Wikipedia: Theater

Showing revision 25

The earliest days of theater remain obscure. Dramatic and theatrical productions may have come from the revelry of the Bacchus, an ancient Greek festival in honor of the god Dionysos. In any case, the modern theater was born in ancient Greece. Important figures in ancient Greek theater include:

...and Aristotle, primarily for his timeless theories on the dramatic arts. Please note that his theories, especially the Three Unities (I don't know if this is the correct term) have been disputed. Some scholars believe they are meant to be descriptive, not prescriptive.

The above-mentioned playwrights made some of the most renowned dramas. But their staging had little or nothing to do with twentieth-century theater. Their dramas were always part of a series of three performances, where the middle part only was the drama, while the events always ended with dance. The dramas rarely had more than three actors (all male), who played the different roles using masks. There was a chorus on the stage all the time which sang songs and sometimes spoke in unison. As far as we know, each drama was played just a single time, at the traditional drama contest.

The importance of ancient Greek theater came largely in retrospect, as major playwrights like Johann Wolfgang von Goethe tried to recreate classical theater (They did not). Another attempt to revive classical theater argued that Greek actors didn't speak, but sang. From this school came the opera.

In the Middle Ages in Europe, the theater was reduced to didactic, metaphorical illustrations featuring the "Everyman" or religious cycles.

The Renaissance brought the genius of William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe, and the Baroque theater produced Moliere?.

20th Century American Theater:

: [Eugene O'Neill]?
: Arthur Miller
: David Mamet
: [Tony Kushner]?
: [Edward Albee]?
: [Neil Simon]?

20th Century British Theater:

: George Bernard Shaw
: Tom Stoppard
: [Harold Pinter]?
: [John Osborne]?
: [John Galsworthy]?
: Samuel Beckett

20th Century German Language Theater Authors:

: [Heiner Mueller]?
: Bertolt Brecht
: [Thomas Bernhardt]?
: [Elfriede Jelinek]?
: [Friederich Durrenmatt]?
: [Wolfgang Hildesheimer]?

20th Century German Language Theater Directors:

: [Fritz Kortner]?
: [Peter Stein]?
: [Peter Zadek]?
: [Frank Castorf]?
: [August Everding]?
: [Max Reinhardt]?

This gives a brief outline of some of the better-known playwrights; but theater does not operate on playwrights alone. Plays are often produced by a Production team: various technical, support, and design staff. Among these are the [[Scenic designer]], the [Lighting designer]?, the [Costume designer]?, the Director, the [[|dramaturgDramaturge]] and the [Stage Manager]?. This is not an all inclusive list, and may include other personnel from the world of Technical Theatre.