A Change In Theatre

In the intro to The Dramatic Imagination, John Mason Brown wrote that Robert Jones’ theatre was “an extension of life, not a duplication, a heightening rather than a reproduction” (Jones 1). Of course, we know that plays are about ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. However, Jones poses the question of what can designers do to heighten the “extraordinary circumstances” to the audience without interfering the message of the show? The Dramatic Imagination focused on most aspects of artistry in the theatre, including actors and designers. As someone who does not consider myself a designer, but is an actor with a liberal arts education, this was more helpful than only focusing on scenic design. Furthermore, it supported the need for intense collaboration between all theatre artists when working on a show, a highly valued characteristic of mine.

The history of theatre in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries is one of the increasing commercialization of the art, accompanied by technological innovations, the introduction of serious critical review, expansion of the subject matters portrayed to include ordinary people, and an emphasis on more natural forms of acting. Theatre, which had been dominated by the church for centuries, and then by the tastes of monarchs for more than 200 years, became accessible to merchants, industrialists, and the less privileged and then the masses.

Theatre today as in ancient Greek times is a popular form of entertainment. Today’s theatres share many similarities with the Greek predecessors however they are also very different. There are in fact many differences for example; layout, special effects, seating arrangement, the importance of drama and religion, setting, location and architectural features.

It has been said that theater was the most popular performing art in the early 20th century that was until the invention of moving talking pictures or movies. The reason why theater was the most popular performing art is because movies didn’t exist yet on a broad scale. If people wanted entertainment they had to go to the theater. Now that we have television and movies, theater audience has dropped significantly. Although it wasn’t until televisions were in everyone’s home that live theater really took a hit. Since then we have seen the audience dwindle at the theaters as time progresses. Luckily before theater was eclipsed entirely the 2 forms of entertainment learned to work together for the most part but the

When utilized correctly, theater can weapon, not one that destroys, but rather one that teaches the spectators to adhere to one ideology. The group or ideology that speaks and has the power of this microphone has changed over time and as a result culture has followed it. At first, we observe that the aristocrats held theater but soon after the power fell to the individual man. Once the bourgeoisie, as Boal calls them, took control, the common man followed two laws, according to Machiavelli: the virtù and the praxis. The virtù allows the lower man to trample the obstacles set by the higher powers. Although man has become more individualized, art today still indoctrinates the lower man that he must obey

2b Theatre Company strives to create theatre that is “vital, innovative, and challenging” (Barry, Black), while investigating the meaning of what it is “to be.” They use their own experiences, influenced by the “urban intellectual style” (Barry, Black), of Halifax, Nova Scotia to explore the phenomena of various shared aspects of the human experience and allow that to reflect into their work. They also “believe that at the core of the theatrical event is a unique and particular interaction between audience and performance. With each project, we re-examine and re-shape this relationship, creating a different spatial and metaphorical relationship between the audience and the stage” (Barry, Black). They explore the resonance captured in innovative

Throughout the decades there has been a plethora of cultural events that have been passed down from our elders. Whether it be stories to physical artifacts, the beauty of art has never gone away. For many people theatre is a way of expressing themselves, whereas others go to enjoy it. The world of live theatre has had a great cultural impact and is a interesting way to learn about people all across the world. Theatre has been able to have such a big impact on society over the years in a myriad of ways by confronting societal issues that have been around whether it is through drama, comedy, satire or any type of genre as well.

This semester in World Theatre we have covered different theatres from all over the world dating back to the beginnings of theatre to the present. We’ve studied how theatre is different everywhere in the world and the groups we’ve gone over the most are Western theatre, Asian theatre, and African theatre. We have learned about how theatre has changed over time, and that in some areas such as Asia it has stayed the same for thousands of years. Each theatre has its own style and each have set of elements that define what the theatre is truly about. In this paper I will be writing about what elements and pieces of each theatre that we have learned about that I believe together would form a type of theatre that would be a universal and would work in any given culture.

Since the theater perforce exaggerates, amplifying its pathos and stylizing its diction, it takes a specially marked degree of amplification and stylization to dramatize the theatrical, as Schlegel realized. Conversely, when matters pertaining to the stage are

“Theatre makes us think about power and the way our society works and it does this with a clear purpose, to make a change.”

Though they can be amazing, I hope that theatre really innovates new stories and begins to get more creative and original. Then theatre can be more aspects of life we have never seen. Theatre has the power to really change opinions and make people see their world in a different way. I think that more shows that can be unique the better, an increase in, theatre could affect people and our society. The more affect theatre can have, the more people get involved, go see shows, and participate in art. The more people that can be apart of theatre the larger of a community and the more it becomes apart of our society.

In our lives, most people have watched and experienced many performances or theaters. Theater is one of the most popular entertainments that have stood the test of times. When we talk about theater, it generally means a variety of art forms. However, all these forms have common elements. While approaching a performance Ka show at the MGM Grand Hotel, the following says that theater is a unique art form which includes collaboration between performers and the audience.

Theatre must be represented without any limits, full of freedom, without any boundaries. There is no such thing as correct theatre, it is the effect that is important. It is what it makes you feel. I want theatre that blows your mind, make you cry of sadness, make you cry of joyfulness, go further than one's imagination, I want theatre to change perspectives and lives. In this aspect I find similarities with Artaud, that claims for the audience to be disturbed, to feel uncomfortable and to wake up the unconscious of the spectator (Artaud, 1938). However, I believe that not necessarily the feeling of the public should be of a discomfort, any feeling is valuable. On the other hand, Stanislavski believes that only one theatre, “his theatre”

The directors contribute in creating this response from the spectators, they continue to do what previous audiences had originally loved. They believe that this must be the correct way to perform a play and lack any creativity to change it. 'The Deadly Theatre' shows that both actors and directors do not invent any new ideas, they both rely on what they have done previously.

Academic and artistic interest in something is usually a sure sign that matters are unclear, conceptual boundaries are blurred and that old certainties are anything but that. There is also little doubt that the major challenges we face: the media revolution, globalization and migration, climate change, the erosion of public finances and services (to name just a few) – have all in some way a bearing on the public sphere, the realm where issues are debated and where citizens are free to enter and engage in discourse. As the public sphere is primarily a discursive arena located outside and between state bureaucracies on the one hand and economics and business on the other, it occupies a crucial role in the functioning of so-called free societies. The question to be explored here is what role theatre and performance in practice play in this realm and how performance and theatre theory can contribute to the debates.” (Balme