Introduction to the Theatre

THE 101 / University of Idaho

Chapter 2 / What is Theatre?

     Theatre is an intriguing discipline of the fine arts.   It serves as both literature and performance.  In some cultures, theater is the dominant storyteller.  It is a vehicle to maintain ancient traditions and pass on cultural history.   In other cultures, theatre has been employed as an important part of religious festivals and as a way of enlightening illiterate populations to the stories of the gospel.   Finally, theatre is a popular form of entertainment for many different cultures worldwide.

   In addition to its many cultural functions, theatre also struggles with many apparent contradictions as an art form.   Each performance is considered unique yet repeatable and while each performance is seemingly spontaneous it is also well rehearsed.   The ultimate product of theatre, the performance, appears real we know that it is simulated.   The actors are themselves yet they portray characters.   The audience believes the performance and becomes involved, however, they know it is false and remain separate from the action on the stage.   Oddly enough, many of theatre’s greatest strengths as an art form come from these seeming contradictions.   You will find throughout the course of this class that these contradictions mirror both human existence, and the nature of culture and society.   As humans, we are always part of our culture and society.   However, we also find that sometimes we feel separated from that culture and our society.   Theatre as a discipline responds to the conditions that surround the audience, the artists, and their art.

     For our immediate purposes, we will develop a working definition of theatre using six main clauses.   We will weave these clauses together as a unified statement and at the end of each clause is a description.   Theatre is work.   In fact, it is very physically demanding work, which requires many hours of concentrated thought and activity to complete.  Theatre is artistic work.   Many specialized artists are required to fulfill the demands of production and performance.   Theatre uses actors who impersonate characters.   Actors develop characters based on their interpretation of the script.   These characters (to this point in time) have not existed; they are completely new and unique creations.   Experienced and well-trained actors can 'become' these created people apart from their individual selves in a very compelling and convincing way.   Theatre results in a live performance.   It is a visual experience that is experienced directly by the audience member in real time. The notion of live performance is an important one and helps separate theatre from its offspring, film and television.   Theatre uses a scripted play.   Everything done in theatre is based upon the script.   It guides the individual artists and the collaborative team in the completion of their necessary tasks by providing clues and hints in solving the problems in production and performance.   The script functions much like blueprints to the contractors who build a house.   The script guides us in the completion of itself.   Finally, theatre is a collaborative enterprise.   It combines the specializations of individual artists through collaboration in a truly creative endeavor.   Our definition is this: Theater is a collaborative enterprise between artists who work with a scripted play, where actors impersonate characters, in the production of a live performance.

     Although this description seems fairly complete, there are other ways of defining theatre, which begin to address the finished product, and these methods will be quite useful in helping you understand theatrical history.   In addition, theatre can be further classified by its length or by duration.   For instance, is the play a full-length or a one-act?   A modern full-length play usually runs approximately two hours long and has at least one intermission or break at the end of the act, while a one-act tends to be quite a bit shorter and is completed within the duration of one act, hence the name.   Theatre can also be further defined by its content or its genre.   For instance, is it a tragedy or comedy?  A farce or a melodrama?   Theatre can also be defined by the way it is crafted or by its style.   For instance, is the play realism, expressionism, or absurdism?   Being a fine art, the artists in theatre have experimented with the various movements and art ideas that the history of art documents.

The Theatrical Process

     Theatre relies on the understanding of five useful models.

·        The Communication Model

·        The Dialectic or Scientific Model

·        The Design Model

·        The Organizational Model

·        Cohen’s Eight Stage Audience Model

     The communication model discusses the problematic nature of communication in which the communicator "encodes" their message and sends it to the receiver who then "decodes" that information.   Although it sounds obvious, the transmission of that communication can be effected by three kinds of noteworthy noise - conceptual noise, mechanical noise and perceptual noise.   Conceptual noise is caused by poor transmission or encoding and is within the control of the person communicating.   For instance, the volume of the actor’s voice or their ability to enunciate.   Mechanical noise is caused when anything outside the control of the communicator or receiver disrupts their communication.   Jets flying overhead and snoring audience members are examples of this.  Perceptual noise is caused when the receiver filters out the information from the communicator.  This problem is within the control of the receiver.   Everything that is one in theatre is done for a reason.   There are no random signals.   Understanding the basics of the communication model allows the theatre artist to avoid making and analyze random signals.

     The second model is based on the Scientific Method of discussion and discovery, also simultaneously referred to as the Marxist Dialectic in eastern traditions (China) or the Positivist tradition in the West.   Essentially, when a theory meets an opposing theory, the investigator goes through experimentation and reflection resulting in a potential synthesis or the development of a new theory.   Theatre artist continually examine the social, cultural, and aesthetic theories that surround them.   Through artistic experimentation and reflection they are able to construct new interpretations and ideas that challenge the status quo.

     The design model is used to develop the directors commanding image into a realized design.   In the design model, the artist starts with an idea or a problem.   The developing idea undergoes an expanding process of research, collection, and thought.   This research can be composed of photos, objects, magazine clippings, artwork, and sketches.   This early research and collection process is called the divergent phase.   Once all the research has been collected and assembled, the cognitive phase takes place.   In the cognitive phase the artist examines all the relationships of the research materials with the idea or problem in mind.   The designer breaks their materials and images into separate parts pieces and begins to explore their similarities and differences.   Sometimes compared to gestation, this is the time when the artist compares his findings collaboratively with the other artists involved and the idea takes form.   During the convergent phase, less successful ideas are discarded and the ideas that are retained are refined.   The convergent phase leads to the final design or solution.   The design model helps the artist to understand the basic methods involved in the design process and the necessity for problem solving.

     Theatre also uses an organizational model to accomplish the task of mounting a production and its culminating performances.   While the organizational structures within different theatre companies may vary, the process that the artists go through to do theatre is the same.   In the pre-production or planning phase all of the artists read the script and then develop their own interpretation.   After meeting and sharing their ideas, the artists develop a common set of ideas, or focus, called the commanding image.   The director leads this discovery and conversation.   After the commanding image has been established, the artists begin to collect research for their ideas.   The artists continue to develop and refine their ideas individually and through group meetings based on the commanding image of the director.   Final decisions are made on all refined ideas, and if the director approves the ideas, the artists move on to the next phase.   The next phase is the rehearsal and construction phase.   It is important to note that at this point in the process two distinct arms of theatre work, production and performance separate for a short time.   Performance members that include the director, stage manager, and actors go into rehearsals.   Production members that include designers, supervisors, artisans and technicians go into construction in their various shops.   In the finishing phase, these two arms meet for technical rehearsals, culminating in dress rehearsals, and eventually an opening night and consecutive run.   This is the process by which theatre gets produced through organization.

     There is a final model that examines the totality of the theatrical experience from the audience perspective.   Cohen’s eight-stage audience model also reflects the business side of the theatre experience.   In the first stage, the audience is gathered through advertising, marketing, and promotion.   Next, during the transition phase, the audience arrives and waits in the lobby.   This phase is crucial in helping the audience move from the hectic run around life of today, to a pleasant evening of entertainment.   This can be accomplished through concessions, mood lighting and music, and an overall pleasant lobby atmosphere.  In an outdoor theater setting where there is no formal lobby, “green shows” are often employed to help transition the audience.  Green shows are basically warm-up acts utilizing younger company members in skits and songs.   Once the play has started there is a period where important information is revealed to the audience.   This information it is called exposition and allows the audience to follow the plot of the play as it unfolds.   This is also why it is important to get to the theater on time.  Not just because most self-respecting theaters will not let you in until there is a scene or act break, but once you do get seated you will not have a clue about what is going on in the play.    The next two phases happen very quickly, the conflict and the climax.   These signify the confrontation of the major forces within the plot, and the outcome of the play.   The next phase is usually short as well; it is the denouement or the wrapping up of any "loose ends" unanswered by the climax.   The denouement provides the audience with literary closure.   Next is the curtain call for acknowledgments and to signify the end of the play.   Following the curtain call is the final phase called the aftermath.   The aftermath is usually the critique or review of the play and in some cases is a post show response with the production team present.   Although the audience does not always identify with this phase, or read the reviews, it is part of the cyclical process.   All reviews provide knowledge to the artists, which help them to improve their craft.   However, positive reviews provide further incentive by attracting additional paying audience members.   Theatre is an art form that relies on the understanding of culture, itself, communication, analysis, problem solving, and business.   Theatre at best is a complex enterprise.