Chapter 3: Essentials of Theatre
With Thespis’ act of stepping out and saying “I am Dionysus,” theatre as an art form began. This act of stepping out is more commonly known today as characterization, the putting on of behaviors and mannerisms of a personality not our own, in an environment where there is an audience who understands that we are putting on an act. We put on the act for the audience. As a result, there are certain essential characteristics of theatre as an art form.
Someone - the Actor
The actor is a person, a personality, who for the purposes of art presents herself or himself as some other person or personality. The actor speaks words which are assigned to the personality (or character) being presented. The actor moves and speaks as the personality being presented might move and speak. The actor puts on clothing which the personality being presented might wear. (All of this, of course, takes place within the director’s vision – the world the director is attempting to create.) The actor is simply “one who acts.” But in theatre, the actor is one who acts like someone else.
In the play, Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, there are parts or roles for several actors. One actor is assigned the role of King Oedipus. Another actor is assigned the role of Queen Jocasta. Another actor is assigned the role as a member of the Chorus. These three actors are working together on the same play, but each has a different responsibility. The responsibility to present King Oedipus belongs only to the actor assigned to that role. The actor assigned to play Queen Jocasta cannot and should not attempt to portray King Oedipus.
Yet they work together. The presentation of King Oedipus cannot be adequately portrayed only by the actor assigned to that role. The actor playing Queen Jocasta assists in the presentation of King Oedipus by providing a contrast. Queen Jocasta disagrees with King Oedipus, she councils King Oedipus, she eventually urges him to stop his investigation into the murder of Laius. The actor playing Queen Jocasta, by presenting Queen Jocasta appropriately, provides contrast and clarity to the actor playing King Oedipus, and the actor playing King Oedipus provides a similar contrast and clarity to the actor playing Queen Jocasta.
If all the actors portrayed their characters the same way – that is, if every actor merely stood on stage and spoke his or her lines – the performance would suffer greatly because there would not be any contrast or clarity of the individual characters in the play.
Some actors provide very little distinguishing characteristics to the roles they play, from one production to another. Other actors work very hard to develop distinguishing characteristics from one role to the next. In other words, an actor may play King Oedipus, Hamlet, and Willy Loman (three characters in three different plays) somewhat alike because the actor makes little attempt to distinguish the three characters from himself. Another actor may spend many hours in rehearsal developing very unique and distinguishing features to each of the three roles, distinguishing them not only from himself but from each other as well.
The actor provides the characterization. There is great variety in the ways actors provide characterization, as we will see in a later chapter. Yet, it is the actor who provides the characterization, an essential element in the art of theatre.
Something - the Playscript (or Idea)
In most cases, the character portrayed by the actor originates from outside the actor. The actor typically brings his or her talent and skills at portraying characters to a role written (or developed initially) by someone else. The character is typically a single character within a larger story, or script, or idea, and the actor develops his or her assigned character within the framework of the larger story, script, or idea.
In ancient Greek theatre, these scripts were written by such individuals as Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes. In the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance, these scripts were written by such individuals as William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Jean Racine, and Moliere. In the modern age, these scripts have been written by such individuals as Eugene O’Neill, Arthur Miller, and Tennessee Williams. The lists of plays and playwrights go on and on. Nearly every century and culture in the world has produced some form of theatrical art.
The script is typically in written form though the depth and detail of scripts have varied considerably. In commedia dell’arte, the script was probably nothing more than a loose outline of the story to be presented, tacked to the side of the stage to remind the actors, before going onstage, of what scene came next. Other playwrights, especially modern playwrights, have taken great pains to write much detail into their scripts. Some playwrights are very strict about performance rights, requiring absolute loyalty to the scripts they have written. Other playwrights understand the differences of performance spaces and audiences, and they are more open to allowing directors and actors to make production-specific changes or modifications. And, let’s be honest, some playwrights have been dead for a long, long time, and their scripts are now part of the public domain.
In its most basic form, the script is an idea. For example, you and your friends decide to “play a little trick” on one of your classmates, Mary. You and Joe agree to come into the classroom a little early and tell Mary that you’ve just run into the professor and the class has been cancelled. Your other friend, Ana, agrees to come in a minute later and, initially, not believe your statement about the class being cancelled. Then, after a little fibbing, Ana will pretend to accept your words . . . and you, Joe, and Ana will leave the room. You agree to meet up at the corner of the building to watch and see if Mary took the bait and was fooled. You’ve agreed ahead of time to stop Mary, and confess your trick, if she does in fact leave the room.
The performance is improvisational; there are no words written down and rehearsed ahead of time. You and Joe will be working together, so you listen carefully to what each other says (you have to make sure your comments agree with each other). And then you enter the room and perform for Mary.
As you and your friends discuss the plan, you are in fact rehearsing your script, working out the details, who will play which part, etc. The idea is the something that will be performed.
But in most cases, the script is a literary document that provides a blueprint or plan for the performance. It typically contains numerous scenes which together make up the whole story to be performed. The scenes need to be performed in a pre-established arrangement, what we will later call plot.
The word drama has come to be associated with the script. The playscript is known as dramatic literature. Many playscripts are so well written that they can stand alone as great works of literature. Other playscripts leave much open to the creativity of the director, the designers, and the actors and, as a result, they have their impact only in performance.
The playscript provides the structure and organization of the performance. There are three basic structures: Classical, Episodic, and Situational.
The Classical plot structure began with the Greeks, and it has continued to be the dominant structure throughout the history of theatre. This plot structure is sometimes called Cause and Effect or Climactic because it deals with a single main action which moves in a fairly chronological course from the beginning through the middle to the end.
The Episodic plot structure (from episode) has also been around for millennia. From the cycle plays of the Middle Ages, to the masterpieces of Shakespeare, to some of today’s finer works, these plays are patterned along episodic lines. The main action or story line is broken, fragmented, and interspersed with secondary stories or scenes.
The Situational plot structure has come into existence, in part, through modern artists’ attempts to reject the classical and neoclassical ideas of how plays should be written. This plot structure does not focus on a primary character nor does it attempt to tell the story of a primary action. Rather, this play structure focuses on one or more characters stuck in a situation from which there is no escape. The main action, if you will, takes place within and among the character(s) as they relate to their predicament, or situation.
There is great variety in the types of scripts and in the ways playwrights develop them, as we will see in a later chapter. Yet, it is the playscript which provides the Idea (Story), as an essential element in the art of theatre.
Somewhere: the Theater and Stage
Theatre, in its essence, is someone performing something . . . which requires that the performance take place somewhere. And while a performance could in fact take place anywhere, in theatre, we seek to create a scenic environment for the performance. In its basic definition, a scenic environment is a place where there is something to look at, to see. However, when we talk about scenic environments, we are usually talking about a place where there is something interesting to see.
Most theatre as we know it takes place in locations called theaters. There are indoor theaters, and there are outdoor theaters (sometimes called amphitheaters). The ancient Greeks gave their performances outside. It was the Romans who built the first theater building with a roof over it (in 55 BCE). Some theater facilities today are elaborate, multi-million-dollar buildings with state-of-the-art technology available to heighten the theatrical effect. And most of us, at one point or another, have produced theatre in school cafeterias or community recreation centers.
Theatre can be produced anywhere.
In a barn,
On a farm.
In a park,
Without much harm.
On the beach,
Within easy reach.
Earning awards
Or trying to teach.
In a grove,
Near a stove,
Entertaining the crowds
Or worshiping Jove.
In a hut
Or a house,
With an elephant
Or a mouse.
Theatre can happen anywhere,
As long as audience and actors are there.
The scenic environment can be categorized in four main ways.
The first type of scenic environment is commonly called the proscenium arrangement. In proscenium theatres, the audience remains on one side of an imaginary line, and the performance remains on the other side of the line.
The second type of scenic environment is commonly called the thrust arrangement because the performance space “thrusts” into the audience space. The result is a performance with the audience seated on (roughly) three sides of the stage.
The third type of scenic environment, arena staging, places audience members all the way around the performance space. This type of staging is sometimes called theatre in the round.
The fourth type of scenic environment is flexible or mixed. In this environment, the line separating the performance space from the audience space is completely ignored. The performance and audience spaces are intermingled. As an audience member, you may have one scene take place in front of you and the next scene takes place somewhere behind you (or in your lap).
Essentially, the performance must take place somewhere. With the advent of cinema and television (and Internet) communication, the definitions of scenic environment are being challenged and stretched every day. But if the performance doesn’t take place somewhere, it doesn’t take place.
Some Other - The Audience
The final, essential element of theatre is the audience. Actors performing a script in a theater are merely rehearsing unless there is an audience to observe the performance. The script is written by the writer to be performed before an audience. The actors rehearse their roles, to be performed before an audience. The designers design the sets, costumes, lighting, etc.; the technicians construct the sets and costumes; and the electricians hang and focus the lights.
The audience provides the validation that the event occurred. They are the witnesses of the performance. And, in some ways, they are fellow participants of the performance through their observation and response.
In most cases, the audience is invited (individually or collectively) to witness the performance. They are given instructions on where to be (the scenic environment) and at what time (the opening curtain). Sometimes the performance is free, sometimes the audience is asked to support the production through donations, and sometimes the audience is required to pay an admission fee.
The audience is expected to arrive early enough to the theatre that they can be seated and ready to observe the performance from the beginning to the end. Typically, the audience is expected to remain quiet during the performance, to remain seated, to applaud at the end of each act (or scene) or at the end of each musical number, and to thank the performers with their applause at the end of the production.
In some cases, the audience is asked or expected to participate in more tangible ways. For instance, some scripts include audience interaction. The performers may pass out flyers or food or other things to the audience. The performers may enter the audience and make physical contact with the audience members. Some shock theatre may include actors cursing the audience or literally spitting on the audience.
Before going to see a performance, one should be aware of certain expectations.
First, you are expected to arrive early to the theatre and find your seat.
Second, you are expected to give your full attention to the performance while the performance is going on (turn off your cell phones and pagers, and don’t talk to the people around you). Small children should not be brought to the theatre unless they are capable of sitting quietly and giving their attention to the performance.
The attention, or concentration, of the audience provides a necessary energy, or feedback, to the performers. The energy may be expressed through applause, or laughter, or less tangibly as personal energy, but actors will often talk about audiences as good or dead. A good audience can make a mediocre performance better. A dead audience can make a wonderful performance mediocre. When you attend a theatrical production as a member of the audience, you need to be aware of your own power to influence the performance.
Third, you are expected to thank the actors (with your applause) at the end of the play. In most situations, the actors will come back out onto the stage after the performance for what is called a curtain call. Your applause – at a bare minimum – should thank the actors for the time and effort they have put into the performance and – at best – should demonstrate your appreciation for the quality of their performance.
Some theaters prohibit food and drinks in the theater though they may provide a time and place for food and drinks before the play or during an intermission in the performance. Some theaters, like dinner theaters and cabaret theaters, not only allow eating and drinking during the performance, but they encourage it as part of the overall theatre/dining experience.
Lastly, you should never leave the area for the audience (the auditorium and the lobby) and you should never go onstage or backstage without explicit permission from a director or stage manager.
You see, the performance you observe as an audience member is only a part of the whole production. The production actually started several hours before the opening curtain when the stage manager, actors, and technicians began to arrive in the facility. They all have preshow duties to perform such as getting into costume, checking the lighting, pre-setting stage properties, etc. And after the performance the production continues as the stage manager, actors, and technicians complete their post-show duties such as getting out of costume, checking the sets and costumes for any needed repair, sweeping and cleaning up, etc. The production isn’t over simply because the performance has ended.
Some theaters include tours and/or seminars as part of their audience offerings. Check with your local theatre to see if such is available. These are wonderful opportunities to see all the things behind the scenes which support the performance.
But essentially, it is the presence and participation of the audience that provides the final element of theatre. Without the audience, the performance is just a rehearsal.
Theatre: Someone, performing Something, Somewhere, for Some Other. There are a multitude of variations and facets of the art of theatre. But in its most rudimentary, elemental form, theatre is someone performing something, somewhere, for someone else. With this definition in mind, you will begin to see theatre taking place in more places than you might have imagined.