DEFINING THEATRE v. THEATER

"THEAT-ER" (The Building or Place)

Theat-ER- a building or outdoor area where plays and other dramatic performances are given.

"THEAT-RE" (The Art Form)

Theat-RE- the activity or profession of acting in, producing, directing, or writing plays.

Early Theatre has some orgins in hunters telling stories around the fire about their hunt in prehistoric times. But the art form of Theatre truly begins with the Greeks in Athens during the 6th Century!

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HOW DID THEATRE BEGIN?​

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GREEK THEATRE

THEATRE HISTORY WE WILL EXPLORE THIS YEAR!​

MEDIEVAL THEATRE

SHAKESPEAREAN THEATRE

ITALIAN REINESSANCE

19th & 20th CENTURY AMERICAN

MUSICAL THEATRE

All plays don’t take place on the same type of stage. Some are presented on big stages and some are presented on smaller stages. Let's look at some stages and define the different stage types.

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STAGE TYPES

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is a simple performance space, that varies in size, and is usually a square room with black walls and a flat floor. The simplicity of the space is used to create a flexible stage and audience interaction.

​​BLACK BOX

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​is a theater stage surrounded or nearly surrounded by the audience. This stage is also called Theatre-in-the-round. An Arena stage is also considered another type of Thrust stage.

​​ARENA

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This stage type does not have a roof, although sometimes parts of the stage or audience seating will be covered. These stages may make use of the natural light as it changes during the day, particularly sunset.

​​OPEN AIR

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a stage that extends into the auditorium so that the audience is seated around three sides.

​​THRUST

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is most like an Arena Stage; some staging as background is possible at ends, which are essentially sides. Seats are setup along either side of the stage. (example: a fashion runway.)

​​PROFILE

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a structure in front of the stage that frames the action of the play. In short, the proscenium style stage is where the stage is framed like a picture and the audience seating is directly out front of the stage.

PROSCENIUM

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The Director's job is to tell actors where to move on the stage from action to action in a play. Stage Directions are the areas on the stage where actors will be directed to move to.

STAGE DIRECTIONS