Conversation

Tony: So, what are we doing tonight?

Ann: I’m not sure.

Tony: Let’s go to the theatre, then. There’s a good comedy on.

Ann: I don’t like comedies. I prefer drama. I think comedies are a bit silly.

Tony: There is a very good play on at the Drama Theatre.

Ann: Sounds good to me. What is it?

Tony: “Romeo and Juliet” by W. Shakespeare. Do you like it?

Ann: I love it.

Tony: Right. We’ll see that, then. Half past six outside the theatre.

Ann: I’ll be there.

P ART THREE

“You need three things in the theatre –

the play, the actors, and the audience;

and each must give something.”

Kenneth Haigh (1931)

The word theatre means a “place for seeing,” but theatre is more than just a building where plays are performed. Theatre is an art form consisting of works written for the stage and intended to be performed by actors on a stage. Theatre is where playwrights write scripts, directors supervise rehearsals, set designers and technical crew work behind-the-scenes, and the actors perform on stage. All of these people have an important role in the theatre, but it is not true theatre until an audience is there to experience it. Exactly when theatre began is a mystery. Prehistoric hunters acted out stories about their hunting expeditions. Ancient Egyptians performed sacred songs and danced for their gods in religious ceremonies, but the idea of theatre as dramatic entertainment came later.

The first recorded form of European theatre began in Ancient Greece around 600 B.C. with a religious festival to honor Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility. It has been said that a poet named Thespis won a dramatic play competition at the festival. Because he is considered to be the first actor, people sometimes refer to actors as thespians. Thespis also introduced the use of masks in Greek theatre. M asks were designed to show the age and emotion. Women were not allowed to perform, so men wore female masks and played their parts. In Greek theatre, the tragedy is the most admired type of play.

In 300 B.C., Romans were inspired by Greek art, culture and theatre and wrote Latin versions of Greek plays. Comedy plays were more popular than tragedies. In the Roman Theatre, slaves served as actors. Unlike Greek theater, women were permitted to appear on stage but they did not play important roles. The Roman Theatre competed for the audiences that attended chariot races, gladiator contests and public executions. This brought about the need for impressive public theatres. For the next two centuries, Romans built about 125 structures. Eventually, plays included stage violence and crude humor. Christians disapproved and closed down all of the theaters.

Theatre buildings were not permitted throughout Europe during medieval times, but traveling players, known as minstrels, kept the theatre alive along with acrobats, puppeteers, jugglers and storytellers. They created a stage by raising a simple platform wherever they performed in halls, market places and at festivals. Christians thought this kind of entertainment was a sin, so they started their own kind of theatre. During an Easter Sunday service, priests acted out the meaning of the holy day to help teach people who could not read. These “miracle” plays became so popular that there was not enough room to perform in the church and they moved outside. They were still considered religious events and not entertainment.

In the Renaissance period, from the fourteenth to the seventeenth centuries, an interest in classical Greek and Roman art, culture and theatre returned. Two major theatre design traditions were developed at this time in Italy: the proscenium arch that frames and divides the stage from the audience and the art of painting cloths as backdrops for scenery.

Another major influence from this region was the commedia dell’ arte, which means comedy of the profession. This form of theatre was an improvised, quick-witted performance by wandering players. They wore masks to portray a regular cast of characters and made up their lines as they went along. The daughters and wives of the players were some of the first women to perform in theatre.

In England, Queen Elizabeth I strongly supported the theatre. During Elizabethan times, as they are known, the most famous playwright in history began his career. Born in 1564, William Shakespeare was an actor and poet, who wrote plays for his company to perform.  Many of his plays, such as “Romeo and Juliet,” “Hamlet,” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” are still performed all over the world today.

Kabuki is a form of theatre in Japan that began in the early 1600s and is still performed today. This traditional theatre uses extravagant makeup and costumes, a unique kind of music and an all-male cast. A woman named Okuni created Kabuki Theater, but shortly after it became popular, women were banned from performing.

The plays, based on legends, open and close with the sound of wood clapping together. The style of music in Kabuki Theater is named for a three-stringed instrument called a  shamisen. The music enhances the actors’ movements and voices, making them almost like dancing and singing. During climactic moments in the play or at the end of a scene, the actor freezes in place, stares and then crosses his eyes. This is called mie. Each Kabuki character wears colorful costumes and has thick makeup that looks like a mask. The colour red on a character’s face signifies a “good” character and blue suggests a “bad” character. All of these elements have made Kabuki Theatre a traditional art form that has entertained audiences for over 400 years.

In 1736, the Dock Street Theatre in Charles-Town, South Carolina was the first building in America created solely for theatrical purposes. Nobody knows exactly what happened to the first building, but in 1937, the city of Charleston built a new Dock Street Theatre where the original one was located. Famous Charlestonian DuBose Heyward became the resident writer of the Dock Street Theatre. He is best known for his novel and play by the same name, “Porgy,” a story that portrays Gullah life. The play was performed in New York over 300 times, toured across the country and played in London, England. Heyward is also known for his collaboration with the famous Broadway musical composers, George and Ira Gershwin on “ Porgy and Bess,” often called the best American opera ever written.

Today, the Dock Street Theatre provides a place for performances by community arts organizations. Community theatre utilizes local talents and resources for productions. Although most of these productions are staged and performed by volunteers who love the theatre, some professional companies pay actors, technical crew and staff. Community theatres, like the Dock Street, are located in many cities and towns in South Carolina and the U.S. Although full-time paying positions may not be available at all community theatres, they provide a place to get hands-on experience

“From the start it has been the theatre’s business

to entertain people ... it needs

no other passport than fun.”

Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956)