Theatre

The comprehensive guide to all about Theatres, art and drama! Theatre App.

Have you ever wondered what theatre mean? We thought we’d help you understand theatre terminology and clear up some of the confusion. Use it for either reference or just to learn the definitions.

Enjoy! Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers, typically actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage.

The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music, and dance.

Elements of art, such as painted scenery and stagecraft such as lighting are used to enhance the physicality, presence and immediacy of the experience.

The specific place of the performance is also named by the word Theatre as derived from the Ancient Greek theatron "a place for viewing", itself from theaomai, "to see", "to watch", "to observe".

Modern Western Theatre comes, in large measure, from ancient Greek drama, from which it borrows technical terminology, classification into genres, and many of its themes, stock characters, and plot elements.

Theatre artist Patrice Pavis defines theatricality, theatrical language, stage writing and the specificity of theatre as synonymous expressions that differentiate theatre from the other performing arts, literature and the arts in general.

Modern theatre, broadly defined, includes performances of plays and musical theatre. There are connections between theatre and the art forms of ballet, opera (which uses staged, costumed performances with singing and orchestral accompaniment) and various other forms.

Theatre is a space where a performance takes place, in effect a large machine in the form of a building that is specialized for presenting performances.

Stage types:

-Proscenium stage is a proscenium theatre is what we usually think of as a Theatre, it's primary feature is the Proscenium, a picture frame placed around the front of the playing area of an end stage.

The frame is the Proscenium the wings are spaces on either side, extending off stage. Scenery can surround the acting area on all sides except side towards audience, who watch the play through picture frame opening. Backstage is any space around the acting area which is out of sight of the audience.

-Thrust theatre is a stage surrounded by audience on three sides. The Fourth side serves as the background, in a typical modern arrangement the stage is often a square or rectangular playing area, usually raised, surrounded by raked seating. Other shapes are possible, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre was a five sided thrust stage.

-End Stage is a Thrust stage extended wall to wall, like a thrust stage with audience on just one side, Backstage is behind the background wall.

There is no real wingspace to the sides, although there may be entrances located there. An example of a modern end stage is a music hall, where the background walls surround the playing space on three sides.

Like a thrust stage, scenery serves primarily as background, rather than surrounding the acting space.

-Arena Theatre is a central stage surrounded by audience on all sides. The stage area is often raised to improve sightlines.

-Flexible theatre Sometimes called a Black Box Theatre, these stages are often big empty boxes painted black inside. Stage and seating not fixed. Instead, each can be altered to suit the needs of the play or the whim of the director.

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