Theater

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Theatre (in British English and American English), or Theater (in American English only) , has several meanings.

In American English, the word "theater" can mean either a place where films are shown (this is called a "cinema' in British English) or a place where live stage plays are performed. In British English, theatre means a place where live plays are performed.

Theater or Theatre can also mean the business of putting on plays. An actor might say "I am in the theatre business," or a writer might say "I write for the theatre," meaning that they write plays, rather than writing for movies or television shows.

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[edit] History

[edit] Ancient Greeks

The first people to create plays were the Ancient Greeks, in about the year 500 A.D. Some famous Greek writers of this time include Aristophanes and Sophocles. They divided plays into two kinds: comedies, which are usually funny, and where the good characters usually end up happier than they were, and tragedies, which were usually sad, and where the good characters suffer or end up worse than they were. In tragedies, characters often pretend to die or be killed during the play.

These ancient Greek plays were performed outdoors in large amphitheatres for large crowds. These plays were very popular. There were contests among the playwrights (people who write plays are called playwrights)and the winner would win a prize of a goat, some money or maybe some wine. Plays are still often divided into comedy and tragedy or "drama" types today. Another word for plays, especially serious plays, is Dramas. Even though these Ancient Greek plays were written very long ago many are still considered to be great works of art and are still performed today.

[edit] Middle Ages

In the Middle Ages, the Christian church began to use theater as a way of telling the stories from the Bible to people who did not know how to read. They wrote Mystery Plays, where each part of the Bible story would be a play put on by a different group of people. They also wrote Miracle Plays which were plays about the lives of the saints. There were also Morality plays which taught the audiences how to live a good Christian life.

[edit] Commedia dell' arte comic plays during the 1500s

In the 1500s, groups of actors who would tour around Italy performing comic plays to entertain townspeople. These plays were called Commedia dell'arte, and different stories would be created around the same group of characters. Often the spoken lines would be made up by the actors for each performance.

Other kinds of plays called Neoclassical Dramas and Neoclassical Comedies were also popular in Italy and in France at this time. These plays were written to copy the style of the plays from Ancient Greece and Rome.

[edit] English plays during the late 1500s and early 1600s

At the end of the sixteenth century (the 1500s), the travelling actors began to perform in fixed theatre buildings. This was the period when William Shakespeare wrote. He lived from 1564 to 1613. At that time, in England, women were not allowed to perform, so male actors would play female characters.

His theatre was in London, England. It was called The Globe. It was an outdoor theatre and plays were performed in the daytime for large audiences. His plays were very popular and are many are still performed today. Many scholars and theatre people believe Shakespeare was one of the best playwrights (a writer of plays).

He wrote many kinds of plays: tragedies, comedies, romances and also history plays. All of his plays are written in beautiful, poetic language. Shakespeare often wrote plays set in Italy or in exotic, far-away places that would be interesting to London audiences. His plays are still popular today for many reasons. His characters (the people in his plays) are interesting and talk about interesting ideas.

The stories he tells in his plays are often exciting, very funny (in the comedies), or very sad (in the tragedies) and make you want to know what happens to his characters. He also talks in his plays about things we still think about today, like love, sadness, hope, pride, hatred, jealousy, and foolishness.

[edit] Plays from the 1700s

SHAKESPEARE!

[edit] Plays from the 1800s

(coming soon)

[edit] Plays from the 1900s

After World War II, playwrights in Europe and the United States began doing plays in a new style called "Theatre of the Absurd." After seeing the horrors of war, these playwrights felt that all their old values had been destroyed. Playwrights such as Samuel Beckett, Eugène Ionesco, Harold Pinter, and Jean Genet wrote plays that are considered to be "Theatre of the Absurd."

The "Theatre of the Absurd" plays have some of the same ideas that are found in the way of thinking called existentialism. Existentialism is a way of thinking that is very different than many other ways of thinking. Many religions and philosopies (ways of thinking about the world) say that human life has a meaning (or a purpose).

People who believe in existentialism think that human life does not have a meaning (or a purpose). People who believe in existentialism think that the world and human life is "absurd" (does not make sense, or has no meaning).

People who believe in existentialism ask questions like "what is it like to be a human (a person) in the world?" and "how can we understand human freedom (what it means for a person to be free)?" As well, existentialism is often associated with sad emotions, such as anxiety (worrying), dread (a very strong fear), and thinking of death.

[edit] Plays from the 2000s

There are many other types of plays performed in the theatre today.

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