Tma 101, Lesson 1, What Is Theatre?

Front 1

1.What is the theater? And how is it different from drama?

Back 1

The word "theater" comes from the Greek word "theatron," which means “seeing place." It is a place where something is seen.

Hint 1

The companion term "drama," comes from the Greek "dran", which means “to do."

Front 2

2. "Greek theatron" means

Back 2

seeing places

Front 3

3. Drama

Back 3

means “to do"

Front 4

4. What are the different ways we use the word “theater?"
H: There are 3 ways.

Back 4

We use it in the following ways:
1. To describe the building where plays are put on: the architecture, the structure, the space for dramatic performance—the place where “something is seen.”

2. Location where films are shown, as in “movie theater.”

Hint 4

3. Metaphorically to refer to a place where wars and surgeries occur: the “theater of operations” and the “operating theater.”

Front 5

5. We use the word theater in multiple ways

Back 5

A space for dramatic performance, it is a place where something is being seen
A place where films are shown
Metaphorically where operations and wars take place.

Front 6

7. In essence, Theater is the combination of the following:
(H) It is the combination of several actions

Back 6

It is a combination of people, ideas, and the works of art that emanate from their collaboration.

Hint 6

It is the aggregate product of people's ideas, inspiration and works of art.

Front 7

8. What are the 3 ways Theater is perceived, as noted by the author.

Back 7

1. a building
2. a company
3. an occupation

Front 8

9. How is "Theater" a building?

Back 8

It is a space for drama to take effect.

Front 9

10. How is "Theater" a company?

Back 9

People's of skills contribute to its production.

Front 10

11. How is "Theater" an occupation?

Back 10

ppl's livelihoods

Front 11

12.What are the minimal requirements for a building to be considered a “theater?" And when does it become the place to "hear?"

Back 11

Nothing but a place to act and a place to watch.

Hint 11

When the production play has texts and scripts, it then becomes a place to hear as well as watch.

Front 12

13. What does "Audience" in Latin mean?

Back 12

"those who hear"

Front 13

14. What is the difference between theater and drama?

Back 13

1."theater" often denotes the elements of the whole theatrical production (architecture, scenery, acting).
2. "drama" is a more limited term, refers mainly to the plays produced in such a “theatrical” environment.

Front 14

15. How is Theater more complex than Drama?

Back 14

Theater evokes and involves all the operational and management side as well as the art side of the production.

Front 15

16. What is Drama in comparison to Theater?
H: Drama's distinguished qualities

Back 15

1. It means "to do" or "what is done”
2. refers more to the text and the dialogue.
3. the software
4. highlight on actions that are emotionally compelling and intellectually challenging

Front 16

17. Theater vs. Drama

Back 16

Theater is that which “is seen,” and drama is that which “is done.
Theatre can mean a building, drama cannot. Theatre refers to all the theatrical arts — architecture, design, acting, scenery construction, marketing, and so on

Hint 16

Drama focuses mainly on the written actions and the words of a play, whether acted onstage or simply read.

Front 17

18. Theaters are a central part to ____________, just as theater (the ___) is central to contemporary life.

Back 17

Are central to modern urban architecture, just as theater (the art) is central to contemporary life.

Front 18

19. How is Theater a "company?"
H: Troupe of Players

Back 18

Theatre is a collaborative art, usually involving dozens, even hundreds, of people working closely together for a single production.

Front 19

20. How is theater a "company," and why is this function important?
H: Important for its survival.

Back 19

Theater is a collaborative artistic venture. For this tradition to survive, grow, & excel, it need the ideas and the skills of numerous people, group work.

Front 20

21. Theater is a also a general category of different dramatic works; what are examples that fall under the theater category?

Back 20

American theater
the Elizabethan theater
dance-theater
musical theater
the theater of the absurd
black theater

Front 21

22. Theater, in general, can be used to define a broad category of dramatic works, specific examples that falls under this category are...

Back 21

American theater
the Elizabethan theater
dance-theatre,
musical theater
the theatre of the absurd
black theater

Front 22

23. How is theater an "occupation?"
H: 1) Work & methods. 2) "Work" alludes to. 3) Aspects of Theater.

Back 22

1. It is a occupation for its practitioner, essentially, theater is "work." By "work" it alludes to the set of methods and operations actors exercise in order to impersonate their characters.

Hint 22

Also, theater is a principal occupation of its practitioners.

Front 23

24.What are the aspect of theater that make it an "occupation," and so, given individual attention.
H: There are 4.

Back 23

1. work
2. art
3. impersonation
4. performance

Front 24

25.The theater enterprise involves hundreds of people with different skills. Many more are involved in the ____stage than __stage.

Back 24

Many more are involved in backstage than onstage, underscoring the large complex underbelly.

Front 25

26. The "Work" of Theater includes:
H: 2 kinds of work.

Back 25

1. The physical labor work, include the backstage staff and management staff.
2. The creative, artistic, and intellectual endeavors

Front 26

27. The "Work" of theater is broken up into 8 functions.
H: (PDHm)^2 * C

Back 26

Producing
Directing
Designing
Hardware: building, carpenters, electricians, make-up artists

Hint 26

Crewing
Stage Managing
House Managing
Playwright

Front 27

28. Producing involves

Back 27

acquiring the finance, space, and staff for the project.

Front 28

29. Directing

Back 28

generates the overarching vision

Front 29

30. Designing (H: layout)

Back 29

they map out the visual and audio factors of productions

Front 30

31. Building, carpenters, electricians, make-up artists

Back 30

basically all the ppl who are responsible for the "hardware" details of the show

Front 31

32. Crewing (H: Real time operations)

Back 31

they execute the lighting and audio changes within a set time with respect to the play, ex. lighting

Front 32

33. Stage managing

Back 32

responsible for carrying out all the complex operations relating to the play

Front 33

34. House managing
H: guests

Back 33

responsible with entrance, seating, and taking care of the audience

Front 34

35. Playwrights

Back 34

so important they are a independent section

Front 35

36. When we think of the “work” embodied in the theatrical arts, we must think of work in a sense of ________toil and sum of an artist's ________ endeavor.

Back 35

In the sense of physical toil and sum of an artist’s creative endeavor.

Front 36

37. How is theater different from child's play and sports?

Back 36

Theater is by its nature a calculated act from beginning to end. Unlike adult games, which are open-ended, every theater performance has a preordained conclusion.

Front 37

38. The theater is artistic work. What does the word "art," conjure?

Back 37

Art brings to mind a host of intangibles: creativity, imagination, elegance, power, aesthetic harmony, and fineness of form.

Front 38

39. How is "Theater" an Art, there are 5 reasoning.
H: Great Theater never fails to amalgamate many of these intangibles. Visual Peg System.

Back 38

This is an artistic practice. Great theater never fails to bring together host of intangibles: creativity, power, imagination.

Hint 38

Art integrates & combines:
1. human emotions with intellects
2. beauty and aesthetics with revelations
3. sharpen thoughts and feelings
4. brings reality against imagination
5. aids push the limits of creativity

Front 39

40.Theatre is the art of making play into work, specifically, into a ________

Back 39

Into a work of art.

Front 40

41. The theatrical art involves actors impersonating characters. How is this feature unique from other literary art forms?

Back 40

It is unique because it separates the theatrical discipline from other art forms such as: poetry, painting, sculpture, music, performance art, cabaret acts.

Hint 40

The other artists don't have to internalize their character, they create this work form mind to pen. There is no mental molecular level internalization of the character's persona.

Front 41

42. How is impersonating characters foundationally important to theater?
H: It helps distinguish between the real actor and the character on sage.

Back 41

Try to imagine what extreme conceptual difficulties the ancient creators of the theater encountered in laying down the ground rules for dramatic impersonation. For how was the audience to distinguish the “real person” from the “character” portrayed—the actor-as-himself from the actor-as-character? And when the playwright was also an actor, how could on- lookers distinguish between the thoughts of the playwright-as-himself and those of the playwright-as-character? Questions such as these are often asked by children today as they watch a play.

Front 42

43. Impersonation is when
H: this is a crucial foundation to theater.

Back 42

Is when an actor impersonate characters.

Front 43

44. How did ancient humanity get around the conflict of distinguishing between the character portrayed and the real life actor?

Back 43

They got around this with mask.

Front 44

45. Why is Mask important?
H: There are 3.

Back 44

1. Provides both a physical and a symbolic separation
2. It suspends the audience's awareness about reality, making it easier to accept the fantasy displayed on stage.

Hint 44

3. The point of the mask is to hide the actor while display the character, crucial for impersonation.

Front 45

46. i) What is Suspension of disbelief? ii) Why is it important?
H: How does it affect the character & plot, as viewed from the audience?

Back 45

The audience “believe in” the play and allow themselves to forget that the characters are really actors and that the apparently spontaneous events are really a series of scripted scenes.

Hint 45

Our appreciation of theater rests largely on our dual awareness of actor and character and on our understanding that they live inside the same skin. We import the fantasy staged in our experience of theater.

Front 46

47. Realism, which is part of the Representational Movement, seeks what out of Theater?

Back 46

To have actors behave onstage exactly as real people do in life, where, the settings are made as lifelike as possible.

Front 47

48. What is the opposite Representational plays, and what does it seek to appeal?

Back 47

It is presentational style; it seeks to appeal directly to the audience on a variety of social issues, featured lettered signs, song, and through various literary techniques (symbolism, metaphor, etc.)

Front 48

49. Theatrical performance is can be both presentational and representational, but differ in what?

Back 48

They differ in degrees of how many presentational &/or representational elements they consist.

Front 49

50. What are the aspects of performance that distinguish theater from certain other forms of performance?
H: The physics behind it: time, space.

Back 49

1. theater is a living, real-time event.
2. actor and audience are in the same time space dimensions.
3. It is a real time event.

Front 50

51. What are some of the fundamental forces at work in Theater that affect the chemistry between audience and actor?
H: There are 3 forces at work.

Back 50

1. audience and actor are in the same time & space

2. both are reacting to each other on the real time, there is a relationship between the two types of agents

Hint 50

3. the quality of immediacy, you are watching it right now, and anything can happen. Also you cannot go back, its all real time.

Front 51

52. What is one prime function of Theater?
H: Humanity and unpredictability.

Back 51

Theater is used to address unpredictability of human nature. The live performance unfolding min-by-min mirror the uncertainty that challenge humanity.

Front 52

53. What is the 1st fundamental force affecting the dynamics between actor & audience?

Back 52

1st force is the rapport existing between actor and audience. Both are breathing the same air, both are involved, at the same time and in the same space.

Hint 52

Every actor’s performance is affected by the way the audience yields or withholds its responses — its laughter, sighs, applause, gasps, silences.

Front 53

54. What is the 2nd fundamental force at work in live theater?
H: Audience's common experience.

Back 53

The 2nd is that live theater creates a relationship among the audience members. The audience enter theater alone or in groups of 3, but they quickly find themselves fused with strangers: laughing at the same jokes, empathizing with the same characters, experiencing the same revelations.

Hint 53

This communal experience can never be attained through television.

Front 54

55. What is the 3rd fundamental force at work in live theater?
H: This one contributes to the audience's dynamic experience with theater?

Back 54

Live performance inevitably has the quality of immediacy. The action of the play is taking place right now. As it is being watched, anything can happen.

Front 55

56. One prime function of theater is to do the following:

Back 55

Address the uncertainties of human existence. The very format of live performance presents a moment-to-moment uncertainty right before our eyes.

Front 56

57. These are important axioms to know about a play?
H: This is regarding the Scripted and Rehearsed performance process of theater.

Back 56

1. the play follows a script and outline
2. it is well rehearsed
3. there is some improvisation, but most plays follow a predetermined rehearsed script.

Front 57

58. How is the text/ script not a play?

Back 57

The text of the play is not the play itself; the play is playing, it is unfolding.

Front 58

59. What is the chief value of play scripts?
H: Record.

Back 58

They generate theatrical production and provide an invaluable, albeit imperfect, record of performances past.

Front 59

60. In conclusion, a theater is the following

Back 59

It is the theatre: buildings, companies, and plays

Front 60

61. Although there are as many theatrical genres that diligent critic wishes to define, it is important to note the following wisdom:
H: Anti-_________

Back 60

No system of classification should obscure the fact that each play is unique. The grouping of any two or more plays into a common genre is only a convenience for purposes of comparison and analysis.