The collaboration of musical theatre combines the drama aspect and plots of stage plays while adding musical components. The plot and a variety of emotions including love, passion, anger, sadness, and humor, are all presented through words and music. Musical theatre has changed tremendously over time, from operas to orchestras to full fledged plays. However, from the beginning until now the art form has carried a great influence in the world of performance. This essay will explore the history of musical theatre from birth until now.
suitable for a new use or purpose (Dictionary). Theater is continuously adapting to the present
The theatre has been a part of entertainment since ancient Greece, around 4th century BC or thereabouts. The theatre grew out of festivals in honor of the god Dionysus. Aeschylus created the first play in her honor. The first Greek plays were all tragedies but eventually comedy made its way and these plays were performed at festivals all over Greece. Through the centuries theater played the main role of entertainment from noble and royalty to the common person in any city or village, and as we move into the twenties
Compare and contrast the American musical theatre in the 1920s with that of the 1930s. How did each reflect and absorb its era? What forms & styles were dominant, what was the same, what was different and why? Do we see elements from these decades in shows today? Use examples from specific musicals.
Dora’s impact on the theatre in her time period was tremendous. She believed that Theatre was a necessary part of society’s social structure. Before Dora introduced Canadian theatre through the Village Players and the New Play Society, the stage in Canada had been dominated by foreign interests. Dora noticed that audiences seemed content experiencing theatre through touring companies from elsewhere and wanted to show Canadians the talent that existed in Canada. During this time period, the war was raising questions about the national identity of Canada. To develop Canadian theatre, Dora took inspiration from Europe and the Little Theatre Movement in the United States but used these ideas to create a separate identity for the theatre in Canada.
The Globe Theater was a theater that was built and owned by Shakespeare and the group he belonged to called the Lord Chamberlain's Men. Although it is not known exactly when the theater was built, the first record of it shows that it was built before the end of 1599. The Globe Theater was built using lumber from a theater that was not very far away. Even though the Globe Theater was built with wood from a dismantled theater, it was not the same as the previous theater. In fact the globe theater was much larger than the previous one. The theater was a great success for many years; nevertheless, it was burned down in summer of 1613 during a play of Henry VIII. During the performance something happened to a theatrical cannon to cause it to misfire
The Globe Theater was an octagon shape and had three different stories to it. Levels one and two were for dressing and storage. Level three was upper stage and balcony, resembling the courtyard, or a bridge of a ship. The Globe Theater was built with oak wood and timber, the walls were made with plaster. The stage had a canopy over it that represented “the heavens”, moon, stars, planets, sun, etc. There were two pillars supporting the canopy. The stage did not have a curtain either. There were trap doors, entrances and exits, underneath the stage were represented as “hell”. This theater was located in an area called Bankside.
The history of The Globe Theatre comes from a building known as The Theatre. The Theatre, had been built by James Burbage, in Shoreditch (District in the East End of London) in 1576. The Burbage's had a 20-year lease of the land where the theater had been built. When the lease was up, the landlord intended on knocking the theater down. However, with the lease ending, James Burbage built the theatre in Blackfriars as a replacement. Unfortunately the wealthy people of Blackfriars persuaded the government to forbid its use for plays. James Burbage died in 1597. The members of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men had to rent a theater. In 1598, they decided to build a theater of their own. The Burbage’s sons got their fathers inheritance, Cuthbert and Richard, which were connected the Blackfriars, they formed an agreement with Shakespeare and a few other actors, who became partners for the new Globe. Each member had their own share, the two brothers, Cuthbert and Richard, got a bigger share than the others. Each person’s shares became smaller as
The St. George Theatre was built with a 2,800 seat venue and in December 4th, 1929, their doors had opened for the first time. The historic site main architect was Eugene DeRosa but was assisted by the “dean of Staten
From the Ancient Greeks, to the Romans, and all the way to present day New York City, theatre is a tradition that has been passed down for thousands of years. The art of expression through live performance is something that will never go out of style. The history of Broadway is a rollercoaster with flourishing highs and devastating lows, but they both have significantly contributed to shaping the industry into the prosperous business that it is today.
Throughout Canada, there are many theatre companies who incorporate not only Canadian playwrights into their productions, as well as other playwrights throughout the world. The Great Canadian Theatre Company in Ottawa, is one of few that envisioned and produces only Canadian plays. The founders of the company are professors and graduate students from Carleton University. During 1975 when the company first opened it was completely volunteer-run. Unlike other Canadian theatre companies, the main focus for their company was based around Cultural Nationalism. This nationalism continues to transform rapidly, as the years pass on and the company develops. The Great Canadian Theatre Company only accepts Canadian
The famous Globe Theater had history behind being built, an amazing structure, and tons of expenses.
There were many physical changes that took place with the theatres and the productions. Depression hit New York pretty hard, 1.6 million out of 7 million people were in some sort of welfare programs, as well as one third of the city’s factories were forced to be shutdown. Theatres were either closed down or were tuned into movie houses. Production output slowed down, before the depression there were 264 productions between 1927-28 and then during the depression, (1930-31) there was only 187 productions, because it was difficult to fundraise money. It was also very difficult to get a job in a theatrical field during the recession, there were about five thousand people that were jobless.
When I first walked into the Granada Theatre I was amazed by the intricate detail put into the design of the venue. At first glance, it seemed to be an extremely high class venue, and it made sense why Professor Roy asked us to dress nicely. In all honesty I felt totally out of my element. I showed up a couple minutes late so they had me stand until the first piece was over to take my seat. The seriousness added to the layer of prestige that I had begun to attribute to the event. When I finally took my seat, I was astounded by the setup too. The piano was center stage. I was expecting an orchestra before I had arrived, but was not too disappointed to see just Yuja Wang. I could see her, but I could also see people sitting in the balcony. The
There were other amenities that were lacking for the theaters. Almost all the lighting for the theater was natural light. This meant that most plays would have to be show during the daytime. The theaters did not have heating either. In the winter months they would have to shut the theater down and be transferred to indoor playhouses. This actually helped boost popularity because it gave the people something to do during the cold winter months since it was inside. There were no microphones or soundboards to be able to hear so actors had to speak loudly and clearly. Unfortunately, there were also no toilets at the theater. “But there were no toilets and the floor they stood on was probably just sand, ash or covered in nutshells” (Shakespeare Globe Education). During the summer hours when it would become real hot the pit would be called the “stinkards.”