Theater is the main type of theatrical art. Its origins lie in antiquity: the first theatrical performances can be considered primitive pagan rituals.Theater is the main type of theatrical art. Its origins lie in antiquity: the first theatrical performances can be considered primitive pagan rituals. But the theater owes its name to ancient Greece: in ancient times, spectator seats were called by this word.
Theater art includes several areas: drama, puppet theater, opera, operetta, ballet, pantomime … Each of these areas has its own history of development, its own distinctive features, traditions, its own prominent artists. Nevertheless, all of them are united by the word “theater” for a reason. They all have features that distinguish them from other genres and types of art. Specific “theatrical” features are common to all of it.
In theater, almost all of the arts merge together. A single dramatic performance may include literature (play text, script), visual art (scenery, props, costumes), instrumental and vocal music (performed on stage, backstage, or recorded), choreography (staged and/or improvisational actor dances), etc. In addition, modern theater makes extensive use of technical possibilities (stage design, its machinery, the use of light and sound equipment, a variety of stage effects, such as smoke, image projection, etc.). Even scientific advances are used by the theater for its own purposes! Few people think about it, but at the heart of an actor’s and director’s work are the scientific findings of several generations of psychologists. Medicine and physiology are directly related to the actor’s mandatory classes in stage movement, acrobatics, stage speech and vocals. Studies by historians and literary scholars have made a tremendous contribution to the development of theater.
A huge number of people are involved in the creation of a play. The actors (often in several casts), the stage director, his assistants, the composer, set designers, costume designers, props, tailors, cabinet-makers, musicians, makeup artists, costume designers, etc. Along with them, the production is supervised by stage workers (illuminators, sound technicians, specialists in other types of stage effects). The administration of a theater, accountants, producers, advertising specialists – all these people also make a great contribution to the creation of a work of art.
The whole destiny of a production depends on the well coordinated work of the whole theatrical collective: starting from making a decision on staging and finishing with the three-hundredth anniversary performance. Is it worth talking about how difficult it is for so many people to coordinate their actions, come to a creative consensus and create something new and beautiful in the world of art?