Theatre originated from the Greek word "theatron" meaning a place to behold. Theatre involves actors presenting a story to elicit emotions from an audience. There are many theatre genres including comedy, drama, opera, and tragedy. Theatre began in ancient cultures like Egypt, India, and Greece, emerging from religious rituals honoring gods like Dionysus. In ancient Greece during the 6th-5th centuries BC, theatre reached its peak in Athens where playwrights would present texts at festivals for Dionysus. Over time, Greek theatre evolved with innovations like a raised stage and professional actors. While cinema was predicted to replace theatre, theatre remains a living art that relies on the interaction between actors and audience through their shared imagination

1. Theatre concept
The term theatre derives from the Greek “theatron”, which means “place to
behold”. The term theatre designates simultaneously the set of dramatic pieces for
presentation in public and the building wherethese pieces are presented.
Itis an art formin which one or severalactors presenta certain story that arouses in
the audience varied feelings.
The name of dramaturgy is given to the art of writing plays, the playwrightbeing the
person responsiblefor the composition of the texts.
These are many theatre genres, among which stand out: auto, comedy, drama,
puppet, opera, musical, magazine, tragedy and tragicomedy.
Theatre History
Ancient Egypt, India, China, Crete and Greece itself had a theatre, even before the
so-called Greek theatre. Ithad as main characteristic it’s all based structurein the
religion, we can, therefore, point the theatre only liturgical. This same aspectis what
differentiates the Egyptians, Hindus, Chinese, Cretan and the only Greek liturgical
theatre of the Greek theatre.
Itwas in Greece that the real theatre emerged.

2. In Ancient Greece, the theatre emerged from manifestations to Dionysius, god of
wine, vegetation, ecstasy and metamorphoses. Little by little, the Dionysian rituals
were changing and turning into tragedies and comedies. Dionysius thus becamethe
god of the theatre.
Athens is considered the birthplace of the ancient theatre, and, thus, also of the
western theatre. "Doing theatre" meant respecting and following the worship of
Dionysus.
The period between the 6th and 5th centuries BC is known as the "Golden Century".
Itwas during this time that Greek culture reached its peak. Athens became the
centre of these cultural events and broughttogether authors from all over Greece
whosetexts were presented at festivals of veneration to Dionysus.
The annual festivals in honour of the god Dionísio (Bacchus, for the Latins)
understood, in their events, the representation of
tragedies and comedies. The firstdramatic forms
in Greece arosein this context, initially with the
Dionysian songs (ditirambos).
The tragedy, in its next stage, was realized with
the representation of the first tragedy, with Téspis.
The introduction of second and third actors in the
tragedies came with Aeschylus and Sophocles. The
satirical play also emerged: the conservative
Aristophanes creates a genre unlike modern
theatre, for aristophanecomedy mingled
mythological parody with political satire. All roles were represented by men, as
women were not allowed to participate.
The writers often participated in both the performances and the essays and the
idealization of the choreography. Thespaceused for the staging in Athens was justa
big circle. Over time, great innovations wereadded to the Greek theatre, such as

3. professionalization, thestructureof scenic spaces (emergenceof the high stage),
etc. The writers of the dramatic texts took care of practically all the stages of the
productions.
You can see that, with so many influences, today's theatre is a very rich, very mixed
art. There are opera, puppet theatre, dance theatre, musicals, street theatre,
theatre made in alternative spaces (such as hospitals, prisons), in short, a mixture of
those!
When the cinema appeared more than a hundred years ago, many people foresaw
the end of the theatre. They said that cinema would replace him, because he could
create stories with much more resemblanceto reality. But that did not happen.
Those who thought this way did not realize that the great cheap of the theatre is the
fact that it is a living work of art, that is, it depends on the presenceof who acts and
who watches. The theatre is fascinating because it is a play of the imagination.
Everyoneis tired of knowing that the scenery down there is not a forest... so what?
In that moment and in that place, it will be a forestfor those people who are
participating. When you go to the theatre, you do not want to see the "straight"
scene and it never changes. We wantto see the improvisation, the new, the
different that lives in the actors and the eyes of each audience.