An overview of the role ritual plays in theatre.

1. Performance
Here, There
&
Everywhere

2. Mimetic Theory
A.K.A. Common Sense Theory
“It’s good to know what to do when the
brontosaurus attacks you.” ~Edward Albee

3. Ritual Theory
Human beings create a relationship with the
supernatural through formalized behavior.

4. Back in Ancient Greece…
Theatre was a religious experience.

5. …There was This Guy Named Thespis
• While participating in a dithyramb, Thespis stepped away
from the chorus.
• He continued to communicate with the chorus.
• Soon the rest of the chorus followed and plays had multiple
characters.

6. Remember…
Performance would not
have continued if it had
not been useful…

7. Richard Wagner
(1813-1883)
“Imagination
creates
reality.”
~Wagner

8. Remember…
Performance is a way of
bringing people together.
Wagner wanted to use it as
a way of uniting audiences
and building a nation.