The theatre

A unique performing art where stories are enacted by people for people to educate, entertain and communicate. 

What is Theatre?

Theatre is defined in Wikipedia as follows:

"Theatre is that branch of the performing arts concerned with the creation of stories or narratives for (or with) an audience using combinations of acting, speech, gesture, music, dance, object manipulation, sound and spectacle — indeed, any one or more elements of the other performing arts. In addition to standard narrative dialogue style, Theatre takes such forms as opera, musicals, ballet, mime, kabuki, classical Indian dance, Chinese opera, mummers' plays, improvisation, story theater, and pantomime."

Theatre is a live performance.

I think this definition is significant as it makes us aware of the vast span of both world theatre and the theatre world. 

A visit to the Theatre is a unique experience.  It is a live performance and is different from a film or television.

Theatre is an ongoing thought process.

Theatre, the word, comes from the Greek word theatron, which means a place to see.  But it is more than that. It is an activity.

I will like to emphasize that it is an ongoing thought process.  If you study the Theatre of a particular generation,  you can learn about humans who lived in that specific generation.

Theatre is an artistic documentation of time.

It tells us about language, relations, political and social pictures, drapery, behavioral patterns, and many more. 

Theatre, in the modern sense of the word,  in the last two thousand and five hundred years or so is with us. It is a treasure for students from all disciplines.  If someone wants to go back and live in that particular period and find out about life, then, the Theatre will serve as a time machine.  Theatre is the vehicle that will take you to an imaginary destination and the time of your choice — past, present, or future.

Evolution of Theatre

Theatre has been liked and practiced all over the world for ages. The age of Theatre is the same as that of humankind. When one person or few people together narrated a story with action to other person or people, maybe of hunting or of taking a bath in a river, theatre elements came to life. They must have done a thorough preparation to make the narration exciting and realistic. Having a good memory and an understanding of the subject was foremost.

Reproducing an event of hunting or a raining or seeing a rainbow may have required some property too. Perhaps a light source was used, or the background sounds of animals or birds or the water flow may have made the narration more real. They might have used a special place to sit or stand so that everybody had a better view. 

Maybe not everyone was a good storyteller. Someone doing it well may have been in demand for performances — `a professional actor.' Some narrations may have been popular enough to have been performed again and again.

And somewhere, a simple narration or a story may have evolved into a play!

Journey of Theatre
Theatre travels with life and takes different forms at different times.  It has come a long way, and yet it continues to present new challenges for creative minds to explore it further. 

No wonder it attracts people. 

The more we play, the more remains to be played. No life is sufficient to explore it thoroughly.  People perform the same play again and again and yet wish to do it again to know the Theatre more, to understand it better, to inch towards perfection.





The Rules of Theatre

One should not take the Theatre casually.


Rules are for both the performers and the audience.  It is good to learn those first and then enter the Theatre.

It is a serious activity that demands your attention both as a performer and as an audience. They both have to have respect for each other. Times are precious for both.

The performers should stage a play only when it is ready for the performance. Many proper rehearsals are a must.  

An audience should never disturb the performer or a fellow audience.
Last modified: Sunday, 7 June 2020, 8:37 PM