THE 2000

1. +
Chapters 1 + 2
The Theatre Experience

2. +
Theatre as a Reflection of Culture
 Comes from a need to make sense of the world
around us
 Theatre as a mirror to nature
 Theatrical conventions and style

3. +
Universals of the Theatre
Theatre is LIVE! – the actor and the
audience
Theatre is Ephemeral
Theatre is Collaborative
Theatre is a Synthesis of Many Arts –
the art of many voices

4. +
The Audience/Actor Relationship
 Theatre is created to elicit response
 Performance requires a performer and an audience
 The relationship allows for interaction and response
 Community is created with the audience gathering in one place,
at the same time for the purpose

5. +
Origins of Theatre
 Rituals
 Storytelling
 Greek Theatre
 Tragedy was sung or chanted
 Was often danced or involved intricate movement
 Audiences attended to see the competition of play
festivals
 Performed in outdoor theatre spaces
 Active audience – the “groundlings”

8. +
The Audience Experience
 Audiences are made up of individuals
 Varied experiences and thoughts and opinions
 Theatre evokes “empathy” from the audience
 Theatre is a public experience that involves a private act with
personal meaning
 Audiences can choose where to place their focus; but are often
manipulated by the theatrical practitioners

9. +
Audience Response
 The silent contract
 Behavior by audience
 Relationship with the performance
 Relationship with the performer(s)
 What are some examples of different types performance
audiences?

10. +
Realism as a Genre
 What is Realism? – Darwin and the birth of psychology
 Less presentation, more representation
 Involves a passive audience – why?
 What is the “Fourth Wall?”
 What is “Aesthetic Distance?”
 “Catharsis” – emotional purging

11. +
Your Response to this Performance
 Did you fulfill the silent contract?
 Is what is happening here a form of theatre or performance?
 Have we created a temporary community?
 Where was your focus?
 The slides, my voice, your phone, your thoughts?
 What keeps us from engaging in performance?