Hollywood Theater Research Paper

The performing arts hold a historic grip on the American entertainment industry. With its initial burst of popularity in 1917, Hollywood cinema paved its way to becoming a dominant force in the entertainment industry. Most Americans take personal interest in performing arts, whether it be in film or live theatre. Despite this, a rift had formed with some critics of theatre expressing their concern for the shift in demand toward cinema. This raises an issue in examining the difference between the audience’s personal experiences amongst film and live productions. The most prominent groups noted this issue include actors in film and theatre, playwrights and directors, critics, and the American audience. Three main arguments present themselves in the debate over cinematic and theatrical experiences. First are those who believe that traditional theatre offers a personal experience you cannot receive from film. This group believes that a live production holds a far more unique and intimate relationship between the actors and …show more content…
This group believes that both forms of entertainment have their equal levels of unique experiences and even share them in some cases. Both forms offer complete and immersive stories that capture and deliver their super-objectives to their target audiences. Lenore DeKoven states in her book, Changing Direction: A Practical Approach to Directing Actors in Film and Theatre, that an actor’s job is “to lift the words off the page and breathe life into them,” whether they be on stage or behind the camera. Most people who agree with the neutrality of this point are students of both film and stage acting, an unbiased audience, and professors who instruct or take part in both forms of entertainment. While the basis of this argument is impartial to the dichotomy of the last two, all three points tend to agree that it is the actor’s job to deliver the story to the audience with purpose and