Introduction: What is Theater?
A theater is a place in which a play is performed. If you trace the word back to its Greek origins, it literally means “The Seeing Place.”
Theater is a deliberate performance created by live actors and intended for a live audience, typically making use of scripted language. Throughout history, theater has been a powerful medium for storytelling, social commentary, and cultural expression.
Origins: From Ritual to Performance
Origin: religious ritual, deeply theatrical in nature.
Rituals are often ways of mediating between the human and the supernatural. However, there is a fundamental distinction:
Ritual is sacred (sacred/holy), while theater is usually secular (worldly/non-religious). In ritual, the audience often participates actively; in theater, they typically sit passively and observe.
Key Concepts
- Mimetic: Imitative or representing through mime
- Incarnation: A person or thing regarded as a perfect example of a quality
- Tetralogy: A series of four related dramatic works
- Lewd: Crude and offensive in a sexual way
- Bankroll the production: To provide funding for a theatrical production
- Perennial controversy: Long-standing, persistent disagreement
Why Does Theater Matter?
The highest moral purpose in drama is to teach the human heart, through its sympathies and antipathies, the knowledge of itself. Theater serves as a mirror for society, allowing audiences to reflect on their values, beliefs, and behaviors.
Important Vocabulary
Key Terms Related to Theater:
- Theater, stage, drama, play
- Masks and wigs
- Costumes
- Chorus (group of performers who sing and comment on the action)
- Protagonist (main character)
- Entertainment
- Orchestra (performance area)
- Tragedies and comedies
- Satire (blend of comedy and tragedy)
- Playwrights (writers of plays)
- Audience
- Characters
- Plot
- Key moments
- Libretto (text of an opera)
Additional Theater-Related Vocabulary
- Ivy wreath: A circular wreath made of ivy leaves, often symbolic of honor
- Sacrificial animals: Animals offered in ritual sacrifice to gods
- Big banquet: A grand ceremonial feast
- Retrospectively: Looking back at things from the present
- Jury trial: A legal trial decided by a panel of ordinary citizens
- Dowries: Money or property given by a bride’s family to her husband
- Shrine: A sacred place dedicated to a deity or saint
- Courtyard: An open area of ground surrounded by walls or buildings
- Domestic skills: Skills required for household management and family life
- Bent on vengeance: Determined to seek revenge
- Advising mercy: Recommending leniency or compassion
Essential Elements of a Well-Made Play
Theater professionals and playwrights have identified several key structural elements that make a play successful and engaging:
1. Logical Exposition
Exposition is the background information you must provide to the audience at the beginning of a play. It establishes the setting, context, and circumstances that the characters find themselves in, allowing the audience to understand the story that follows.
2. Inciting Incident
The inciting incident is a key moment that gets the plot moving. It sets off the action of the play and disrupts the normal state of affairs. In well-made plays, the plot is typically driven by secrets—hidden information that characters either possess or are trying to discover.
3. The Obligatory Scene
The obligatory scene is a crucial moment in which all the secrets are revealed and tensions come to a head. This scene typically features:
- A confrontation where hidden truths are exposed
- A turning point in the story
- Emotional intensity and dramatic impact
The obligatory scene gives the audience emotional pleasure by providing catharsis and resolution of tension. This element became so popular that playwrights felt obligated to include it in nearly every play.
4. Denouement (Resolution)
The denouement is the final resolution or conclusion of the play. While the obligatory scene provides emotional satisfaction, the denouement offers the audience a logical conclusion that ties up loose ends and brings closure to the story.
Ancient Greek Theater: Origins of Western Drama
The Birth of Theater in Athens
Theater’s story in Western civilization truly begins approximately 2,000 years ago in ancient Athens, during Greece’s Classical period. Theater became far more than mere entertainment—it served as a vital social and political institution where the community could gather to discuss important issues and explore human nature.
Structure of Greek Theaters
The first Greek theaters were semicircular structures built into the natural slopes of mountains, ingeniously using the landscape to improve acoustics and sightlines. A typical ancient Greek theater consisted of three main components:
- Orchestra (Ὀρχήστρα): The main circular performance area where action takes place, including chorus movements and actor performances
- Skene (Σκηνή): The backdrop building behind the orchestra, serving as the backstage area where actors could enter and exit
- Theatron (Θέατρον): The tiered seating area where the audience sat to watch the performances
Gender in Ancient Theater
While it is thought that women sometimes attended the theater as audience members, they were never allowed to perform as actors. All roles—including female characters—were performed by male actors wearing masks and wigs. This is evident even in plays with prominent female protagonists, such as Sophocles’ Antigone, where a man would have played the title role.
Famous Theaters and Festivals
The Theatre of Dionysus Eleuthereus in Athens is the oldest known theater in Greece, dating back to the 6th century BC. Named after Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, theater, and the arts, this theater was the center of cultural life in ancient Athens.
Every year, the theater hosted a major festival (called the City Dionysia) where plays would be performed and judged by a panel of spectators and officials. Winning playwrights received prizes and prestige, making these festivals highly competitive events.
Types of Plays
Ancient Greek theater developed two primary dramatic forms:
Tragedies: Serious plays written by playwrights like Sophocles, Aeschylus, and Euripides. These plays typically:
- Drew heavily from Greek mythology
- Explored human characters’ flaws and weaknesses
- Examined how pride (hubris) leads to downfall
- Inspired audiences to reflect on their own behavior and morality
- Often ended in death or suffering
Comedies: Comic plays written by playwrights like Aristophanes. These plays typically:
- Used satire and wit to entertain audiences
- Poked fun at famous people, celebrities, and political leaders
- Addressed contemporary social and political issues
- Often contained bawdy humor and slapstick comedy
- Usually ended with celebrations and reconciliation
Satyr Plays: A lesser-known third form that blended elements of tragedy and comedy, typically featuring mythological characters in humorous situations.
The Chorus in Greek Drama
The chorus was an essential element of ancient Greek drama. A chorus typically consisted of 12-50 performers who collectively:
- Sung, danced, and spoke in unison
- Provided background information about events
- Commented on the actions of the main characters
- Represented the voice of society or common people
- Helped the audience understand what was happening and how to emotionally respond
The chorus served as a bridge between the audience and the main characters, often voicing the concerns and reactions of ordinary citizens.
Theater’s Social and Political Function
In a democracy like ancient Athens, theater provided far more than entertainment. It served as:
- A safe space for artists and audiences to gather and discuss their society
- A platform for exploring ethical and political questions
- A venue where citizens could reflect on their rights and responsibilities
The Athenian state recognized theater’s importance to civic life and even paid citizens to attend plays. This subsidy ensured broad participation and allowed all social classes to engage with important cultural and political issues explored in the plays.
Legacy of Greek Theater
The traditions, structural elements, and themes established in ancient Greek theater continue to influence and inspire theater, film, television, and other forms of entertainment today. The fundamental human questions explored by Greek playwrights—about morality, fate, justice, and the nature of human society—remain as relevant today as they were 2,400 years ago.
Recommended Resources for Further Learning
Whether you’re interested in ancient theater history or want to explore theatrical concepts more deeply, the following tools and websites offer excellent resources:
Online Learning Platforms
Crash Course Theater (<www.youtube.com/crashcourse> - Search “Theater” playlist)
- Free video series by educators John and Hank Green
- Covers theater history from ancient origins to modern times
- Episodes on “Thespis, Athens, and The Origins of Greek Drama: Crash Course Theater #2” provide excellent introductions to Greek drama
- Engaging, accessible format perfect for students
- YouTube-based, completely free
Khan Academy - Theater History (<www.khanacademy.org>)
- Free educational videos and exercises
- Covers theatrical history and concepts
- Interactive quizzes to test your knowledge
- Covers multiple time periods and theatrical traditions
Academic and Reference Resources
The Metropolitan Opera House - Opera & Theater Guides (<www.metopera.org/about/history>)
- Comprehensive information about theatrical and operatic history
- Historical context for understanding dramatic evolution
- Free educational resources
- Authoritative information about theater’s development
The World Shakespeare Bibliography (<www.worldshakespearebibliography.org>)
- Comprehensive database of Shakespeare and theater research
- Though focused on Shakespeare, it covers theatrical context and history
- Academic references and scholarly articles
- Essential for understanding theater’s evolution from classical to modern times
Interactive Tools
TheatreDatabase.com (<www.theatredatabase.com>)
- Online database of theatrical information
- Biographies of playwrights and actors
- Information about classic plays and their historical context
- Searchable by era, genre, and playwright
JSTOR Daily - Theater & Performance Essays (<www.jstor.org/daily/>)
- Free access to articles about theater history and criticism
- Written by academic experts
- Covers everything from ancient theater to contemporary performance
- Excellent for deeper understanding of theatrical traditions
Discussion Questions
- Have you seen a play or theater performance whose message resonated with you or stayed with you?
- How do you think ancient Greek theater’s social and political functions compare to theater’s role in modern society?
- What connections can you see between the dramatic structures used in ancient Greek plays and modern films, television shows, or stories you enjoy?
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