Discussion

1. Comment on the work of the Department of Drama: Theatre, Film, Television (University of Bristol).

2. What is the difference between the courses of stage and film direction in Great Britain and Ukraine?

3. Is it a good idea to download, print out and translate an English-language e-book on acting and directing? Give your reasons.

Project Topics

1. The importance of a good education for acting and directing.

2. Activity areas for students majoring in theater, TV and film acting and directing.

3. A comparative analysis of various types of theatre games.

Lesson 5. Acting. Directing. Stagecraft Quiz

1. What do you know about the history of theatre?

2. What people make theatre?

3. Name some English (American) theatre actors. What do you know about them?

What Is Theatre?

Theatre is a building or place where plays or movies are presented; or the writing and producing of plays. Theatre derives from the Greek "amphitheatre", which was a circular open air venue with rows of stone seats built into a hillside looking down at a stage. Today, the word theatre still describes a performance venue, but it also means much more.

Theatre is the art of telling a story or communicating an idea through performance. Long before there was a written language, history and legends were handed down orally; people memorized and performed the stories, poems, songs and dances of their culture.

Scripted plays were first performed by the ancient Greeks as early as 500 BC, at religious festivals and for entertainment. The development of writing meant that scripts from that time survived and are still performed today.

Under Roman rule, the focus was on entertainment rather than religion – the Roman circus, with its lions and gladiators, created an atmosphere similar to televised wrestling matches. But during the middle ages theatre was dominated by morality and miracle plays.

Theatre for the Masses

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) took theatre to new heights of popularity during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. His Globe Theatre, built in 1599 in London, held over 2000 people. Shakespeare is still one of the most popular western playwrights, and several of his works have been made into Hollywood block-busters. He wrote 36 plays – tragedies, comedies and histories – as well as 150 sonnets and numerous songs.

Theatre continued to flourish as a form of popular entertainment after Shakespeare's time.

Melodrama developed as the style of the day in the 18th century and 19th century – actors used grand gestures, heavy make-up and symbolic costumes to convey a series of characters and emotions.

All the World's a Stage

In Italy, commedia dell'arte became popular and influenced the development of theatre internationally. This style used mask, mime and comedy characters, such as Arlecchino (Harlequin), Pantalone and Colombina, to tell satirical stories.

During the 1800s, the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov (1860–1904) and Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906) were writing in a style very different to melodrama, called naturalism. They wrote about the dilemmas faced by ordinary people, and how people reacted to those dilemmas.

Every culture of the world has unique performance styles, such as:

• Noh, Kabuki and Butoh in Japan

• Kathikali and Bharatanatyam in India

• Indonesian puppet and mask theatre

• American Vaudeville