Artistic Director - Jobs in the Theatre - Part 2

The artistic director is the person who is responsible for maintaining and developing the major artistic goals of the theatre. Once again, these posts are general and each theatre may differ. However, in general, this means that the artistic director is above and sometimes even hires all of the designers.

It is common for the artistic director to make the decisions about hiring the set designer, lighting designer, sound designer, costume designer, and prop designer. This does not mean that the artistic designer will have full say in what happens artistically in the theatre. Mostly likely he or she will supervise the designers who will report to the the artistic designer.

The artistic director is on the same level as the managing director. In some theatres, the artistic director is the same person as the managing director. Whether or not these two positions are filled by one or two people, they both report to whoever is above them in the theatrical hierarchy. Sometimes this is the producer who reports everything to the board of directors. Other times, these people or this person reports directly to the board of directors. Sometimes the artistic director is the president of the board of directors, so a report is still given to the board.

Other possible duties of an artistic director are being the chief spokesperson for the theatre and coordinating talk-backs that relate to the plays. The artistic director may also possibly find the theatrical companies (or at least the director and the actors) who will produce the plays, as well as the plays that will be at the theatre.

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Producer - Jobs in the Theatre - Part 1

In the United States, in professional theatre, the producer is the person that raises the money for a theatrical performance or a run of theatrical performaces and also finds the venue or venues. This person will also secure the rights for the performance.

The producer will also publicize the play. A producer usually has a team of a variety of managers and at least one publicist to help fulfill these duties. That way, the producer is able to delegate responsiblities to different people and not become too overwhelmed.

The producer is usually right under the board of directors when it comes to theatre hierarchy. A producer may not be found in non-profit theatrical companies. This is because the board does the jobs mentioned in the above paragraph.

However, sometimes a producer is assigned in non-profit theatre. When this is the case, the producer is the person who oversees every aspect of the production. In general, the board is still responsible for taking care of funds for productions. However, the producer will help to raise the funds. He will also make sure that each person in the theatre is doing is or her job.

Once again, sorry for the last post. This time I was out of town and I managed to get off of the Interstate and ended up driving through a little down in the dark and I don't know my way through it, so it took me longer to get home than I expected.

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Board of Directors - Jobs in the Theatre

A position on the Board of Directors in a theatre usually is not a job. The board of directors is usually made up of volunteers. Often, these volunteers will also be theatre employees, but there may be other people from the community who are interested in serving on the Board of Directors, too. It always depends on the constitution of the theatre.

Sometimes the constituion of a theatre will state who is allowed to be a board member. This may include or preclude employees of the theatre. Others that it may affect are those involved with other theatres or art centers, those in certain professions, those with certain criminal records, people who were involved in founding the theatre, and people of certain ages. The constitution will also specify if the members of the board of directors are paid anything for their service or not.

The board of directors is the highest position in a theatre, though. They run everything. While duties may be delegated to employees, the board of directors is in charge of delegating those duties. The employees responsible for those duties are also responsible for reporting to the board of directors unless they are told that they do not have to report to them.

Just a few duties of the board of directors are establishing the theatre's purpose and mission, planning organization of different aspects of the theatre, recruiting new board members, monitoring and managing finances, and spreading the word about the theatre. The board of the directors has a duty to the employees and the community in order to help keep the theatre running.

Depending on the theatre's constitution, board meetings may be open or closed to the public. When they are open to the public, this means that anybody can attend. Sometimes meetings are open in general, but there have to be parts that are closed. At times, special privilege is given to people who founded the theatre or have been involved with the theatre for a long time. They may be given the right to attend board meetings and even be allowed to vote.

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Theatre Hierarchy - Jobs in the Theatre

I am getting ready to do a series on theatrical jobs (or jobs in the theatre). Tonight and early this morning (because it is so hot during the day and because I'm usually up late into the mornings doing stuff for work), my sister started rearranging my desk and computer to how I want it. She is the one that decided to start. It was completely her decision. (So, sorry for the late post . . .)

Anyway, above you can see one image of theatre hierarchy. Below, you'll find more images of theartre hierarchy. There's always the general hierarchy in theatre. Sometimes hierarchy will differ by theatres depending on how they are run. However, the actors are never at the top of the hierarchy.

In many non-professional (and even some professional) theatres, not all positions are going to be filled by one person. One person may hold many positions. It is extremely important to respect those higher in hierarchy in order to make theatre run smoothly. It becomes even more important to respect those people when one person is holding more than one position.

You can find more examples of theatre hierarchy below:

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Inspirational Quotes from Musicals

While I gather my thoughts and get ready to start a new series, this post is just a small break between series. Thanks to many people in the Facebook group, Theatre Teacher Lesson Lending for the idea.

Here are some inspirational quotes from musicals. If you are a teacher that has a classroom, you may want to find an appropriate picture and put one of these quotes on the picture. Obviously, this can be done with as many quotes as you'd like. You can then have the poster with the quote printed out as a picture at places like FedEx or Office Depot and have inspirting decorations for your classroom.

Dear Evan Hansen

• It takes a little patience, takes a little time. A little perseverance and a little uphill climb.
• Even when the dark comes crashing through, and when you need a friend to carry you, when you're broken on the ground you will be found.
• At least you're you and, well, that's enough.

Legally Blonde: The Musical

• Keep it positive.
• Being true to yourself never goes out of style.

The Sound of Music

• After all, the wool from the black sheep is just as warm.
• Climb every mountain, ford every stream, follow every rainbow, ’til you find your dream.

Wicked

• It's just life, so keep dancing through.
• Some things I cannot change, but 'til I try, I'll never know.
• Everyone deserves the chance to fly.
• I'm through accepting limits because someone says they're so.

Hamilton

• I’m just like my country — I’m young, scrappy, and hungry, and I am not throwing away my shot.”
• Every action’s an act of creation!
• Look around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now!
• There’s a million things I haven’t done. Just you wait, just you wait.
• I am the one thing in life I can control. I am inimitable, I am an original.” (Or break this one up "I am the one thing in life I can control." and "I am an original.")
• Seize the moment and stay in it.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

• Any dream will do.
• If you think it, want it, dream it, it's real.

Seussical

• I have wings and I can fly. Around the moon and far beyond the sky.
• Oh, the thinks you can think.
• Think and wonder and dream far and wide as you dare.

Cinerella

• Impossible things are happening every day.
• On the wing of my fancy, I can fly anywhere.

Shrek: The Musical

• It's a big, bright beautiful world.

The Little Mermaid

• You’ve got your own style, now let it shine through and remember no matter what, you got to be you.

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Theatre History Overview - Part 106 - Movicals

A movical is a stage musical based on a movie. Many times the movie was already a musical, but that is not a requirement of the movie for it to become a movical. The only requirement is that it ends up as a musical on the stage. The term "movical" wasn't coined until 2002. However, movicals have existed for a long time before the term was coined.

Rick of Rick on Theatre wrongly states that the trend of movie to stage musical adaptations started in 1980. While they may have become more popular in the 1980s, the now-termed movicals started much earlier, though it is uncertain when the first movical took place.

Rick also quotes Steven Suskin, who seems to be incorrect in assuming that the first movical was 1953's Hazel Flagg.It is guessed that the first movical may have been 1944's Sadie Thompson. The stage musical was based upon the 1932 film Rain. The next movical may have been 1949's Regina based on the 1941 film The Little Foxes Obviously movicals continued throughout the years. Examples are 1966's Promises, Promises, 1973's A Little Night Music, and 1983's La Cage aux Folles.

While it is not completely certain why the term movical was created, it may have been because of the constnat creation of musicals based off of Disney films. Just a few that exist are The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King. Obviously, movicals are not only produced by Disney because they started earlier and there are still other movicals. Some recent movicals are Heathers and Mean Girls.

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Theatre History Overview - Part 105 - In-Yer-Face Theatre

In yer-face-theatre is a term applied to many plays written in Britain during the 1990s. The term refers to plays that were written in order to present vulgar, shocking, and confrontational material on the theatrical stage. This was usually done by young playwrights of the time. Aleks Sierz called it "theatre which grabs the audience by the scruff of the neck and shakes it until it gets the message."

The reason for the style is that they wanted to involve the audience by making them feel the emotions that come with the extremes of distressing issues.

The languages of such plays was often raw and course. Swear words were often used liberally throughout the scripts. Uncomfortable stage images were also presented. Things such as rape and cannibalism may have been shown on the stage without any censoring.

Some people claim that Aleks Sierz coined the term "in-yer-face theatre," however he denies this. He claims that he adopted the term from people that were already using it and he was only the first to celebrate the form and popularize it. It seems that the first coinage of the term "in-yer-face theatre" may have happened in November 1995 in an interview between Sarah Hemming, a critic with Financial Times and the director and playwright Anthony Neilson.

Some people may refer to in-yer-face theatre as new brutalism. However, the reason that in-yer-face theatre works better is because it doesn't describe just the content of the play. It also describes the relationship of the stage to the audience. New brutalism would describe the content of the play. Some people see in-yer-face theatre as a renewal of Theatre of Cruelty. However, theatre of cruelty depended more upon visuals while in-yer-face theatre depends both upon visuals and the language used.

Some of the significant plays of this genre are Blasted by Sarah Kane, Shopping and Fucking by Mark Ravenhill, and Infidelities by Richard Zajdlic. In 2002, a conference was held on the form of in-yer-face theatre. At that time, it was acknowledged that the form was a historical phenomenom. While this seems to be true in general, at times, playwrights may still write in this form.

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Theatre History Overview - Part 104 - Jukebox Musicals

Many people consider jukebox musicals to be a new form of musical theatre. They assume that they only started in the 2000s. The term "jukebox musical" is applied to many different musical and theatrical forms, but for this post, the jukebox musical has a specific definition. The jukebox musical is a musical that is built around the songs of a certain artist, of a couple or of a few certain artists, or songs from a certain time period.

If the songs already tell a story when they are put together, the musical may revolve around a story that the songs tell. If they songs don't tell a story, dialogue that makes a whole story is written to connect the different songs and keep them relavant for the musical.

Jukebox musicals are as old as the second half of the 18th century. Of course, the term jukebox musical would not have existed at the time because the jukebox was not invented until 1890. 1728's The Beggar's Opera by John Gay interspersed dialogue with popular 18th century songs.

While there were certainly more jukebox musicals written in the 1800s and 1900s, they exploded in popularity during the 2000s. There are two types of jukebox musicals that fall into the definition for this post. There's the type that tells the story of the artist (here refered to as a biographical jukebox musical) and the type that uses songs to tell a completely different story connecting the songs with dialogue, sometimes in between the songs and sometimes during them.

Jersey Boys is an example of a biographical jukebox musical. It tells the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Mamma Mia! is an example of a jukebox musical that tells a different story using the songs of an artist. Disaster! The Musical is an example of a jukebox musical that tells a story using the songs from a certain time. Sometimes jukebox musicals work really well such as The Marvelous Wonderettes/. Other times, there are very clever ways of using songs like how Disaster! using the song "Hot Stuff," and inserts dialog changing the meaning of hot stuff for each character. However, the plot can be weak and the show can fall flat. It seems certain that as long as people are producing music, jukebox musicals will exist.

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Theatre History Overview - Part 103 - The Beginnings of Broadway

Broadway is now iconic as "the place" that people go to see professional plays and musicals. However, just like most things in the United State, it began with humble roots. Broadway was first called Wiechquaekeck Trail by the Algonquins who used it as a trade route. It was then called Heere Straat (High Street) by the Dutch. It was one of the two main streets that led north and liked New York Harbor with upstate New York.

The first significatant theatre in New York was founded in 1750 by Walter Murray and Thomas Keane. This was on Nassau Street and the theatrte held about 280 people. Most of the performances were usually either ballad operas or Shakespeare.

In 1775, theatre in New York was suspended because of the American Revolutionary war. However, it resumed in 1798. In the same year, a 2,000 seat theatre was built on Chatham Street (now Park Row) called Park theatre. Afterwards, many theatres started opening in New York. The first show to have a long run on Broadway was 1857;s The Elves.

Broadway's history then somewhat coinsided with the development of American Musical Theatre, Today, Broadway is not just one street. It is a group of 41 professional theatres in Midtown Manhattan's Theatre District. The theatres are mainly located from 42nd to 53rd street.

The major significance in Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway is the amout of seats in a theatre. Broadways means that there are 500 or more seats. If there are anywhere from 99 to 499 seats in the theatre, it is considered Off-Broadway. Theatres with 99 or less seats are considered Off-Off-Broadway. Sometimes the pay that actors get is a factored into considering the classification of the theatre.

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Theatre History Overview - Part 102 - The Beginnings of American Musical Theatre

The rise in popularity of ballad opera coincided with the beginnings of Europeans settling in the United States. The first musical production that took place on February 8, 1735 in the colonies was Flora and it took place in a courtroom in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1753, New York's first permanent playhouse was established by Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Hallam. It offered operettas including Flora.

People in Philadelphia were given hope that a comic opera called The Disappointment would appear on the stage on April 20, 1767. However, four days before the comic opera was to open, a notice was run in papers that it was inappropriate for the stage being that it contained personal reflections.

More attempts were made at making a uniquely American musical. On December 11, 1781, Francis Hopkinsin debuted his work, The Temple of Minerva as part of a concert in honor of George Washington. In 1790, The Reconciliation; or, The Triumph of Nature by Peter Markoe was supposed to be produced in Philidelphia, but the production was canceled. Then in 1796, William Dunlap debuted his work, The Archers. Even though Dunlap was born in New Jersey, there are people who don't consider his work a truly American musical and call it hackwork.

The widely accepted play to be considered the first American musical, despite being called an imitation of European extravaganzas that visited the states, is The Black Crook. It debuted in New York on September 12, 1866. Up to that time, it was the most successful musical written by Americans, It also introduced some of the elements that have become associated with American musicals. These include elaborate costumes, ornate production numbers, sexual inuendos, sexually provactive songs, chorus girls, and large dance numbers.

The first truly American operetta was 1886's The Little Tycoon by Willard Spencer. it owes its popularity to the fact that earlier, The Mikado was popular. However, the operetta did not both have a cohesive plot and concentrate on American experiences. The first musical to do this was The Brook by Nate Salesbury in 1879. While the songs were obvious adaptations of familiar tunes, the humor was obvious. From this point on, more people wrote musicals for the American stage and American musical theatre is still going strong today.

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Theatre History Overview - Part 101 - New Zealander Theatre

Theatre got a late start in New Zealand. There is not much history given about it, but on July 31, 1843, Wellington housed its the first theatre built specifically for theatrical performances. The theatre was a plain, wooden, rectangular building known as Royal Victoria Theatre. Then in 1844, the Fitzroy was founded in Auckland. However, it is known that there was a theatre circuit in the second half of the 19th century. The two most successful plays of that time were 1876's Transported by Life by George Darrel and 1895's Land of Moa by George Leitch. In 1896, movies came to New Zealand and it was only around this time that the railway system started facilitating theatrical touring.

During the 1960s, many people in New Zealand thought that theatres only existed as a hobby for their members. In order to show that this wasn't true, The New Zealand Theatre Federation was founded in 1970. It aimed to advance the writing and performances of plays as well as to encourage theatrical workshops. While the New Zealand Federation was established for all of New Zealand, it also focused on Aotearoa. One of its founders, Alderman William Lyon, stated, "a theatre [was] a necessary concomitant of an advanced state of civilization."

The next year, on April 21, the Court Theatre in Christchurch gave its first performance. It was The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie which was based on the novel by Muriel Spark. The theatre performed in a variety temporary venues until 1972. It then used four different venues until 1976 and then moved to the former engineering school buildings at Canterbury University.

In 1992, The Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards were established. These are for various theatre artists in New Zealand. They also recognize important artistic and community contributions. Theatre in New Zealand has remained active in New Zealand since 1990s.

The Court, despite having its facilities made unusable by a hurricane in 2011 and moving into an old grain silo, remains one of New Zealand's extremely active theatres. Besides mounting plays for the general public, it holds sensitive friendly plays for people with conditions such as autism. It also hosts "Scared Scriptless," which is improv every Friday and Saturday.

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Theatre History Overview - Part 100 - American Yiddish Theatre

Yiddish theatre is theatre that is written and performed in the Yiddish language. It is mainly performed by Ashkenazi Jews because this language is native to them. The genres found in Yiddish theatre are broad.

Yiddish theatre came to the United States when Boris Thomashefsky, who was only 12, persuaded Frank Wolf to invest in bringing the two brothers of his co-worker, Golubok, from London to New York. The brothers arrived with four other actors. They performed the play Koldunye (The Witch) by Avrom Goldfadn. The performance took place at a hall on Fourth Street in Manhattan that Wolf rented.

Many Jews did not want this performance to happen. This is because they felt that Yiddish undignified. They tried bribing Jews who bought tickets into selling them back or trading them for beer. They even bribed the lead actress into claming she had a sore throat. However, their plans backfired. Thomashefsky's father padded him "in all the right places" and he went on as the female lead.

The Gulubok company continued in Manhattan. In 1896, Thomashefsky had a company that played in Baltimore. He met his wife, Bessie, when she went backstage to meet the lead actress and found that Boris had been playing the part. Bessie and Boris Thomashefsky married in 1891 and Bessie took over playing the female roles.

Between the years of 1890 and 1940, at least a dozen Yiddish theatre companies had performed in the Lower East Side of New York City (which includes Brooklyn and the Bronx). More than 200 Yiddish theatre companies traveled to other cities to give performances.

Stella Adler was born in 1901 to parents who were in a Yiddish Theatre company. These experiences led to her founding her own theatre. Yiddish theatre declines in the 1950s and the 1960s. However, it never died. Companies such as the National Yiddish Theatre in New York City, New York still exist.

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Theatre History Overview - Part 99 - Improv

Improvisational Theatre, or Improv involves an interactive relationship between the cast and the audience. Tom Soter says that improv can be thought of as "comedy of the moment." Improvised performances are as old as theatre itself. The earliest record of improv that we have is from 391 B.C. The play was a comedy that was unscripted and had a group of clowns as the characters.

While it is not certain how it got there, improv theatre continued in 16th century Italy with Commedia dell'Arte. This influenced improvisational theatre through the 18th century. In the 19th century, Theatresports started in England. They were similar to Commedia dell'Arte in that there were some type of structure, but improv was incorporated. However, rather than being purely for entertainment, they were for competition.

In the 20th century, Europeans who had been practicing improv brough the idea to the United States. It then gets tricky to trace the exact origins of improv in the U.S. Soem scholars say that it was Dudley Riggs that popularized audience suggestions. Others credit Viola Spolin. They cite the fact that her theatre games turned into Improv. What is know is that Riggs founded New York City's The Instant Theatre Company in April 1954. Then, in 1946, Viola Spolin founded Hollywood's Young Actors Company.

Spolin's son, Paul Sills, kept improv going by opening Second City in Chicago in December 1959. It was during the years that Riggs, Spolin, and Sills were active that many of the rules for improv were established. Improv theatres grew in popularity and popped up all over the United States. Sills was even involved in helping found the Compass Players in the Chicago of Illinois. This company tried to take their act to Broadway, but it flopped there. This was because improv works better in a more intimate setting.

From there, more and more improv theatre companies were founded around the United States. These inclue companies like The Groundlings and Loose Moose Theatre. Many people come from the world of improv theatre in order to star on Saturday Night Live or be guests on Whose Line Is it Anyway? Improv thatre continues to be popular all over the world. Small improv companies are constantly founded and the genre is enjoyed by many.

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Theatre History Overview - Part 98 - Alternative Theatre

The general meaning of alternative theatre is any theatrical practice that is in opposition to mainstream theatrical practices. However, Alternative Theatre was also a movement in the United Kingdom that stated in the late 1960s. One of the main reasons for this was the end of theatre censorship in 1968.

Since theatres no longer had to be concerned about Lord Chamberlain censoring them, companies felt free to express anything they wanted. Theatrical content was created based on the stimulation from a wave of politial protest around the world.

A couple of the major issues addressed were feminist issues and gay issues. Copanies such as the Women's Theatre Group (which is now called the Sphinx) and Red Ladder addressed the political agenda of the feminist movement. In 1975, the company Gay Sweatshop started creating theatrical productions that specifically dealt with gay issues, rather than only having gay characters.

Many of these companies followed the example of the Traverse Theatre in London and mounted their shows in unconventional venues such as warehouses, cellars, and the back rooms of pubs. This type of theatre was known as fringe theatre.

The Alternative Theatre movement slowed down in the 1980s. This was because of subsidies to theatrical companies in the United Kingdom were cut. However, some managed to suvive and some even managed to sucessfully move into film or television.

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Theatre History Overview - Part 97 - The Chorus: From Greek Drama to the Modern Musical

When people today hear the word chorus, they tend to think of a group that sings on stage during a play or the refrain of a song. Both of these things are correct. However, the chorus that exists on stage wouldn't exist if it weren't for choruses in Greek plays. Around 508 B.C Athenian democracy was created. The inhabitants of Attica divied into ten tribes.

These ten tribes entered two different choruses made up of 50 people each (one of men and one of boys) into a yearly dithyrambic competition. By the 5th century A.D., the members of choruses were amateurs. There were even many types of choruses performed by women, but only men performed in choruses for tragedies, comedies, satyr plays, and dithyrambs. It is thought that the size of the chorus was originally 50 people, then that Aeschylus reduce the size to ten people, and then Sophocles raised it to 15 people.

In the only extant play by Aeschylus, the chorus had at least half the lines. Hippolytus by Euripides doesn't have as many words for the chorus, but it has two choruses. These facts seem to suggest that the chorus was a major part of spectacle for Greek theatre.

The chorus in Greek theatre had many functions:

1. Added energy by using dance,songs, and visual spectacle.
2. Set the overall mood of the play and the the scene in the play.
3. Gave rhyhtmic function to a play. The chanting, singing, or dialogue gave the audience time to reflect on what happeened in a play.
4. Sometimes the chorus served as a character. It might give advice, express opinions, ask questions, or even take part in the action.
5. It might estabilish social and/or ethical framework.
6. It might serve as an ideal spectator. The playwright could write lines and movements for the chorus in the way he wanted the audience to respond.

The grouping and placement of the chorus in the text of Greek plays suggests that the chorus was extremely active. However, at times the chorus varied. It may have come on all at once, split into groups, or even one person at a time. Providing the information and giving an overall tone is known as exposition. These are still jobs of the chorus today. The chorus never truly left the theatre. There have just been different ways it is presented.

Basically, the chorus is used in the same ways the Greeks used the chorus. The fact that the chorus provides exposition is spoofed in Urinetown: the Musical with the obvious title of the musical number, "Too Much Exposition." The Greek chorus is spoofed in Legally Blonde: the Musical during the song "Positive" when it is said that every tragedy needs a Greek chorus. Both of these songs give exposition for the musicals. Both videos can be seen below.



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Theatre History Overview - Part 96 - Vaudeville

Vaudeville is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment that included sketches and short plays. It is known for being family friendly. The movement grew out of the same movement as burlesque and the music hall (where performance were held for an all-male audience and a saloon was attached to the theatre). The people who ran theatres realized that after the Civil War, the middle class in the United States was growing. These people were both able and willing to spend money on entertainment.

The first instance of the word vaudeville in the United States occured in 1871 in Louisville, Kentucky. It appeared in the title of a theatrical entertainment called Sargent's Vaudeville Company. It was thought that the term vaudeville was chosen because it sounded exotic, mysterious, and alluring.

In the 1880s, Tony Pator took advantage of the polite sounding word and made the genre family friendly. The reason for this was to attracte middle class women and children to the theatre. Along with offering the occassional ham or the occassional supply of coal, this worked.

In 1885, Benjamin Franklin Keith opened the Bijou Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts. He had a "fixed policy of cleanlliness and order." This resulted in never having anything vulgar on stage. It appealed to middle class men and women with children as well as the Catholic church. In fact, the Catholic church was so impressed that it funded Keith's business ventures.

Stable minor theatres of the time often concentrated on one genre. Certain theatres would concentrate on only holding vaudeville performances. The four other genres that theatres performed were melodrama, comedy, spectacle drama, and operetta.

Vaudeville actors often spent their entire carerr developing their acts. The leading actors would be the ones that would perform in the short plays Vaudeville waned in the 1920s due to the emergence of radio, Broadway revues, Broadway comedies, and movies.

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Theatre History Overview - Part 95 - Mannerist Theatre

Mannerism came about because of the Counsel of Trent which took place from 1545 to 1563. The council saught to reassert the authority of the Roman Catholic Church and ensure orthodoxy. As a result, there was a sense of anxiety in Italy.

In the visual arts, mannerism was reflected by a static, artificial, and self-concious visual style. In theatre, mannerism gave a break from this sense of anxiety. It blended reality and unreality. The stage characters were no longer part of a larger world. The only world that existed for them was the one that was on stage.

Theatrical artists used mannerism to seek change and make scientific observations about the world. Colloquial and metered speech combined to create plays. Characters may address the audience directly from the stage.

The first work to truly discuss mannerism in the theatre was The Early Commedia dell'Arte (1550-1621): The Mannerist Context by Paul Catagno. It focused on the effect of mannerism on what was then the contemporary professional theatre. Mannerism led to neoclassical theatre and Commedia dell'arte.

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Theatre History Overview - Part 94 - Workers' Theatre Movement

The Workers' Theatre Movement (WTM) is part of Political Theatre. WTM was an international project that took place mainly in Germany, the former USSR, the United States, and Britain. The movement took place during the 1920s and the 1930s.

The term "workers' theatre" is one that is used to define any type of theatre that is from the working class or about the working class people. When it comes to the WTM in Britain, some say that Tom Thomas was the founder of the movement. Others say that Christina Walshe started it in 1926 during the miners' lockout. Then, Tom Thomas gave it new life in 1928.

The WTM in Britain never really got past showing the contrasting differences between workers in the capitalist system. However, it ignored the tradition of British worker's folk songs. Even though the movement in Brtian was low on creativity, a magazine called Red Stage was produced from 1931 to 1935. In 1936, the British WTM dissolved.

In the United States, even though some of the WTM had began during the great depression, it was one of the major reponses to it. The plays did not have to be written by workers themselves. They could be written by those sympathetic towards their situation, too. A major feature was that the plays never had pesimistic images of the furture. ONe of the techniques used was mass recitation. This was when the actors would be on stage and they would chant couplets that were either rhymed or unrhymed.

During the WTM in the United States, three phases occurred.

1. Amateure workers' theatre
   • Began in 1920s with immigrant drama clubs.
   • Defense of the underpriviledged within ethnic neighborhoods.
   • Written and produced by workers
2. Left-wing Professional Commerical Theatre
   • Attracted working class audiences
   • Full-length social problem dramas were performed in stationary places
3. Federal Theatre Project
   • Began in 1935.
   • Absorbed amateur theatre groups
   • Represented a “new frontier in America, a frontier against disease, dirt, poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, and despair, and at the same time against selfishness, special privilege, and social apathy.”

The WTM in the United States ended around the same time that it ended in Britain.

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Theatre History Overview - Part 93 - Political Theatre

Political theatre is theatre that addresses current events and current concerns of society. It is seen as a force that can bring about change and it goes back to the beginning of theatre itself. Theatrical performances were held in the same amphitheatres and arenas that were used for political and religious gatherings. The Greek dramas tended to enhance the relevance of political issues.

It is said that many of Shakespeares plays are political in nature. It is thought that he used code for many of the political figures. There are even generalizations in such plays as Macbeth and Coriolanus

Later, political theatre came to be associated with cabaret. It is a theatre that is for and by the people. Russian agitprop theatre is a specific form of political theatre.

In the 20th century, a new form of political theatre emerged. This tended to be feminist theatre written by female playwrights. In the 1950s and 1060s, theatre sought to include females, not only as playwrights and actors, but as electricians, stage managers, set designers, and more.

Political theatre still happens today. In June 2017, a production of Julius Caesar was staged in which the characters were dressed in modern clothing. Caesar was dressed like President Donald Trump. There were cast members hidden in the audience. Nobody knew they were cast members until they got up and started to form a mob. On one of the nights of the performace, other audience members joined because of the passion they felt.

This political theatre worked immediately. At other times, theatrical presentations are given that make people think. Then, they go out and do important work , canvas, write letter, or take other actions that will bring about change. Other times, people don't agree. The important part is that the political theatre got the message to those people.

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Theatre History Overview - Part 92 - Minimalist Theatre

Minimalism is nothing new to the theatre. After all, Greek theatre probably did not have much more than actors and a stage. However, as theatre evolved, more costumes and scenery evolved for different reasons in different movements.
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Minimalism isn't found much in theatre. Instead, it tends to have a definition related to the purely visual arts. It started in the 1960s and focused on the simplest design forms.

Minimalist theatre can be a lot like Poor Theatre. It is not certain when it happened, but miimalist theatre moved into churches, youth groups, an other places with small or no budgets. This was fairly prevelent in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Minimalist theatre took on more than a bare stage, though. If a set designer was available, there may have been some type of painting or small set made with the available supplies. People who acted were encouraged to use their imaginations. If a cup was needed and not available, a look in the nursery may have resulted in somebody finding a slinky. The actor then might pretend that the slinky was a cup.

This type of minimalist theatre focuses on using what is availavle. It ask actors an audiences to stretch their imaginations. It is still widely used for ministry in religious groups.

Minimalism still exists in theatre around the world. A director may decide to use minimalist theatre like religious groups use it. However, that may not be the case. A set may be minimal in order to provide ease for set changes or to eliminate them. Costumes may be minimal to keep actors comfortable. It all depends on the vision of the director or the vision of the ensemble if it is a Devised Theatre piece.

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