Chapter 1

1. Chapter 1 Theatre, Art, and Entertainment

2. What is Art? • Yasmina Reza

3. What is Art? • A skill • From the Greek word - technē • An act of beauty • From a branch of philosophy known as aesthetics (the nature and expression of beauty) • Meaning • This is how I, the artist, see the world • Provides a means to understand ourselves and the world around us

4. William Missouri Downs What are the basic qualities of art that all works of art share?

5. Art is a Form of Human Expression The word art springs from the same root as the word artificial. Art is not the real thing but rather a human creative endeavor that involves the perceptions and imagination of an artist who is trying to say something in his or her own particular way.

6. The Treachery of Images 1928–29, Rene Magritte

7. Is this art? http://www.koko.org/world/art_portraits.html#TYLER

8. “In one sense the aim of the scientist and the aim of the artist are the same since both are in pursuit of what they call truth; but the difference between them may be said to consist in this, that while for science there is only one truth, for the artist there are many.” Joseph Wood Krutch, author and philosopher William Missouri Downs

9. Art Involves Subject and Medium • Spatial Arts • Architecture • Sculpture • Pictorial Arts • Painting • Line and color in two dimensions • Literary Arts • Poetry • Novels and short stories • Performing Arts • Performed by a person

10. Art Makes You Feel Something Michael Falco/The New York Times/Redux Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank via AP Images

11. Different feelings or emotional responses = Genre

12. Art Provides a Perception of Order “It is the function of all art to give us some perception of an order in life, by imposing order upon it.” T. S. Eliot, poet “Life is very nice, but it lacks form. It’s the aim of art to give it some.” Jean Anouilh, playwright

13. What is the Purpose of Art? “I am suspicious of any theory of art which says that art is just one thing and that it can be defined in a single aim, function, or purpose.” Harold Taylor, art philosopher Michal Daniel/Proofsheet

14. Plato vs. Aristotle • Plato • Theatre promotes vice and wickedness • Makes people irrational • Thoughts can be swept away by the power of the crowd • “The poet is a sophist, maker of counterfeit that look like truth” • Aristotle • Theatre awakens the soul • Catharsis • Give pleasure, greatest pleasure is learning the truth

15. What is Theatre? • Define and describe theatre in a way that does not require a cultural understanding of life on Earth today.

16. What is Theatre? • The word theatre comes from the Greek word theatron meaning “seeing place.” • “A man walks across this empty space whilst someone else is watching him, and this is all that is needed for act of theatre to be engaged.” Peter Brook, The Empty Space

17. What is Drama? • The word drama comes from the Greek word dran meaning “to take action, to do, or to make” • Drama tells a story about people in conflict

18. Both Theatre and DramaShare Three Qualities • They are live – no two performances are the same • They are about human beings • They are collaborative art forms

19. CommonCategories of Theatre

20. 1. Commercial Theatre Commercial plays offer safe themes, plenty of laughs, and spectacle designed to appeal to a majority of people, thereby filling lots of seats and ideally making lots of money. William Missouri Downs

21. 2. Historical Theatre Presents dramas that uses styles, themes, and staging of plays from a particular historical period. © 2000 Don Turner

22. 3. Political Theatre © P. Switzer Allows playwrights, directors, and actors to express their personal opinions about current issues, trends, and politics

23. 4. Experimental Theatre It might break down barriers by eliminating the distance between actor and audience, trying out new staging techniques, or even questioning the nature of theatre itself Courtesy, Living Theatre

24. 5. Cultural Theatre Is designed to support the heritage, customs, and POV of a particular people, religion, class, country, or community. This theatre provides a window into a world that is different from their own or by preserving the unique traditions of a particular society.

25. “When you come into the theater, you have to be willing to say, ‘We're all here to undergo a communion, to find out what the hell is going on in this world.’ If you're not willing to say that, what you get is entertainment instead of art, and poor entertainment at that. David Mamet, Three Uses of the Knife Art and Entertainment Photo courtesy of Karen Berman

26. Art and Entertainment • Lets us see another’s POV • Requires active viewing • Is about self-examination • Has great potential as an agent of social change • Challenges the audience • Is about edification, transcendence, contemplation • Does not compromise for public taste • Reaffirms our own POV • Is directed toward the largest possible number • Makes no intellectual demands on the viewer • May examine life but does not lead to criticism • Has little potential as an agent of social change • Is about gratification, indulgence, escape

27. Curtain Call We need art and theatre because they help us see life differently. Entertainment allows us to see life as we see it, with our values and perceptions intact. Art, on the other hand, allows us to expand our experience, intensify our perceptions, challenge conventional wisdom, and introduce another frame of reference—that of the artist.