The Basic Essential Elements of Theatre

What is Theatre?

"The word theater comes from the Greeks. It means the seeing place. It is the place people come to see the truth about life and the social situation. The theater is a spiritual and social x-ray of its time." - Stella Adler, 'New York Times', December 1992.

When you think of the theatre, what comes to mind? Many people think of actors on stage, comedy, tragedy, musicals, Broadway, or theatrical traditions such as Kabuki, or the shadow puppetry of Wayang Kulit. The term might even call to mind playwrights such as Shakespeare or August Wilson. Theatre is all of those things, but it can also be a great deal less. Fundamentally, theatre is an interactive art with very few requirements. This is perhaps why it is one of the oldest art forms on the planet. Theatre is a collaborative art form that aims at creating a dynamic relationship between the observing audience and the performer(s). Despite the fact that many theatrical performances are carefully prepared and repeated multiple times, each performance and each experience is unique. No two performances are the same; this is because theatre, like life, is temporal. It only exists at the moment it is being performed. Once the performance has ended, any and all subsequent performances, no matter how similar, are inherently different experiences for both the artist and the audience. In this lesson, we will look at both the collaborative aspect of theatre and the dynamic relationship between audience and performer that makes theatre unique. We will also look at expanding the understanding of what can be considered theatre or theatrical.

Theatre, The Collaborative Art

Theatre is often called collaborative art because every stage of the process relies on others to interpret the text. Even the process of developing the text as a playwright typically involves a great deal of feedback in the form of talkbacks from staged readings and feedback from half-staged performances long before the play officially premiers. After the text of the play is solidified, directors, lighting design, sound design, costume design, scenic design, and performers all have a huge impact on interpreting the text to create an experience for the audience. Plays are often rehearsed, and choices are honed to create a specific type of experience for an audience. Many plays even go through a preview phase where the audience responds to the play and even more changes are made prior to an official opening.

In contrast to reading a book, the experience of a play is anything but solitary. Consider the cast and creative team for the 2014 Broadway version of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men.

The original book, Of Mice and Men, was written by one person, with the possible help of an editor, then experienced by a single reader at a time usually in isolation. The interpretive team for this play goes from one single writer for the book to 16 people for the play.

In addition, the audience will observe this experience collectively. Each individual will see and hear the play, but the whole experience is effected by those around them. Every laugh, cry, or groan from an audience member during the performance affects the experience of the play for other members of the audience as much as the choices made by the performance and design team. Another element that is unique to the theatre is that the audience can directly affect the performers themselves. No matter how the audience responds to film or novels, the work remains unchanged. The theatre’s dynamic relationship between audience and performer makes each performance unique.

Please watch the presentation below to learn more about essential theatre elements, ritual, and nontraditional theatre.

Theatre's Dynamic Relationship

Even the experience of the theatrical event is communal. The collaborative nature of theatre is not only part of the development of a play but also in the very experience itself. The key aspect unique to the theatre is that the audience can directly affect the performers. No matter how the audience responds to films or novels, the work remains unchanged. The theatre’s dynamic relationship between audience and performer makes each performance unique and defines the event as theatre. It is not entirely about what happens on stage, but rather the "conversation" between the audience and the performer.

There are only three essential elements required for an event to be considered theatre.

Traditional and Non-Traditional Forms of Theatre

When we think of theatre, we typically think about traditional forms which might be found on the theatrical stage. These events often include dramatic plays, comedic plays, musical theatre, solo theatre, or historical plays. Within these forms, there are numerous genres which we will discuss in more detail later in the Playwriting lesson. Traditional theatrical events can also include genres such as opera, or ballet, and other forms of dance. Given the sparse three requirements that theatre has. there are also nontraditional forms of theatrical events. Any event that has a clearly defined live performer, live audience, and space in which both can be for the event is inherently theatrical. This means that events such as rituals, sporting events, live lectures, music concerts, and even public court hearings have elements of theatre. All of these events have a clearly defined separation between performer and audience, and take place in a live setting where the "performer" and "audience" can affect the actions of the other. This allows them to be described in terms of their theatricality.

Theatre, Rituals, and Games

Non-Traditional Theatrical Events Can Include Rituals

A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. The following aspects of ritual are also found in traditional theatre:

• A ritual is a circumscribed and repeated activity (“twice done”) that often has aspects of performance.
• Rituals have to do with pleasure (sports, food), power (handshake, coronation), or duty (sacrifice, work).
• Rituals tend to be about the managing of (dangerous) transitions.

Theatre and Games Also Have a Great Deal in Common

The following aspects of games also exist in traditional forms of theatre:

Special ordering of time -- Event time, set time, symbolic time
A special value attached to objects -- Balls, rings, ruby slippers, props
Non-productivity in terms of goods -- No economic value (beyond the sale of tickets to the event)
Rules -- Game rules or theatrical conventions
A special ordering of space -- Symbolic or liminal space

The Basic Essential Elements of Theatre Review Activity

Complete the activity below to help you review the content from this lesson.

Plays and musicals are the most common forms of theatrical performance and they will be the main focus for this class- but theatre is a part of your life even if you've never set foot in a theater before! Can you think of any other events, experiences, or holidays that have theatrical elements?

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