Theater (Meaning and Explanation)

We explain what theater is, its origin, elements that make it up and other characteristics. Also, types of theater and great works.

Two actors represent characters on stage. — Theater tells stories through actors, speeches, music and scenery.

What is theater?

Theater is one of the oldest cultural and artistic activities known to humanity. It is one of the performing arts that is, those that take place on a stage, and consist of the recreation of one or several stories of different kinds through actors, speeches, music and scenery.

Theater has been cultivated throughout history for very different purposes, but always understood as a tool to communicate ideas massively. In fact, the ancient Greeks used it as an instrument of religious and civic education, staging their myths and famous tragedies.

On the other hand, the avant-gardes of the 20th century also saw theater as a field of experiments, in which they could subject the public to experiences and reflections of different kinds.

It is, therefore, a very versatile art form, which combines intellectual exercise with the representation of situations funny, moving, shocking, etc. There are very varied forms of theatrical performance, some of which do not even take place inside a theater, but in the street, and some even require the participation of the public.

Although both terms are often used synonymously, in the strict sense it is advisable not to confuse theater (the stage performance) with dramaturgy (the writing of the theatrical text). The first is a scenic genre, while the second is a literary genre. Nor should we confuse theater as an artistic genre with the theater as a building in which these types of performances take place.

Origin of theater

Although different forms of theatrical or scenic representation, such as shamanic dances, religious dances or ceremonies of all kinds, took place in human society from its most primitive times, Theater as an art form comes from classical antiquity specifically from ancient Greece.

That does not mean that there were no important antecedents in previous cultures, such as the Egyptian one. For example, it was common in the Middle Kingdom to have actors who, disguised with masks, recounted the founding myths of the death and resurrection of Osiris.

However, it was the Greeks who were the first to cultivate it deeply: even the word “theater” derives from the Greek word theaterwhich translates “place to contemplate” (from the verb theáomai“look”, from which “theory” also comes). The performances of the time took place in a central space for civic activity, and citizens of all ages usually attended, as part of their civic, political and religious education.

Theater features

Theater as an artistic form has the following characteristics:

It consists of the staging, that is, the live representation of some story or situations in which different characters interact. Said representation generally takes place on the stage of a suitable facility (a theater, amphitheater, auditorium, etc.), although it can also occur in other environments, public or private.
Generally is performed before a public or audience who depending on the type of staging may be more or less involved in the piece, being passive spectators or having some degree of participation (real or simulated) in it.
Requires the performance of professionals trained in representation (actors), who embody the different characters of the story and give them life. In the past, these actors were only men and used masks that illustrated the character of the character, something that still survives in Eastern theatrical variants, such as the Japanese No theater.
The stories represented always occur in the presence of the public, that is, in a recreated present. A narrator rarely intervenes that tells part of the story, although it is also possible.
The theater space may contain scenic material (decoration and setting), as well as props, or you can appeal to the imagination to create everything.

theatrical elements

Every theatrical piece consists of the following elements:

A stage. Which is the background on which the action takes place and which may or may not be identified with the real world. The elements of the scenery are usually found there, which are part of the set, and which add atmosphere to the performance. Many pieces, however, dispense with scenery and simply use the performance to bring about the background, the set, and even the props.
Props Which are objects with which the actors will interact: swords, flowers, trees, glasses, tables, and a long etcetera. They can be found on stage, being real or simulated, or they can be elicited through acting and imagination.
The actors. The most important thing in any theatrical piece, those who face all kinds of characters and carry out the work by representing the actions of the plot.
The script. That is, the dramatic text that contains the instructions to perform the play and that can be more or less obeyed by the director of the play.

Types of theater

immersion theater types — Immersive theater incorporates the audience into the work.

Since ancient times, theater has been differentiated according to certain characteristics of its representation. Thus, we usually talk about theatrical genres, among which we distinguish major forms (longer and higher) and minor forms (shorter and more popular). Next, we will see them separately:

Major forms In theory, those that are most demanding for the audience and the actors, since they required long theatrical times and many acts.

Tragedy. According to Aristotle, it is the genre that represents human beings as better than they are, in order to later show their fall from grace. It is a genre born in ancient times and little cultivated today,
Comedy. Aristotle defined it as a genre that represents human beings worse than they are, in order to laugh at them. This is particularly important when the ridicule is directed at the powerful. Comedy was also born in ancient times, but survives to this day.
Tragicomedy Originally known as “drama”, it is supposed to be an intermediate point between tragedy and comedy, in which elements of both genres can be recognized.

minor forms Those, therefore, whose representation requires less time. They are very abundant, but the best known are:

Auto sacramental Theatrical pieces whose theme revolves around the religious theme, specifically the Christian tradition. They were very common during the European Middle Ages.
Side dish A short comic piece, which was performed in the intermissions of a larger comedy (that is, whose performance took longer).
Farce A short form of comedy that pushes the limits of reality to the absurd, making it grotesque.
Monologue A short theatrical piece in which there is a single character on stage, who speaks to himself or to the audience.
Vaudeville A light comedy whose plot is based on misunderstandings, bad interpretations and tends to be full of love scenes and musical numbers.
Melodrama A modified form of drama that reinforces its emotional content with the intervention of orchestral music, the predecessor of the soap opera of our days.