#Task : What is theatre? How do you think theatre, as a media form, communicates messages to its audience?
Theatre (sometimes theater in American English) is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance. Elements of design and stagecraft 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 θέατρον (théatron, “a place for viewing”) and θεάομαι (theáomai, “to see", "to watch", "to observe”).
The history of theatre charts the development of theatre over the past 2,500 years. While performative elements are present in every society, it is customary to acknowledge a distinction between theatre as an art form and entertainment and theatrical or performative elements in other activities. The history of theatre is primarily concerned with the origin and subsequent development of the theatre as an autonomous activity. Since classical Athens in the 6th century BCE, vibrant traditions of theatre have flourished in cultures across the world. Theatre probably arose as a performance of ritual activities that did not require initiation on the part of the spectator. This similarity of early theatre to ritual is negatively attested by Aristotle, who in his Poetics defined theatre in contrast to the performances of sacred mysteries: theatre did not require the spectator to fast, drink the kykeon, or march in a procession; however theatre did resemble the sacred mysteries in the sense that it brought purification and healing to the spectator by means of a vision, the theama. The physical location of such performances was accordingly named theatron.
Theatre has many purposes. It started as religious ceremony, then branched off into social and political commentary. It can be educational, entertaining, or off-putting. It can be the highest and lowest form of art. And even though folks tend to trivialize it, there is some form of theatre in just about every culture that has ever existed on this planet. Its purpose is expression, communication, and entertainment, and probably a hundred more things that don't immediately leap to mind. In my personal opinions, I do agree that theatre is a very good form of media which communicates multi-meanings and multi-feelings to the audience. Theatre is a different type of media which transmit the stories of different culture or people to the audience with a special feeling. The whole story, characters , stagecraft, stage props, background music, music effects, lightings are produced in accordance with each play and are to fully convey the whole message. It make theatre has strong integrity and good appealing. Every elements in the certain play are a media form that used to convey different things even though the dialogue spoken and facial expression can communicate with audience and tell them a message. Theatre does help to develop the understanding of the ideas, attitudes, beliefs, and feelings of diverse people in different times throughout history .
Ref :
Definition of theatre : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre
Origin of theatre : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_theatre
Purpose of theatre : http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/general-advice/7166-what-purpose-theatre.html
on 10th November 2012
on 10th November 2012
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