble. They are the people who do the...


c) ...WORK - The occupation of Theatre. When one asks a layman to define the primary occupation of the Theatre world, they tend to name the actors first and foremost. However, the work of the theatre involves much more than the folks onstage. The number of crafts involved includes:

- Producing


- Directing


- Designing


-Building


- Crews


-Stage management


- House Management


- Publicity / marketing


- Playwrighting


* Impersonation- Theatre involves actors impersonating characters. This is a unique feature to the art form. It is the one element that sets Theatre apart from other art forms.


* Performance- A performance is defined as "an action or series of actions taken for the benefit of an audience". Live performance is the ultimate endgame in the theatrical process.

* Suspension of disbelief- Where the audience agrees to tune out the outside world and enter the world of the play.

* Fourth wall- the invisible barrier that exists between and separates the actors from the audience.


We make use of two different types of performance.

a) Presentational (Direct) - Performers acknowledge the presence of the audience.


EXAMPLES- Stand up comedy- Shakespearean "asides" (where, in mid-conversation, one character would break the fourth wall and speak directly to the audience) - Greek tragedy was (and often still is) performed in a presentational style that was aimed directly at the audience.



b) Representational ( Indirect)- The actors behave as though no audience is present. In effect, the audience becomes a voyeur, looking trough the invisible fourth wall to watch someones life as it unfolds.



* Live performance/ immediacy- Possibly the main element that makes live theatre unique (as opposed to film and television) is that it is LIVE. It's happening now- there are no stops/ starts, no do-overs. Thus, anything can happen.(sometimes bad things, such as actors losing lines or missing entrances- sometimes glorious things, such as an audience being moved in unison in a strong emotional way.)



This leads to a quality of immediacy. Although most of the changes that occur from production to production are minuscule, there ARE differences. Thus, Theatre is a TRANSITORY art form- it happens once, and then it is never quite the same again. One of the primary elements that leads to this unique feature is the audience. In Theatre, unlike film, the audience is an ACTIVE PARTICIPANT. It is incumbent on the audience to listen, pay attention and respond in ways that film and TV 9though fine mediums in and of themselves) DON'T demand of us.

Discussion-

Your book discusses ART and how Theatre is an art form.
Here's your discussion topic-



a)What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of the word ART?



b) What makes something ART or artistic?



c) Do we Americans living in the 21st century VALUE Art in our society? Why or why not?