Sevilla 1

Clariza Mae N. Sevilla

Ms. Bea Y. Martinez

LIT 2106

19 October 2019

Examining Theatre as a Subculture

Introduction

Theatre is an art form that originated in the 6th century BC in the form of Greek theatre. Greek

theatre slowly evolved over the years and was adapted by the Romans, the Christians, the

Japanese, the Italians, the French, etc. until it gained widespread population in Europe by the 16th

to 18th century (History World). Despite the numerous changes made to theatre, and the multiple

adaptations that branches its history off into different parts of the world, theatre has, in essence,

always remained the same: performing in front of a live crowd. Theatre is not the entire entity in

itself because the word encompasses many elements that may be considered “theatre”. Some of

these elements are: musical theatre, straight plays, technical crew, artistic crew, and the

production team.

Musical theatre is perhaps one of the most famous aspects of theatre due to its ability to

tell a story with dialogues being sung by the actors on stage. A musical integrates multiple

artistic elements into its performance and weaves them together with a narrative plot that

creatively unfolds through the use of dance, song, pyrotechnics, and/or well-choreographed

stunts that captivate the audience. Examples of famous musicals include The Phantom of the

Opera, Les Misérables, Miss Saigon, and Hamilton.

Straight plays involve the use of unsung dialogue over the entire duration of the

performance. A straight play can involve some background music, but does not usually have a
 Sevilla 2

budget as big as that of a musical. Plays are easier to sort into genres such as tragedies,

comedies, and dramas. Compared to the lightheartedness easily expressed by musicals, plays

find it easier to tap into dark societal problems. An example of famous straight play includes the

classic written by William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet.

The crew is an entirely different branch of theatre that deals with the way things are

handled backstage. The show would not run without these people manning the jobs backstage.

The crew includes the technical crew, who is in charge of the sounds, lights, and pyrotechnics (if

it is a part of the show); the artistic crew, who is in charge of the way things look like stage

design, character costumes, and the like; and the main production crew, which involves the

director, stage managers, and producers.

A “subculture” refers to a culture within a larger and more dominant culture [Ryan 85].

It’s like a culture found within another culture. Gelder expresses that every social group can be

considered subcultural one way or another because they carry a set of narratives about itself [2].

Narratives Much like any other profession, people who are part of the theatre scene think, act,

and dress in a different way compared to most people in other professions. This study aims to

examine whether theatre can be considered a subculture by examining the qualities of theatre

through the use of Ken Gelder’s six prevailing cultural logics about subcultures [3].

Negative Relations to Work

The first of Gelder’s cultural logic on understanding or identifying a subculture is

through their often negative relation to work (as ‘idle’, ‘parasitical’, hedonistic, criminal, etc.)

[2]. This characteristic does not mean that thespians1 are lazy or have dangerous qualities. It

simple means that they do not follow a regular 9-to-5 work day [Streubel 9]. More often than

not, theatre is just a passion they pursue whilst maintaining a 9-to-5 job because amateur theatre

1A term used to describe a person working in theatre.

 Sevilla 3

does not pay very well. Most thespians do not consider theatre their main job and instead ask for

rehearsals to be scheduled at the end of what is largely considered a normal working day.

Therefore, some rehearsals are scheduled in the evenings when most people have already

dismissed from their primary line of work. In the case however of thespians who’ve made theatre

their entire career, rehearsals can be scheduled during any time of the day. It is difficult to pin

down an exact time because unlike corporate companies who follow a 9-to-5 working day,

theatre company schedules will depend on the availability of all members of the production. This

difficulty confirms that theatre is unconventional when it comes to being compared to a regular

9-to-5 workday.

Negative or Ambivalent Relation to Class

Gelder states that “subcultures are seen as having deviated from their class background

altogether, disavowing class affiliations or even ‘transcending class as a result of the particular

cultural adjustments they’ve made” (3). A thespian is not defined by their economic background.

It does not matter what social class they are in because a thespian is defined by their talents and

abilities as an individual. A production is not limited to only a specific brand of theatre. The

productions that they put up will depend on the overall company’s budget and funding but

otherwise, even high schoolers are free to perform Romeo and Juliet, despite its reputation as one

of the classic plays. The choice of what production a company or group should perform mostly

relies on audience impact, budget, and audience maturity.

Association with Territory Rather than Property

Thespians do not legally own the stage; therefore, it cannot be considered their property.

However, they do territorialize the stage whenever they come across one. Claiming the stage as

their own is one form of expression and unity that allows them to feel a sense of belonging.
 Sevilla 4

Some Broadway2 thespians from one production territorialize the stage or theater they’re

performing in until eventually that theater is associated with that specific production. For

example, the Phantom of the Opera has been performed in Broadway in the Majestic Theatre

since it opened on January 26, 1988 (Playbill). Since then, the Majestic Theatre has been

associated with the Phantom of the Opera, resulting in a territorialization of the theater by

thespians performing in the Phantom of the Opera. However theatre groups are not hostile

towards other theatre groups performing in other theaters. This is evidenced by the cast of Les

Misérables from the Imperial Theatre welcoming their new next-door neighbors, the cast of

Hamilton from the Richard Rogers Theatre, by jokingly submitting their rap auditions via their

Youtube channel, Les Misérables US.

Movement Away from Home into Non-Domestic Forms of Belonging

Thespians feel a sense of belonging when entering a room they’ve spent a lot of their

time in like the green room3, a costume shop, the main rehearsal room, or even a studio. Most

thespians find friends outside of their familial circles, and

they usually meet more who are note related to their

original domestic circles as time passes by. These non-

domestic forms of belonging can also apply to an object

that represents the theatre, as evidenced by Figure 1.

Ties to Excess and Exaggeration Fig. 1. Hairspray Nostalgia; Pinterest,

https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/4516266
Thespians are often stereotyped for being overly
68856548707/?nic=1
dramatic individuals and that is not too far from the truth.

Although it may not apply to everyone in the theatre industry, thespians are known to be

confident in their actions, outgoing, encouraging, and competitive [Litster, 14]. Thespians

2Theatrical performances presented in 41 professional theatres in New York City.

3A room where performers can lounge in before, during, and after a show.
 Sevilla 5

usually get along well with each other because of their

shared experiences. Memes are often a great example in

portraying the realistic and overdramatic tendencies of

thespians. There are actually established memes in the

theatre community. The Thespian Peacock (fig. 2) is one of

Fig. 2. The Thespian Peacock;
them. This meme is
Pinterest,
usually used to portray
https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/4516266

thespians in their day-to-day activities. It is believed that the

68856548707/?nic=1

animal used is a peacock because of the way these animals

flaunt their feathers whenever they’re looking to attract a mate.

Fig. 2.1. Noisy Thespians; Pinterest, Thespians have this

https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/3414995
sense of confidence
84228375854/?nic=1
where they naturally

flaunt their talents with no fear of being called out.

Figure 2.1 and 2.2 further support the thespians’

tendency to be
Fig. 2.2. Miracle; Tumblr,
louder and noisier
https://mimikobaker.tumblr.com/post/
compared to the
18375851571/amp
average group of people. Another theatre meme is called the

Backstage Badger (fig. 3). This meme is used to portray the

experiences of thespians working backstage, as opposed to

Fig. 3. The Backstage Badger; Pinterest, the Thespian Peacock, which is used to portray the
https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/158118636
experience of thespians as a whole.
887112922/?nic=1
 Sevilla 6

Fig. 4. Hardcore Monkey; Pinterest, Fig. 5. Pretentious Poodle; Pinterest, Fig. 6. The Thespian Peacock; Tumblr,

https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/7885522 https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/466474 https://awkwardtheatrekid.wordpress.co

15984847496/?nic=1 473873994333/?nic=1 m/tag/thespian-peacock/

There are more theatre memes with actual templates created to portray the life of thespians, with

varying stages of intensity (fig. 4, fig. 5, fig.6). This proves that thespians have their own sense of

humor—their own language—that is better understood between members of the same

community.

Refusal of the Banalities of Ordinary Life and in Particular, of Massification

Massification is the act of enforcing uniformity in a society (Lexico). According to

Gelder, a subculture opposes the conformist pressures of mass society and massification. It

refuses single-minded thinking, and to prevent being cast out by society, creates itself

(subculture) to find like-minded people who also don’t conform to society’s standards. Theatre

people think and act very differently from people who aren’t in theatre. They see the world as if

it were a performance of sorts, where everyone has their own role. Thespians are not afraid to

show people what they’ve got and shine beautifully under praise. They learn to handle rejection;

take chances; wear their hearts on their sleeves; multitask by familiarizing oneself with a

monologue while doing household chores; work under the pressure-filled demands of the

director, producers, and fellow cast members, whilst participating in the demands of everyday
 Sevilla 7

life: their jobs, if theatre isn’t a full-time commitment for them; or school. Students who are

already pursuing their passion for theatre must cope up with the demands of late-night rehearsals,

early-morning classes, and different kinds of homework from each side but since being onstage

is what they love, they plan on pursuing the goal of being a professional until it becomes a

reality.

Conclusion

According to the cultural logics applied based on Gelder’s theory, it is concluded that

theatre can indeed be considered a subculture. It was understood in all six ways subcultures are

generally analyzed: through their unpredictable rehearsal and performance schedules, their

individual value being recognized through their talent instead of their economic status, their

claiming of the theatre as their territory, feeling a sense of belongingness or nostalgia over

mundane things like hairspray, their tendency to be overly-dramatic over simple situations, and

the way they band together to avoid being ostracized by society.

Theatre as a subculture is an integral part of society because it is an enriching community

that helps individuals express themselves in way that is often seen as therapeutic because actors

get the chance to find, release, and control emotions through their character’s journey both

onstage and offstage. Thespians experience the harshness of society in the safety of the theater

through productions that tackle controversial subjects such as AIDS and racism (Dagley and

Powers). They learn the value of morality in a way simple discussion in a classroom can’t

because they don’t just read about it; they have to live it. One common saying in theatre—though

it may be worded differently—is “stop pretending; be the character”. With all the good things

that can come from theatre, it is one of the most giving subcultures as opposed to gangs,
 Sevilla 8

prostitutes, and other subcultures that promote vices instead of virtues. Theatre has to be

appreciated because the values it teaches are worth living.

 Sevilla 9

Works Cited

Gelder, Ken. Subcultures: Suncultural Histories and Social Practice. Oxon: Routledge, 2006.

Dagley, Kelly and Kathryn Q. Powers. Culture and Youth. 2019. 18 October 2019.

History World. n.d. 17 October 2019.

The Cast of Les Misérables Auditions for Hamilton the Musical. Perf. The Cast of Les

Misérables. 2015. Youtube.

Playbill. n.d. 18 October 2018.

Lexico. n.d. 18 October 2018.