THEATRE

A building specifically designed for the purpose of presenting dramatic performances before an
audience . However , there are open air theatres that do not necessarily make use of definite
buildings. is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience
of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may
communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song,
music or dance.Elements of design and stagecraft are used to enhance the physicality,
presence and immediacy of the experience. The specific place of the performance is also
named by the word "theatre" as derived from the Ancient Greek (thatron , a place for
viewing) and ( theomai , to see", "to watch", "to observe).

ELEMENTS OF THEATRE
1.

PERFORMERS-This is the first element essential to theatre because acting is the heart of all
theatre . Acting is a very demanding profession. The actor must have the poise and authority
to appear on stage before an audience , and ability to portray a character convincingly .
Performers must learn to use both voice and body with the necessary flexibility and control ;
they must also be able to create acceptance of the truths and traits of the character they
portray.

2.

AUDIENCE-The essence of a theatre is the interaction between the performers and the
audience. Without the desired interaction between the actors and the spectators , the theatre
would be a flop.

3.

DIRECTOR-The director the pivotal element of theatre rehearses the actors and coordinates
their performances to make certain that they interpret the text/script appropriately , and
excitingly.

CLASSIFICATION of DIRECTORS:
TRADITIONAL DIRECTOR-Adheres as close as possible to the playwrights original intention.
The experience created by the playwright is created.
VIRTOUSO DIRECTOR-uses the script only as means to project his own ideas and intentions ,
not that of the playwrights . He develops the author s ideas , but in the process injects his own ,
according to what he perceives is more appropriate and exciting.
4.THEATRE SPACE ( set)- Another necessary element of theatre is the space which the
performers and audience come together.
a) The set must provide an environment for acting - the designer must study the script
very carefully and be familiar with the stage in corroboration with what the director has in
mind.
b) Design elements- includes costume, make up, properties, (commonly abbreviated as
props) light and sounds.

FIVE GENERAL CLASSIFICATIONS OF PROPS:

Trim props any decorative objects , which hang upon, or are attached to, the set but are
not realty essential to the action.
Examples: pictures or clothing hanging around.

Set props object standing about the floor of the set but not large enough to be considered
part of the set.
Examples: furniture in a living room.
Hand props- any objects picked and use by the performers, whether already in place on the
set when the curtains goes up or carried during the scene.
Examples: swords, umbrella.
Prop visual effects- special effects such as snowstorm, fire and smoke.
Props sound effects- any off-stage sounds that are created by other than electrical means.
5.TEXT/SCRIPT- the final element essential to a theatre is the text that is performed. There
are good and bad scripts; they can make or unmake performances in theatre production.

PRINCIPLES OF THEATRICAL BALANCE

Directors vary in the manner they handle their performers. They apply two techniques in
handling their actors:
Directors give their actors the entire business- teaching them on how to act every part of
their roles , including the proper gestures and voice tones- and closely regulating the entire
production.
Directors who let their actors alone- this allows the actors free rein in the interpretation of
their roles.

AVENUES OF THEATRE
Theatrical art has many ways of reaching the audience:
Avenue of the ear (auditory)-sounds, words.
Avenue of the eye (visual)- actions, facial expressions.

DRAMA:
Drama has one characteristic peculiar to itself it is written primarily to be performed not to read.
It is a presentation or action.
a) Through actors (the impact is direct and immediate)
b) On stage (a captive audience)
c)

Before an audience (suggesting a communal experience)

The playwright cannot directly comment on the action or the character and cannot directly enter the
minds of characters and tell us what is going on there . But there are ways to get around his limitation
through the use or:
1.

Soliloquy ( is a character speaking directly to the audience)

2.

Chorus (a group on stage commenting on characters and actions)

3.

A performer commenting on another character

ELEMENTS OF DRAMA
1.

PLOT- the sequence of events or incidents of which the story is composed.

A. CONFLICT- is a clash of actions , ideas, desire or wills.

> person against person.
>person against environment- external force, physical nature, society, or fate .
>person against herself/himself- conflict with some element in her/his own nature ; maybe
physical, mental, emotional, or moral.
B. PROTAGONIST and ANTAGONIST- the protagonist is the central character, who can be
sympathetic. The antagonist is the forces working against her/him whether, persons, things,
conventions of society, or traits of their own character .
C. ARTISTIC UNITY- essentials to a good plot ; nothing irrelevant ; good arrangement.
D. PLOT MANIPULATED- a good plot should not have any justified or unexpected turns or twists; no
false leads; no deliberate and misleading information.
2.CHARACTER
A. DIRECT PRESENTATION- author tells us straight out, by exposition or analysis, or through another
person.
B.INDIRECT PRESENTATION- author shows us the character in action; the reader infers what a
character is like from what she/he thinks, or says, or does. These are also called dramatics and they
generally consistent (in behavior), motivated ( convincing), and plausible (lifelike).
C.CHARACTER TYPES- a flat character is known by one or two traits; a round character is complex
and many-sided ; a stock character is a stereotyped character.
3.THEME- the controlling idea or central insight which can be:
A .A revelation of human character
B.May be started briefly or in great length
C.A theme is not the moral of the story.
4. Points of view
A.

OMNISCIENT a story told by the author, using the third person ; her/his knowledge, control,
and prerogatives are unlimited; authorial subjectivity.

B. LIMITED OMNISCIENT- a story which the author associates with a major or minor character,
this character serves as the authors spokesperson or mouthpiece.
C. FIRST PERSON- the author identifies with or disappears in a major or minor character , the
story is told using the first person I.

D. OBJECTIVE OR DRAMATIC- the opposite of omniscient ; displays authorial objectivity;

compared a roving sound camera. Very little of the past future is given ; the story is set in the
present.
5. SYMBOLS - a literary symbols means more than what it is . it has layers of meanings. Whereas
an image has one meaning a symbol has many.
a. Names used as symbols.
b. Use of objects as symbols.
c. Use of actions as symbols.
6.IRONY- a term with the range of meaning, all of them involving some sort of discrepancy or
incongruity. Irony is used to suggest the difference between appearance and reality, between
expectation and fulfillment , the complexity of experience.
A. Verbal Irony- the opposite is said from what is intended.
B. Dramatic Irony- the contrast between what the character says and what the reader knows to be
true.
C. Irony of Situation- discrepancy between appearance and reality, or between expectation and
fulfillment, or between what is and what would seem appropriate.

Kinds of Drama
COMEDY
When we talk about comedy, we usually refer to plays that are light in tone, and that typically have
happy endings. The intent of a comedic play is to make the audience laugh. In modern theater, there
are many different styles of comedy, ranging from realistic stories, where the humor is derived from
real-life situations, to outrageous slapstick humor.
TRAGEDY
Tragedy is one of the oldest forms of drama; however, its meaning has changed since the earliest days
of staged plays. In ancient times, a tragedy was often an historical dramas featuring the downfall of a
great man. In modern theater, the definition is a bit looser. Tragedy usually involves serious subject
matter and the death of one or more main characters. These plays rarely have a happy ending.
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about
two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families.
FARCE
Farce is a sub-category of comedy, characterized by greatly exaggerated characters and situations.
Characters tend to be one-dimensional and often follow stereotypical behavior. Farces typically involve
mistaken identities, lots of physical comedy and outrageous plot twists.
MELODRAMA
is another type of exaggerated drama. As in farce, the characters tend to be simplified and onedimensional. The formulaic storyline of the classic melodrama typically involves a villain a heroine, and
a hero who must rescue the heroine from the villain.
MUSICAL
In musical theater, the story is told not only through dialogue and acting but through music and dance.
Musicals are often comedic, although many do involve serious subject matter. Most involve a large cast
and lavish sets and costumes.

History of Theatre
EGYPT
The theatre history can be traced to Egyptian religious drama, which was essentially ritualistic (3200
BC). The first known theatres held from about 600 BC were the coral performance of the early Greeks,
the dithyramb . In the year 405 BC, the play Backhoe by Euripides was stage in Athens . This play
required a considerable amount of dancing. In Athens dithyrambs were sung by a Greek chorus of up
to fifty men or boys dancing in circular formation (there is no certain evidence that they may have
originally been dressed as satyrs and probably accompanied by the aulos. They would normally relate
some incident in the life of Dionysus. The Classical Period, (500-300 BC) during the Age of Pericles,
was considered the Golden Age of Drama. A great number of dramatic presentations were performed
which included Tragedy, Comedy, and Satyr plays.

CLASSIFICATION of DRAMA
1.Tragedy
Central to the study of Tragedy is the analysis of the Tragic Hero. A tragedy typically ended with
the death or destruction of a fictional or historical hero . The source of tragedy spells the difference
between two types of hero: Classic Hero and the Modern Hero
Classic Hero
In Greece, a tragic hero was presented as undergoing a cycle from renown to adversity after the
attains hubris or alienation from the gods; largely though his arrogance which the gods could not
forgive. He enjoys an exalted social position and has a noble spirit. But he must posses a flaw
or a tragic fault should not be an error of judgment , and not a vice or depravity.
Modern Hero
The modern hero has nothing of the qualities of the classic her0 except the nobility of the spirit. He
is an ordinary man beset with s0me problems, which call for the full strength of his powers. In the
end he may be defeated because of a weakness of his character or by the social pressures with
which he is forced to contend. Nothing is spectacular in the modern tragic hero , except that there
is dignity in his capability and determination to fight against all odds.
Catharsis
an element of tragedy, this is the process of purging or relieving the spectator of his burden of
terrible memories ,releasing from tension and leaving him as empty , as changed and as sad.
2.COMEDY
Like tragedy, Comedy grew out of early Greek religious festivals, honoring the wine god
Dionysus, in which tribute was paid to the natural world. The comedy focused on the lives of middle to
lower class characters and ended with their success ,this comic tradition was established by
Aristophanes and Menander (Greece), then by Terence and Plautus (Rome), and then the followed by
Shakespeare (England) and by Moliere (France). Wit and humor go hand on hand. Humor arises from
the ludicrous situations and character. Wit on the other hand, arises from repartee- the give and take
conversation. A comedy was based on the humor is considered superficial , and called slapstick
comedy.

TYPES OF ACTING
1.

Subjective school- the actor is able to move the audience only if he himself is moved. In
other words there must be self-involvement in the role he is playing.

2.

Objective school- the actor must approach his role with a cool mind, and must not be carried
away by his role.

THE ACTOR
the essential qualities required for a good actor are:
Imaginati0n imaginative or ever creative; Fluent Emotional Nature-able to shift from one emotion t
another without much difficulty.
Mobility of Inner Constitution- knowing what is illusion and reality, he is able to shift from his
personality to another without any psychological confusion on his part.

FILIPINO THEATRE
Pre-colonial period theatre in Philippines traces its roots to the indigenous culture before the
arrival of the Spaniards. The early forms were in the nature of animistic and religious rituals;
but there soon developed formal theatrical forms for entertainment.
Duplo and Karagatan : describe by Eric David as games of wit consisting of a verbal battle and
riddles and usually played during wakes for the deceased.
Carillo: was a shadow play in which puppet-like cardboard figures were handled and moved before a
lightened lamp behind a while sheet. The manipulators of the figures narrated the story and spoke the
dialogue. This form must have been brought in from China and Indonesia where the shadow play is
said to have originated.
Puteje: was a common form of entertainment among the Chinese laborers. The characters and dolllike figures were controlled by the manipulators who narrated and spoke the lines. This was like a
puppet show because the dolls appeared on stage.

SPANISH and EARLY AMERICAN PERIODS

Theatrical forms were strongly influenced by the Christian religion introduced by the Spanish
missionaries. This were the forms of religious-oriented dramas which up to present time are still
performed in some parts of the country.
Panuluyan :enacts the plight of Mary and Joseph in their search for shelter during the night they were
in Bethlehem. The performers go to different assigned houses, plead in song for room, are rejected,
and finally end in a cave (a designated residence or church) were they are made welcome . This is
performed before Christmas Day.
Salubong: enacts the meeting of Mary and Joseph on the dawn of his Resurrection.
Cenaculo: a passion play reenacting the suffering and death of Jesus Christ.
Pangaluluwa: meaning for the soul, is tradition wherein a group of singer goes from house to
house in the night of November 1st , the eve of All Souls Day, beginning for alms for the souls of the
departed.
Tibag: performed during the months of April and May, depicts the search of Helen (Elena) , mother of
Constantine the Great, Roman Emperor, for the true cross on which Christ was crucified. This is closely
associated with the Santacruzan which is a procession held in May to commemorate the finding 0f the
Cross by Queen Helen.

Moriones : held in Marinduque from Holy Wednesday to Easter Sunday. This depicts the stay of the
blind centurion (Morion) Longinus whose blindness is miraculously healed by a drop of blood from the
side of the crucified Jesus.
Moro-Moro: from the term Moros or Muslims who controlled southern Spain for more than 700
years, originated in 1637 from a mock battle reenacted by a group of b0ys between Christians and
Moros. Padre Juan de Salazar was inspired to wrote a play Gran Comedia de la Toma Del Pueblo de
Corralat Conquisfca de Ceno.Corralat (Sultan Kudarat) was actually a dashing Muslim leader who
successfully resisted Spanish rule in Mindanao. The Moro-Moro was also called Comedia later
extended, to include Mohammedan and Christian royalty in imaginary European kingdoms.
Zarzuela: a play that combines dialogue with music, songs, and dances. The first Spanish zarzuela,
Jugar Con Fuego, was introduced by Dario Cespedes who brought his zarzuela troupe to perform in
the Philippines. Severino Reyes wrote 59 zarzuelas and gradually displaced the moro-moro from the
center of theatrical attention. Zarzuelistas began to use their plays for agitation and propaganda
against the Spanish authorities. Among these were Severino Reyes, Manuel Perez y Burgos and
Celerino Tiongco.

AMERICAN PERIOD
During the first decad zarz es of American occupation, patriotic writers wrote seditious antiAmerican literature, many in the form of Zarzuelas which hid there nationalistic messages through
symbolism (talinghaga). The popularity of uela waned with the coming of the movies and other
modern entertainment media. However, fiesta celebrations in the provinces may still feature a
zarzuela, but vaudeville and entertainment shows featuring TV and movie personalities attract a
bigger audience.