Topic outline of theatre

Theatre or theater is the branch of the performing arts concerned with acting out stories in front of an audience using combinations of speech, gesture, mime, puppets, music, dance, sound and spectacle — indeed any one or more elements of the other performing arts. Bernard Beckerman defines theatre as what "occurs when one or more human beings, isolated in time and/or space, present themselves to another or others." In addition to the standard narrative dialogue style, theatre takes such forms as opera, ballet, kabuki, puppetry, classical Indian dance, Chinese opera, mummers' plays, and pantomime.

The following topic outline is provided as an overview of and introduction to theater:

Essence of theatre

: "Main article: Theatre"

Venues of theatre

: Art Deco style theatre - Broadway and the West End - Community theatre - Dinner theatre - Fringe festival - Improvisational theatre - In-yer-face theatre - National Tours - Non-western theatre - Off-Broadway and the London fringe - Off-Off-Broadway - Opera houses - Physical theatre - Postmodern theatre - Post style theatre - Proletcult Theatre - Reader's Theatre - Regional theatre - Repertory theatre - School and church theatres and town halls community theatre - Street theatre - Summer stock theatre - Temple dance - UK Theatre Network - Vanguard-style theater - Theaters for Dance

Types of theatrical productions

* Play - Musical - Opera - Operetta - Revue - Variety show - Vaudeville

Genres of theatre

There are a variety of genres that writers, producers and directors can employ in theatre to suit a variety of tastes:

* Domestic drama
* Comedy
** Black comedy
** Commedia dell'arte
** Comedy of manners
** Comedy of situation
** Farce
** Romantic comedy
* Drama
* Epic theatre
* Experimental theatre
* Fantasy
* Grand Guignol
* Historical theatre
* Improvisational theatre
* Mainstream theatre
* Meta-theatre
* Morality play
* Musical theatre
* Natya
* Pantomime
* Physical theatre
* Political theatre
* Popular theatre
* Puppetry
* Radio drama
* Rock opera
* Theatre for social change
* Theatre of the Absurd
* Tragedy
* Tragicomedy

Styles of theatre

There are a variety of theatrical styles used in theatre and drama. These include

* Absurdism – presents a perspective that all human attempts at significance are illogical. Ultimate truth is chaos with little certainty. There is no necessity that need drive us.
* Expressionism – anti-realistic in seeing appearance as distorted and the truth lying within man. The outward appearance on stage can be distorted and unrealistic to portray an eternal truth.
* Melodrama – sentimental drama with musical underscoring, often with an unlikely plot that concerns the suffering of the good at the hands of evildoers but ends happily with good triumphant. Featuring stock characters such as the noble hero, the long-suffering damsel in distress, and the cold-blooded villain.
* Modernism – a broad concept that sees art, including theatre, as detached from life in a pure way and able to reflect on life critically.
* Naturalism – portraying life on stage with close attention to detail, based on observation of real life.
* Postmodernism – there are multiple meanings, and meaning is what you create, not what is. This approach often uses other media and breaks accepted conventions and practices.
*Puppetry– an ancient form where performers/puppeteers manipulate performing objects. Puppetry has many variations and forms.
* Realism – portraying characters on stage that are close to real life, with realistic settings and staging.

History of theatre

: "Main article: History of theatre"

: Greek theatre - Roman theatre - Elizabethan theatre - Theatrical Syndicate - Revue

Participants in theatre

: Actor - Audience - Chorus line - Director - Producer - Scenic Designer - Lighting Designer - Costume Designer - Stage hand - Technician - Puppeteer

Basic theatre concepts

: Acting - Cold reading - Curtain call - Drama therapy - Everyman - Footlights - Prop (short for "Theatrical property") - Stage - Stagecraft (Technical theatre) - Theatrical constraints - Theatrical scenery - Theatrical superstitions - Ticket

Theatre-related lists

: "Main article: List of theatre topics"

* Chronology of Shakespeare plays
* List of basic film topics
* List of basic performing arts topics
* List of basic opera topics
* List of basic theatre topics
* List of Canadian plays
* List of films based on stage plays or musicals
* List of plays made into feature films

External links

*Chākyār, Māni Mādhava. Nātyakalpadrumam, Sangeet Natak Academi, New Delhi, 1975
* [http://www.aussietheatre.com AussieTheatre.com] Australia's premier theatre website
* [http://www.post-theater.com Post-Theater] is an academic journal specialising in "post" style theatre.
* [http://theater.nytimes.com/pages/theater/index.html New York Times Theater section] Theater reviews.
* [http://www.mugss.org/useful/dictionary/ Theatre terms dictionary]
* [http://www.bris.ac.uk/theatrecollection/ University of Bristol Theatre Collection]
* [http://www.theatre.com/ Theatre.com - info on London theatre and shows]
* [http://www.ibdb.com/ Internet Broadway Database]
* [http://www.broadwayworld.com/ BroadwayWorld.com - extensive theatre site with news, photos, forums and more...]
* [http://www.newyorkcitytheatre.com New York Theatre Guide] Broadway and Off Broadway show info
* [http://www.bl.uk/projects/theatrearchive/homepage.html Theatre Archive Project (UK)] British Library & University of Sheffield
* [http://www.theatreconsultants.org American Society of Theatre Consultants]
* [http://www.unitedstages.com United Stages]
* [http://www.uktheatre.net UK Theatre Network]
* [http://www.newplays.org.uk NewPlays.org.uk] - Popular new plays and theatre directory.
* [http://theatre.wikia.com Theatre Wikia] - An editable database dedicated to all aspects of theatre.