Theatre in the Community
Britain in 1979 was a place of great change and division. Although the
country had united in the election of Margaret Thatcher as the first
Conservative woman Prime minister by the early 1980’s one could say
that the country was spiralling into a state of decline. This was
largely due to the disarray of the previous Labour government and the
implementation of the Conservative government’s robust style of
economic management.
All spheres of social and cultural life were to be judged on their
economic terms and values. This is particularly true within the Arts.
In ‘Politics of Performance’ Baz Kershaw describes how, “Private
enterprise was to replace public dependency, so cuts in government,
expenditure, including that on the arts, were inevitable.” This stems
back largely to the ideological principals of conservatism.
Conservatism believes in the self reliant role of the individual. It
strongly allows for the expansion of public enterprise and thus frowns
upon state intervention and avoids assistance towards public
dependency. Therefore, where it was seen that some areas of public
life, such as the arts, were “financially draining”, cuts were made
where necessary to ensure that funds were spent more wisely, largely
towards benefiting enterprise.
A culmination of activities throughout the 1980’s meant that the arts
were one of the key areas of public life that were disregarded in
favour of prioritised events. This is effectively where the arts began
to suffer. Although some mainstream theatre was funded by the GLC
(Greater London Council), many alternative theatre groups were seen as
unnecessary and as they often highlighted social issues, such as
homosexuality, that were seen as taboo, they were generally avoided
when it came to the distribution of funding. This can clearly be seen
in Kershaw’s, ‘Politics of Performance’, where Kershaw states, “The
divisions in British society were also reflected in the growing
distance between the top and bottom of the theatrical pyramid during
the 1980’s. In 1982 the Royal Shakespeare Company had moved into the
huge concrete edifice of the Barbican in the City of London. The
following year, a government- ordered investigation into the RSC (the
Pristley report) concluded that counter to government suspicions- the
company was efficient but under funded to the ...
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...iece was heavily
influenced by the needs of a local disability group.
Community theatres range in size from small groups led by single
individuals performing in borrowed spaces, to large year round
companies with elaborate well equipped theatres of their own. Many
community theatres are successful non-profit businesses with a large
active membership and, in some cases, a full time professional staff.
As the performers and other artists are also involved in other aspects
of their community, non-professional theatre can develop a broad base
of support and attendance among those who might not normally support
the professional arts. Community theatre is in fact well documented as
being the most widely attended venue for theatre in America and
Australia.
Community theatre is often seen as adding to the social capital of a
community, in that it develops skills and community spirit for those
involved. Furthermore, it can also create a place for debate,
self-expression and interactivity that is important for the health of
a community. When this can involve people with learning disabilities,
for example, it can disarm prejudices that people encounter on a daily
basis.
Before the life on Broadway, before famous hit musicals such as the Sweeney Todd, Phantom, Chicago and Annie, that drove people into New York to see America’s professional theatre. The America’s professional theatre was spread throughout the country. In the mid- to late-19th century, actors and managers would put together a company and tours playing for weeks at a time in cities such as Chicago, San Francisco and they also performed in little towns along the way. But then came the Theatrical Syndicate, which was often referred to as “The Syndicate.” Which composed of six men that would change the United States theatre forever.
Theatres and How We Had Fun." Little, Brown, and Company. (Boston, Toronto, London); 1991. P. 139, 144.
Pause for a second and think about a play or musical that you have seen. Consider the plot, whether you liked it or not and if the experience was positive or negative. Think about the characters, the costumes, and the emotions that were emitted. The discourse community of theatre is unique in the way that it is so complex and there are many different parts that ultimately come together to create a dynamic whole. The term discourse community is rather broad, but John Swales in his article “The Concept of Discourse Community” gives six characteristics that define it. Swales lists them saying,
The duration and cost of the production have been compared to other media which provide entertainment, such as television and film. A theatre performance is more expensive to attend than cinema. The play only lasted for 85 minutes, a film can go on for two hours or even more. This can have a big influence on why people would choose one medium over the other. Accessibility has also to be taken into account when investigating the relevance of theatre in the 21st century. Television is a medium which can be accessed from home, and usually doesn’t cost a lot of money, whereas theatre costs money and is harder to access. Although the production was Australian, the actors talked with an American accent. Bearing in mind that the play was written in America, which could make it harder for an Australian audience to familiarise with the dilemmas going on, on stage, while the themes discussed seem to be more relevant there than in Australia. Overall this play doesn’t contribute to the relevance of Australian theatre in the 21st century, due to the many other sources people can access for entertainment, and because the play seems to be more relevant for an American audience rather than an
"Elizabethan Theatre Audiences." Elizabethan Theatre Audiences. Strayer University, 16 May 2012. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
Russell Brown, J. 1995. The Oxford Illustrated History of the Theatre. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
middle of paper ... ... Over the next decade, attempts to revive performances were made but this edict practically closed theaters, marking the end of Elizabethan drama. Bibliography:..
Theatre has heavily evolved over the past 100 years, particularly Musical Theatre- a subgenre of theatre in which the storyline is conveyed relying on songs and lyrics rather than dialogue. From its origination in Athens, musical theatre has spread across the world and is a popular form of entertainment today. This essay will discuss the evolution and change of musical theatre from 1980-2016, primarily focusing on Broadway (New York) and the West End (London). It will consider in depth, the time periods of: The 1980s: “Brit Hits”- the influence of European mega musicals, the 1990s: “The downfall of musicals”- what failed and what redeemed, and the 2000s/2010s: “The Resurgence of musicals”- including the rise of pop and movie musicals. Concluding
Applied Theatre work includes Theatre-in-Education, Community and Team-building, Conflict Resolution, and Political theatre, to name just a few of its uses. However, Christopher Balme states that “Grotowski define acting as a communicative process with spectators and not just as a production problem of the actor” (Balme, 2008: 25). Applied Theatre practices may adopt the following “theatrical transactions that involve participants in different participative relationships” such as Theatre for a community, Theatre with a community and Theatre by a community Prentki & Preston (2009: 10). Whereas, applied theatre one of its most major powers is that it gives voice to the voiceless and it is a theatre for, by, and with the people. However, Applied Theatre practitioners are devising educational and entertaining performances bringing personal stories to life and build
Theater of the Absurd applies to a group of plays with a certain set of characteristics. These characteristics convey a sense of bewilderment, anxiety, and wonder in the face of an unexplainable feeling. These plays all have unusual actions and are missing a key element that would clearly define other pieces of literature. Language and actions differ from the usual and sometimes cannot be explained in the Theater of the Absurd. In the works of Albee and Ionesco language, behavior, and structure are abnormal if compared to other plays. Language is a key factor that is presented as a weak form of communication throughout “The Future is in Eggs,” “The Zoo Story,” “The American Dream,” and “The Leader.”
Theatre-In-Education The theatre education industry/movement has seen some rapid changes since its initial developments and establishment in the 1960’s. However its origins mainly lie in the early years of the last century. It was the initial establishment of companies such as Bertha Waddell’s in Scotland and Esme Church’s in the north of England that thoroughly established the main roots of TIE.
In her intriguing article “Avant-garde theatre: has Britain lost its mind?” arts and media correspondent on the Observer, Vanessa Thorpe, describes avant-garde as follows:
Theatre will always survive in our changing society. It provides us with a mirror of the society within which we live, and where conflicts we experience are acted out on stage before us. It provides us with characters with which we identify with. The audience observes the emotions and actions as they happen and share the experience with the characters in real time.
For thousands of years, people have been arguing that theatre is a dying art form. Many people think theatre is all just cheesy singing and dancing or just boring old Shakespeare, but there is much more to theatre than those two extremes. Theatre is important to our society because it teaches us more about real life than recorded media. Theatre has been around for thousands of years and began as a religious ceremony that evolved into an art form that teaches about the true essence of life. Theatre can incorporate profound, and provocative, observations of the human condition that can transcend time; lessons found in Greek plays can still be relevant to the modern world. People argue that the very essence of theatre is being snuffed out by modern
My experience watching a live theatre performance on stage was a fascinating one, most especially since it was my first time. I attended a staged performance of “The History Boys” in a small theatre called “The Little Theatre of Alexandria” at 8:00 pm on Wednesday June 8, 2016 in Alexandria, Virginia. The overall production of the play was a resounding experience for me particularly the performance of the actors and the design of the scene made the play seem real.