Article-O-Pedia » Theater

Theater Festivals from around the world

nosheen — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:58:06 +0000

Theater festivals are held in almost every part of the world. These festivals include top-quality productions that are staged for a specific number of days. It is basically the celebration of the most dramatic art form. Different productions such as comedy, tragedy, absurd, musicals etc. are staged.

Rubicon International Theater Festival brings together artists from Ireland, France, Germany and England. The fest includes Beckett productions and is held in different parts of the world. The theater festival that takes place in Bogota, Colombia after every 2 years is the largest theater festival in the world and is known as the Iberoamerican Theater Festival. Orlando International Fringe Theater Festival is another 12 day festival held during summer in Orlando, Florida. It includes music, theater, dance, and other forms of art. An annual New York Shakespeare Theater Festival is also which is among the popular theater festivals around the world.

Is theater losing its significance?

nosheen — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:54:23 +0000

Theater is an umbrella that consists of almost all art forms. Hence, it can never lose its significance, as long as there is art, theater shall be present and active. These days, more and more people are realizing the importance of theater and it has come to occupy a very elite position in society. Commercially, theater occasionally fares well as compared to Hollywood and film industries around the world.

It’s not that theater has lost its significance, still many people prefer theater to cinema but the majority lies with cinema. So, in today’s fast paced world, cinema has acquired more significance and theater artists and playwrights have to compete for audience with a much more technically advanced industry. Theater these days only needs a little support and impetuous from the general public.

Theater in the age of Movies

nosheen — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:49:45 +0000

Today, when the commercial cinema is minting money like anything, on the basis of special effects, out of the world graphics, incredible equipment and astounding props and objects, Where can we place theater in the field of entertainment? Is it neglected, underrated? Is it still considered not a good career option or may be only a step towards Hollywood? Are films the ultimate destination for every theater artist? Can theater be an end in itself? All these questions have risen due to status theater has acquired these days.

Movies has reduced theater to be the preference of a few elites. The common man would definitely opt for commercial cinema instead of a theater production. So can we say that theater is totally ignored and is not patronized by anyone at all? Well, not really, as good Broadway productions in New York and other famous plays do get sold out and turn out to be huge commercial successes. However, more often plays often go unnoticed and are eclipsed by the film industry. Theater needs to be promoted and appreciated widely, probably thats the reason why many people are apprehensive about adopting it is as a full time career.

Evolution of Theater through the years

nosheen — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:44:18 +0000

Theater has constantly been undergoing many changes. People involved in the theater continue to experiment and bring in different innovations. Dramatics art reached its peak during the age of Shakespeare and has been progressing since then. These days many revolutionizing forms of theater have emerged such as Black Theater, Musical Theater, Absurd Theater, Broadway Theater, etc.

Evolution of different genres in theater is dependent on many factors such as place of origin, political scenario, etc. For eg. Political theater became quite popular in Post-revolutionary Russia. Also sometimes circumstances in society play a very important role in directing the course of a particular theater movement. For instance, post the world wars, existential and absurd theater became the norm and focused on the futility of living. Unites States saw intense changes in the stagecraft and spectacle. The creative novelty and innovations reached US and transformed the theater production there. Some of the examples are Pins and Needles, One third of a Nation, Triple-A Ploughed Under among others.

Theater and Performing Arts

nosheen — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:26:20 +0000

Theater is a form of performing arts. It has evolved from rituals and other practices such as dances, role playing, enacting out the scriptures and holy texts, for teaching morality to people. Since its origin, theater has undergone many transitions in terms of performance, scripts, direction etc. Theater being part of the performing arts, is manifested through heightened expressions, gestures, choreography and exaggerated dialog delivery. That is why theater is considered more difficult than movies as it involves a lot of hard work. Theater, since time immemorial competes for public’s attention and that is the main reason for being a bit over the top.

Unlike cinema, theater lacks the technical brilliance, aid of special effects, and the assistance of retakes and computer manipulations. Theater is just rehearsals and the final performance. None of the spectacle on stage can guarantee success, if the actors do not justice to their roles and the script is not handled properly. These elements make theater intriguing, entertaining and enjoyable.