Lesson:2 Elements of Theater

Theater
✓is said to be the convergence of all arts, where all other art and disciplines are used in the
creative process.
✓is said to be the convergence of all arts, where all other art and disciplines are used in the
creative process.
✓is collaborative in nature. It is not a solo art. It requires the combined works of many people who
are involved in the different aspects of production.
✓combines various elements to produce a unified creative piece that engages with the audience.

Wilson & Goldfarb (2019) referred to these characteristics as the element of theater:
•Audience
•Performer
•Script / Text
•Director
•Theater space
•Design elements

A theater production becomes engaging with the audience because of the good complementation of the
different aspects of production.

THE AUDIENCE
•The essence of theater is the exchange, the chemistry, and the energy between distinguished from
all other kinds of dramatic entertainment by the presence of an audience.

Audience Imagination
•The audience participates in the whole theater experience through imagination. Audience sees an
actor enter the stage and drink wine; an actress crying while typing in her computer and so on. The
actors create their world which they share with the audience.

THE PERFORMERS
•Another key element of theater is the performers, the individuals onstage portraying characters in
dramatic action. Acting is central to all forms of theater. A performer stands in front of the audience and
begins to act out a character, by speaking and moving in ways that convey a character. This begins the
magic of theater when audience starts to accept that the actor is someone else who embodies a
character.

Acting on Stage
•in a An actor must acquire both outer techniques coupled with inner emotional resources to play a
believable role. This is true whether the actor is playing classical drama or a modern, realistic play. On
stage, the actors are watched by the audience. They are always on display on stage under the spotlight.
Stage acting requires actors to portray entirely unknown characters.
. Dramatists create these characters which are portrayed by performers, thus, developing stage
personas to represent individuals.

Challenges in Acting
•Actor must convince the audience to believe in the characters on stage. Hence, they often encounter
the following three major challenges in acting:

1. Finding the inner truth of the characters. Actors need to be convincing on stage. Their acting has to be
believable that is fit to the character.
2. Appropriate use of the body and voice. Actors have to be precise in their physical acting by using their
body and voice to create characters.
They have to create a different body and voice for the character.
3. Integrating inner and outer acting abilities. Actors need to master the skill of synthesizing and
integrating the outer and inner skills of performance. They have to use both skills to be effective on
stage.

This is an individual emotion memory exercise. You can do this alone in your own house.

1. Recall a recent situation that made you sad.

2. Remember what exactly happened during this time.
3.Recall where you were and with whom you were.
4.Try to recall the same emotion that you felt during that time
5.Next, make a fist. Slowly make it tighter and tighter.
6.Rehearse. Choose background music. Shoot and upload on TikTok.

The Script/Text
•The script is another important element in theater.This also considered the blue print of
production.
•A playwright a writer who writes script, creates dramatic script by transforming stories (such as
incidents and biographical events) into a sequence of events showing characters interacting with each
other.
•A playwright develops dramatic structure by giving life to characters, creating their personalitiess
and conflict to arouse the interest of the audience.
• A playwright creates the subject, the tone, the structure and the point of view of the script. Text,
on the other hand, is an inclusive term that is often used in place of the script. It can be any
performances created and devised by both directors and actors, and those created by playwrights.

Cohen and Sherman (2017) listed the following seven qualities of a fine play:

1. Credibility and Intrigue

2. Speakability, Stageability, and Flow
3. Richness
4. Depth of Characterization
5. Gravity and Pertinence
6. Compression, Economy, and Intensity
7. Celebration
Credibility and Intrigue
•Credibility is the audience-imposed need for the logical flow of actions of the characters, scenario
and the setting provided by the author in the play.
A logical flow means that what happens in Scene 2 is a reasonable development from Scene 1.

A fine play allows the audience to experience "suspense" which gives viewers intrigue about what will
happen in the story.

Speakability, Stageability, and Flow

A fine play must possess dramatic actions that have "actable" and stageable
dialogues that have progressive flow until it reaches its high impact.

Speakability means that the dialogues are believably that of the character and not of the author.

Stageability is a quality of a play that allows it to be effectively staged through a complementation of

stage setting, physical acting and the dialogues.

Flow means that a play must continuously say something, do something and mean something on stage.

Richness A play that is rich in detail and dimension gives us a high sense of satisfaction.

Detail and dimension refer to the creation of believable scenes.

Depth of Characterization Every character in the play must have a unique voice of its own, its purpOse
and the reason of its presence.

Gravity and Pertinence

Gravity and pertinence refer to the significance of a play's central theme and its general relevance to the
audience's interests.

Compression, Economy, and Intensity

Compression refers to the playwright's device in compressing a story that
usually spans days or years into one staging time (usually between one hour to
two hours).

Economy refers to the conscious decision of the playwright on what

events that happen to the character should be included in the play.

Compression and economy in playwriting help to heighten audience anticipation and generate interest.

Celebration Plays should celebrate life, more than just purely depicting or analyzing it.

Writing, creating, and attending plays are also affirmative acts. .

THE DIRECTOR
The director is responsible for rehearsing the actors and coordinating the works
of the designers scenic, costumes, lighting, sound) and other members of the team
to ensure that the performance is both coherent and interesting.

The director is responsible for ensuring that the event is conducted properly, wisely, and excitingiy.

A theater director shapes the play's narrative and establishes its style, tempo, and how the actors study
and create their characters and interact with one another.

The director or chestrates everything in the production, but the director's work ends when the play
begins.

Types of Director
There are three types of directors based on their approaches to directing:
traditional, auteur, and postmodern.

1. Traditional director
In this directing approach, the script is the starting point of the production.
Also called the text-based method, the director chooses the script to be staged,
analyzes it and prepares for the production mounting.

Developing a style means creating a directorial concept, a unified blueprint to guide the creative process
in terms of idea, vision or point of view of the director.

2. Auteur
Auteur is a French word which means author". In this directing approach, the
directors also serve as authors who can easily create changes or transformations of the material. This
type of director weaves various elements from many sources to produce a theater production that we
can see on-stage.

An auteur
director takes full responsibility for every transformation or change that is made
in the production including the script.

3. Postmodern
A postmodern director creates productions that are radical, free-form and
sometimes rebellious.

This kind of production employs a process called

deconstruction; which involves taking a part of the text which may be altered,
reassembled, deleted, or taken out of context.

Responsibility of the Directors responsible for all aspect and to produce unified coherent piece and for
the overall design and execution.

THE THEATER SPACE

Another important element is the theater space, where performers and audience.

Types of Theater Stages

1. Proscenium Stage
A proscenium theater space has audience seats
facing opposite the performance space.

This audience view is framed by the proscenium arch which defines the rectangular opening in the
performance space.

2. Thrust Stage
A thrust stage has three-sided audience seats.

3. Arena Stage
Arena stage or Theater in the Round is a circle or square stage configuration where audience members
are seated in four sections.

4. Found Stage
A found stage is any space that can be utilized for a theater performance.

The Design Elements

Design elements in theater include all the visual and auditory aspects of the
production.

The design elements in a theater produetion are the following:

1. Scenic design
Scenic design refers to the set that is created to support the make-believe reality of the actors on stage.
A scenic design provides space for the director in telling the story to the audience.

2. Lighting design
Lighting design refers to the illumination of the performance space.

3.Costume and makeup design

Costume and makeup design refer to recreating characters using costumes and makeup.

A costume can totally change the physical appearance and appeal of

the character.

4. Sound design
A SOund design refers to the overall blending of sound from all sources.