''For other usages see Theatre (disambiguation)

Theatre or theater (Greek "theatron", "θέατρον") is the branch of the performing arts concerned with acting out stories in front of an audience using combinations of speech, gesture, music, dance, sound and spectacle — indeed any one or more elements of the other performing arts. In addition to the standard narrative dialogue style, theatre takes such forms as opera, ballet, mime, kabuki, classical Indian dance, Chinese opera, mummers' plays, and pantomime.

Overview of theatre

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"Drama" (literally translated, Action, from a verbal root meaning "I do") is that branch of theatre in which speech, either from written text (plays), or improvised is paramount. "Musical theatre" is a form of theatre combining music, songs, dance routines, and spoken dialogue. However, theatre is more than just what one sees on stage. Theatre involves an entire world behind the scenes that creates the costumes, sets and lighting to make the overall effect interesting. There is a particularly long tradition of political theatre, intended to educate audiences on contemporary issues and encourage social change. Various creeds, Catholicism for instance, have built upon the entertainment value of theatre and created (for example) passion plays, mystery plays and morality plays.

There is an enormous variety of philosophies, artistic processes, and theatrical approaches to creating plays and drama. Some are connected to political or spiritual ideologies, and some are based on purely "artistic" concerns. Some processes focus on a story, some on theatre as an event, some on theatre as a catalyst for social change. According to Aristotle's seminal theatrical critique Poetics, there are six elements necessary for theatre. They are Plot, Character, Idea, Language, Song, and Spectacle. The 17th-century Spanish writer Lope de Vega wrote that for theatre one needs "three boards, two actors, and one passion". Others notable for their contribution to theatrical philosophy are Konstantin Stanislavski, Antonin Artaud, Bertolt Brecht, Orson Welles, Peter Brook, Jerzy Grotowski.

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missed hella movie... coz i hav no one to go to theatre with T-T
cartoonbook (on-ake) Tue, 05 Jan 2010 09:37:54 -0000
missed hella movie... coz i hav no one to go to theatre with T-T
New Movie Added: Dreamer of Main Street: George Cook and Picton's Regent Theatre http://bit.ly/4HCrgU
WiredCinema (Wired Cinema) Tue, 05 Jan 2010 09:35:57 -0000
New Movie Added: Dreamer of Main Street: George Cook and Picton's Regent Theatre http://bit.ly/4HCrgU
A day of meetings with various young theatre companies who are about to perform @ TARA Studio as part of the Wandsworth Arts Festival
JonathanKennedy (JonathanKennedy) Tue, 05 Jan 2010 09:35:31 -0000
A day of meetings with various young theatre companies who are about to perform @ TARA Studio as part of the Wandsworth Arts Festival
RT @annaannaannaann Going to the theatre after college so it means I miss the double bill of 90210 :( What's up?
LocalFlow (Zip) Tue, 05 Jan 2010 09:34:53 -0000
RT @annaannaannaann Going to the theatre after college so it means I miss the double bill of 90210 :( What's up?
@Kiwiseabreeze no but @corinh and I think @annagconnell and @katjnz are. all my money goes on festivals and Auckland theatre this year+rufus
librarykris (Kris Wehipeihana) Tue, 05 Jan 2010 09:34:19 -0000
@Kiwiseabreeze no but @corinh and I think @annagconnell and @katjnz are. all my money goes on festivals and Auckland theatre this year+rufus
Going to the theatre after college so it means I miss the double bill of 90210 :(
annaannaannaann (anna) Tue, 05 Jan 2010 09:33:34 -0000
Going to the theatre after college so it means I miss the double bill of 90210 :(

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