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Edwin Wilson
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Theatre
The Lively Art Tenth Edition
Edwin Wilson | Alvin Goldfarb

Theatre: The Lively Art
T E N T H E D I T I O N
EDWIN WILSON
Professor Emeritus
Graduate School and University Center
The City University of New York
ALVIN GOLDFARB
President and Professor Emeritus
Western Illinois University
THEATRE: THE LIVELY ART, TENTH EDITION
Published by McGraw-Hill Education, 2 Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121. Copyright © 2019 by
Edwin Wilson and Alvin Goldfarb. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
Previous editions © 2016, 2012, and 2010. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior
written consent of McGraw-Hill Education, including, but not limited to, in any network or other
electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning.
Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers
outside the United States.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 LWI 21 20 19 18
ISBN 978-1-259-91686-1
MHID 1-259-91686-3
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Product Developer: Beth Tripmacher
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Cover Image: ©Sara Krulwich/The New York Times/Redux
Broadway’s Come From Away. Scenic Design by Beowulf Boritt, Costume Design by Toni-Leslie
James, Lighting Design by Howell Binkley, Musical Staging by Kelly Devine, D
irected by Christopher
Ashley. Cover Photo features (L to R) Lee MacDougall, Rodney Hicks, Chad Kimball, Jenn Colella,
Ian Eisendrath, Romano Di Nillo, Caesar Samayoa, Kendra Kassebaum, Nate Lueck, Joel Hatch.
Compositor: Aptara®, Inc.
To Elaine Goldfarb and to the memory of Catherine Wilson
All credits appearing on page or at the end of the book are considered to be an extension of the
copyright page.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Wilson, Edwin, 1927- author. | Goldfarb, Alvin, author.
Title: Theatre: the lively art/Edwin Wilson, Alvin Goldfarb.
Other titles: Theater
Description: Tenth edition. | New York, NY : McGraw-Hill Education, 2019. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017040502| ISBN 9781259916861 (acid-free paper) | ISBN
1259916863 (acid-free paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Theater. | Theater—History.
Classification: LCC PN2037 .W57 2018 | DDC 792—dc23 LC record available at
https://lccn.loc.gov/2017040502
The Internet addresses listed in the text were accurate at the time of publication. The inclusion of a
website does not indicate an endorsement by the authors or McGraw-Hill Education, and McGraw-Hill
Education does not guarantee the accuracy of the information presented at these sites.
mheducation.com/highered
About the Authors
Edwin Wilson attended Vanderbilt University, the University of Edinburgh, and

Yale University, where he received an MFA and the first Doctor of Fine Arts
degree awarded by Yale. He has taught theatre at Vanderbilt, Yale, and, for over
30 years, at Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University.
Wilson has produced plays on and off Broadway and served one season as the
resident director of the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia. He was the Assis-
tant to the Producer on the Broadway play Big Fish, Little Fish directed by John
Gielgud, starring Jason Robards, and of the film Lord of the Flies directed by
Peter Brook. On Broadway, he co-produced Agatha Sue, I Love You directed
by George Abbott. He also produced a feature film, The Nashville Sound. He
was the moderator of Spotlight, a television interview series on CUNY-TV and
PBS, 1989-93, ninety-one half-hour interviews with outstanding actors, actresses,
playwrights, directors and producers, broadcast on 200 PBS stations in the
United States.
For twenty-two years he was the theatre critic of the Wall Street Journal. A
long-time member of the New York Drama Critics Circle, he was president of the
Circle for several years. He is on the board of the John Golden Fund and served
a term as President of the Theatre Development Fund (TDF), whose Board he was
on for twenty-three years. He has served a number of times on the Tony Nominating
Committee and the Pulitzer Prize Drama Jury. He is the also the author or co-
author of two other widely used college theatre textbooks in the U.S. The 13th
edition of his pioneer book, The Theater Experience, was published by McGraw-
Hill. The 7th edition of the theatre history textbook, Living Theatre (co-authored
with Alvin Goldfarb), published previously by McGraw Hill, has been published by
W. W. Norton. He is also the editor of Shaw on Shakespeare, recently re-issued
by Applause Books and a murder mystery, The Patron Murders, published by
Prospecta Press.
Alvin Goldfarb is President Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Western Illinois

University. Dr. Goldfarb has also served as Provost, Dean of Fine Arts, and Chair
of the Department of Theatre at Illinois State University. He holds a Ph.D. in
theatre history from the City University of New York and a master’s degree from
Hunter College.
He is also the co-author of Living Theatre as well as co-editor of The
Anthology of Living Theatre with Edwin Wilson. Dr. Goldfarb is also the co-
editor, with Rebecca Rovit, of Theatrical Performance during the Holocaust:
Texts, Documents, Memoirs, which was a finalist for the National Jewish Book
Award. He has published numerous articles and reviews in scholarly journals and
anthologies.
iii

Dr. Goldfarb has served as a member of the Illinois Arts Council and president
of the Illinois Alliance for Arts Education. He has received service awards from
the latter organization as well as from the American College Theatre Festival.
Dr. Goldfarb also received an Alumni Achievement Award from the CUNY
Graduate Center’s Alumni Association, and another Alumni Award from Hunter
College, CUNY.
Dr. Goldfarb currently serves as a member and treasurer of Chicago’s Joseph
Jefferson Theatre Awards Committee, which recognizes excellence in the Chicago
theatre, as well as a board member of the Arts Alliance of Illinois.
iv About the Authors

Contents
PART 1
Theatre in Today’s World 2
Chapter 1 Theatre Is Everywhere 5
Theatre Today 5
The Unique Quality of Theatre 6
The Range and Accessibility of Theatre 9
Global and Multicultural Theatre 10
Theatre, Television, and Film 12
Theatre and Television 13
Theatre and Film 14
Theatre Is Everywhere 15
Theatre and Rock Music 16
Theatricality in Amusement Parks, Museums, Las Vegas, and (©Natacha Pisarenko/AP Images)
Sporting Events 18
Theatre and Digital Media 20
Theatre and the Human Condition 21
Summary 22
Chapter 2 The Audience 25

What Is Art? 25
Characteristics of Art 26
Characteristics of the Performing Arts 26
The Art of Theatre 28
The Elements of Theatre 29
Theatre as a Collaborative Art 31
The Role of the Audience 32
How the Audience Participates 34 (©AP Photo/Andy King)
Makeup of Audiences: Past and Present 36
Where and How We See Theatre 37
Audience Responsibility 38
IN FOCUS: THE RISE OF AUDIENCE ETIQUETTE
IN THE THEATRE 39
v

The Audience and the Critic, Reviewer, and Blogger 40
The Critic, Reviewer, and Blogger 40
Social Media and the Audience as Critic, Reviewer, and Blogger 40
Preparation for Criticism 41
Fact and Opinion in Criticism 41
Critical Criteria 43
The Dramaturg or Literary Manager 44
The Audience’s Relationship to Criticism 44
Summary 45
PART 2
Creating Theatre: The Playwright 46
Chapter 3 Creating the Dramatic Script 49
The Playwright Creates the Script 49
The Playwriting Process 50
Subject 50
Focus 50
Dramatic Purpose 52
IN FOCUS: QUESTIONING THE PLAYWRIGHT’S ROLE 53
Structure in Drama 53
IN FOCUS: WRITING FOR THEATRE, FILM, AND
TELEVISION 54
(©Geraint Lewis/Alamy Stock
Essentials of Dramatic Structure 55
Photo) IN FOCUS: THE GLOBAL INFLUENCES ON THE
PLAYWRIGHTS BRECHT AND WILDER 58
Sequence in Dramatic Structure 59
Two Basic Forms of Structure: Climactic and Episodic 60
Other Forms of Dramatic Structure 65
Creating Dramatic Characters 67
Types of Dramatic Characters 68
Juxtaposition of Characters 73
Summary 74
Chapter 4 Theatrical Genres 77

Types of Drama 77
Tragedy 78
Traditional Tragedy 79
Modern Tragedy 80
Heroic Drama 81
PHOTO ESSAY: Modern Domestic Drama 82
Bourgeois or Domestic Drama 84
Melodrama 86
Comedy 87
vi Contents
Characteristics of Comedy 87
Techniques of Comedy 88
Forms of Comedy 90
PHOTO ESSAY: Forms of Comedy 92
Tragicomedy 94
What Is Tragicomedy? 94
Modern Tragicomedy 95
Theatre of the Absurd 96
Absurdist Plots: Illogicality 98
Absurdist Language: Nonsense and Non Sequitur 99
Absurdist Characters: Existential Beings 99
(©T. Charles Erickson)
IN FOCUS: MANY ADDITIONAL FORMS AND THE
DEBATE OVER CATEGORIZATION 100
Summary 101
PART 3
Creating Theatre: The Production 104
Chapter 5 Acting for the Stage 107
Acting in Everyday Life 107
Social Roles 108
Personal Roles 108
Acting in Life versus Acting on Stage 108
Three Challenges of Acting 109
Making Characters Believable 110
IN FOCUS: DEMANDS OF CLASSICAL ACTING 112
PHOTO ESSAY: The Actor’s Range 116
Physical Acting: Voice and Body 118
(©Sara Krulwich/The New York
IN FOCUS: THE PROFESSION OF ACTING AND Times/Redux)
TECHNOLOGY 119
The Actor’s Instrument: Voice and Body 120
IN FOCUS: WARM-UP EXERCISES FOR BODY AND VOICE 121
Training for Special Forms of Theatre 125
Synthesis and Integration 126
IN FOCUS: PUPPETRY AROUND THE WORLD 127
Evaluating Performances 128
Summary 130
Chapter 6 The Director and the Producer 133

The Theatre Director 133
The Traditional Director 134
The Director and the Script 134
IN FOCUS: THE EVOLUTION OF THE DIRECTOR 138
IN FOCUS: PETER BROOK, GLOBAL DIRECTOR 140
Contents vii
The Director’s Collaborator: The Dramaturg 141
The Auteur Director and the Postmodern Director 141
The Auteur Director 141
The Postmodern Director 143
IN FOCUS: MODERN VERSUS POSTMODERN PRODUCTION
AESTHETICS 144
The Director and the Production: The Physical Production 144
The Director’s Work with the Performers 145
Casting 145
Rehearsals 145
IN FOCUS: COLOR BLIND AND
NONTRADITIONAL CASTING 146
The Director as the Audience’s Eye 147
(©Boston Globe/Getty Images) Movement, Pace, and Rhythm 148
Technical Rehearsal 149
Dress Rehearsal 149
Previews 149
The Director’s Collaborator: The Stage Manager 151
The Director’s Power and Responsibility 151
The Producer or Managing Director 153
The Commercial Producer 153
Noncommercial Theatres 154
The Producer and Director’s Collaborator: The Production Manager 155
Completing the Picture: Playwright, Director, and Producer 157
Evaluating Directing 157
Summary 158
Chapter 7 Theatre Spaces 161

Creating the Environment 161
Theatre Spaces 163
Proscenium or Picture-Frame Stage: History and Characteristics 163
Arena Stage: History and Characteristics 168
Thrust Stage: History and Characteristics 170
Created and Found Spaces 174
IN FOCUS: POPULAR PERFORMANCE SPACES 180
All-Purpose Theatre Spaces: The Black Box 180
Special Requirements of Theatre Environments 181
(©T. Charles Erickson) Evaluating the Theatre Space 182
Summary 182
Chapter 8 Scenery 185

The Audience’s View 185
The Scene Designer 186
A Brief History of Stage Design 186
Scenic Design Today 187
viii Contents
The Scene Designer’s Objectives 187
Elements of Scene Design 193
IN FOCUS: THE TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS OF THE
GLOBAL DESIGNER JOSEF SVOBODA 195
IN FOCUS: NEW DESIGN MATERIALS: VIDEO AND
PROJECTION DESIGN 198
The Process of Scene Design 199
The Scene Designer’s Collaborators and the Production Process 201
Designing a Total Environment 204
Evaluating Scene Design 204
(©Geraint Lewis)
Summary 205
Chapter 9 Stage Costumes 207

Costumes for the Stage 207
Objectives of Costume Design 208
The Process of Costume Design 208
PHOTO ESSAY: Stage Costumes Make a Strong Visual
Statement 210
The Costume Designer at Work 214
IN FOCUS: TECHNOLOGY AND COSTUME DESIGN 217
Related Elements of Costume Design 218
Makeup 218
Hairstyles and Wigs 220
Masks 220
PHOTO ESSAY: Masks 222
(©Robbie Jack/Corbis
Millinery, Accessories, and Crafts 224 Entertainment/Getty Images)
Coordination of the Whole 224
Evaluating Costume Design 225
Summary 226
Chapter 10 Lighting and Sound 229

Stage Lighting 229
A Brief History of Stage Lighting 229
Objectives and Functions of Lighting Design 231
PHOTO ESSAY: The Many Uses of Stage Lighting 234
The Lighting Designer 236
IN FOCUS: ROCK CONCERT AND THEATRE LIGHTING 242
Sound in the Theatre 243
Sound Reproduction: Advantages and Disadvantages 243
The Sound Designer 245
Understanding Sound Reproduction and Sound Reinforcement 245
Sound Technology 246 (©blanaru/iStock/Getty Images
Special Effects in Lighting and Sound 248 RF)
Evaluating Lighting and Sound Design 248

Summary 249
Contents ix
PART 4
Global Theatres: Past and Present 252
Chapter 11 Early Theatres: Greek, Roman, and Medieval 255
Origins of Theatre 255
Greece 257
Background: The Golden Age 257
Theatre and Culture: Greek Theatre Emerges 257
IN FOCUS: THEATRE FESTIVALS 259
Greek Tragedy 259
Greek Comedy 264
Dramatic Criticism in Greece: Aristotle 264
EXPERIENCING THEATRE HISTORY: Antigone 265
Theatre Production in Greece 266
Later Greek Theatre 267
Rome 267
Background: Rome and Its Civilization 267
Theatre and Culture in Rome 270
(©ArenaPal/Topham/The Image
Popular Entertainment in Rome 270
Works) Roman Comedy: Plautus and Terence 270
IN FOCUS: ROMAN AMPHITHEATRES 271
Roman Tragedy: Seneca 271
Dramatic Criticism in Rome: Horace 272
EXPERIENCING THEATRE HISTORY: The Menaechmi 273
IN FOCUS: GREEK AND ROMAN POPULAR ARTS 274
Theatre Production in Rome 274
Decline of Roman Theatre 275
The Middle Ages 277
Background: Medieval Europe 277
Theatre and Culture in the Middle Ages 277
Medieval Drama: Mystery and Morality Plays 278
Medieval Theatre Production 280
IN FOCUS: CONTEMPORARY PASSION PLAYS 281
EXPERIENCING THEATRE HISTORY: Noah’s Ark 282
Evaluating a Production of an Historic Play 284
Summary 285
Chapter 12 Early Theatre: Asian 287

The Theatres of Asia: Background 287
Indian Theatre 289
Sanskrit Drama 290
Later Indian Drama 292
How Was Indian Drama Staged? 292
Chinese Theatre 293
Early Theatre in China 293
x Contents
Theatre in the Yuan Dynasty 294
Theatre in the Ming Dynasty 296
Japanese Theatre 297
Early Theatre in Japan 297
Nō 298
EXPERIENCING THEATRE HISTORY:
Sotoba Komachi 300
Bunraku 301
Kabuki 303
IN FOCUS: KABUKI TODAY 307 (©Koichi Kamoshida/Getty
Southeast Asia: Shadow Plays 307 Images News/Getty Images)
Summary 309
Chapter 13 Renaissance Theatres 311

The Renaissance: Background 311
The Italian Renaissance 312
Commedia Dell’arte and Other Forms of Italian Renaissance
Theatre 312
Italian Dramatic Rules: The Neoclassical Ideals 315
IN FOCUS: IMPROVISATION 316
Theatre Production in Italy 316
EXPERIENCING THEATRE HISTORY: Commedia
Dell’arte 317
England 321
Background: Elizabethan England 321
Elizabethan Drama 321
EXPERIENCING THEATRE HISTORY: Hamlet 325
IN FOCUS: SHAKESPEARE: 400 YEARS LATER 326
Elizabethan Theatre Production 326
IN FOCUS: THE POPULAR ARTS OF SHAKESPEARE’S (©Geraint Lewis)
TIME 330
Theatre after Elizabeth’s Reign 330
Spain 332
Background: The Spanish Golden Age 332
Spanish Drama 333
EXPERIENCING THEATRE HISTORY: The King, The Greatest
Alcalde 335
Theatre Production in Spain 336
France 338
Background: France in the Seventeenth Century 338
French Neoclassical Drama 338
Theatre Production in France 341
EXPERIENCING THEATRE HISTORY: Tartuffe 342
IN FOCUS: COMÉDIE-FRANÇAISE’S LONG HISTORY 344
Summary 345
Contents xi
Chapter 14 Theatres from the Restoration through Romanticism 347
The English Restoration 347
Background: England in the Seventeenth Century 347
Restoration Drama: Comedies of Manners 348
Theatre Production in the Restoration 350
IN FOCUS: DRURY LANE THEATRE TODAY 353
EXPERIENCING THEATRE HISTORY: The Country Wife 354
The Eighteenth Century 354
Background: A More Complex World 354
Eighteenth-Century Drama: New Dramatic Forms 355
Theatre Production in the Eighteenth Century 356
IN FOCUS: DROTTNINGHOLM THEATRE TODAY 359
(©Nigel Norrington/Camera EXPERIENCING THEATRE HISTORY: The Marriage of
Press/Redux)
Figaro 363
IN FOCUS: ACTOR-DIRECTORS 364
The Nineteenth Century 364
Background: A Time of Social Change 364
IN FOCUS: NINETEENTH-CENTURY POPULAR THEATRICAL
ARTS 365
Theatre in Nineteenth-Century Life 367
Nineteenth-Century Dramatic Forms 368
Theatre Production in the Nineteenth Century 370
IN FOCUS: THE BAYREUTH FESTSPIELHAUS AND
FESTIVAL 373
Summary 375
Chapter 15 The Modern Theatre Emerges 377

Realism and the Modern Era 378
Background: The Modern Era 378
Theatrical Realism 380
Realistic Playwrights 381
Naturalism 382
Producers of Realism: Independent Theatres 382
EXPERIENCING THEATRE HISTORY: The Sea Gull 385
Realism in the Twentieth Century 386
Departures from Realism 388
Departures from Realism—Playwrights: Ibsen,
Strindberg, and Wedekind 389
Symbolism 389
Expressionism 390
Futurism and Surrealism 391
Unique Voices 391
How Were Departures from Realism Staged? 392
Russian Theatricalism: Meyerhold 392
Artaud and Brecht: The Theatre of Cruelty and Epic Theatre 393
Impact of Totalitarianism on Theatre 395
xii Contents
IN FOCUS: EVALUATING TOTALITARIAN ART 396
Experimentation and Departures from Realism Continue 398
EXPERIENCING THEATRE HISTORY: Waiting for Godot 400
Eclectics 401
Popular Theatre 402
American Musical Theatre 403
Globalization and Theatre in the Twentieth Century and Beyond 409
Some Background on Asian Theatre 410
IN FOCUS: TWO IMPORTANT GLOBAL DIRECTORS 412
Global Exchanges 414 (©Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic/
Getty Images)
Summary 415
Chapter 16 Today’s Diverse Global Theatre 417

The Dawning of a New Century 417
Today’s Theatre: Global, Diverse, Multicultural and Eclectic 418
Performance Art 420
Postmodernism 422
Diverse and Multicultural Theatres in the United States 424
Alternatives to Commercial Theatre in the United States 424
African American Theatre 427
Latino-Latina Theatre 430
Asian American Theatre 431
Native American Theatre 433
Feminist Theatre and Playwrights 435
Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Theatre 437
IN FOCUS: UNDERREPRESENTATION AND (©Craig Schwartz)
MARGINALIZATION OF WOMEN AND AFRICAN

AMERICANS IN U.S. THEATRE 439
Global Theatre 440
A Continuing Global Trend: Documentary Drama 440
English and Irish Theatre 442
Canada and Australia 442
Asia, Africa, and Latin America 445
IN FOCUS: TADASHI SUZUKI, GLOBAL THEATRE
ARTIST 447
IN FOCUS: AUGUSTO BOAL AND THE THEATRE OF THE
OPPRESSED 453
Today and Tomorrow: A Look Ahead 454
Evaluating a Production of a Contemporary or New Play 456
Summary 457
Plays That May Be Read Online 458
Index 462
Contents xiii
Connect: Enhancing the Theatre
Experience
Several qualities set Theatre: The Lively Art apart from other introductory texts.
A particularly important element is our emphasis on the audience. All students
reading the book are potential theatre-goers, not just during their college years
but throughout their lives. We have therefore attempted to make Theatre: The
Lively Art an ideal one-volume text to prepare students as future audience mem-
bers. It will give them a grasp of how theatre functions, of how it should be
viewed and judged, and of the tradition behind any performance they may attend.
In addition to serving as an ideal text for nonmajors, Theatre: The Lively Art will
also prepare students who wish to continue studies in theatre, as majors, minors,
or students from other disciplines who take advanced courses.
MASTERING CONCEPTS
Theatre is not only an art form; it is one of the performing arts. As a result, its
quality is elusive because it exists only at the moment when a performance occurs.
To study it in a book or classroom is to be one step removed from that immedi-
ate experience. This fact is uppermost in the minds of those who teach theatre in
a classroom setting. At the same time, the theatre appreciation course can immea-
surably enhance an audience’s comprehension of theatre. The experience of seeing
theatre can be many times more meaningful if audience members understand parts
of the theatre, the creative artists and technicians who make it happen, the tradi-
tion and historical background from which theatre springs, and the genre.
When students successfully master concepts with McGraw-Hill’s Connect,
you spend more class time focusing on theatre as a performing art, fostering a
greater appreciation for the course, and inspiring students to become life-long
audience members. Connect helps students better understand and retain these
basic concepts, and allow you to reach your student audience and bring the theatre
experience to them. Connect is a highly reliable, easy-to-use homework and
learning management solution that embeds learning science and award-winning
adaptive tools to improve student results.
xiv
LearnSmart® is an adaptive learning program
designed to help students learn faster, study
smarter, and retain more knowledge for greater
success. Distinguishing what students know
from what they don’t, and focusing on concepts they are most likely to forget,
LearnSmart continuously adapts to each student’s needs by building a personalized
learning path. An intelligent adaptive study tool, LearnSmart is proven to strengthen
memory recall, keep students in class, and boost grades.
Theatre: The Lively Art now offers two reading experiences for students and
instructors: SmartBook® and eBook. Fueled by LearnSmart, SmartBook is the first
and only adaptive reading experience currently available. SmartBook creates a
personalized reading experience by highlighting the most impactful concepts a
student needs to learn at that moment in time. The reading experience continu-
ously adapts by highlighting content based on what the student knows and doesn’t
know. Real-time reports quickly identify the concepts that require more attention
from individual students—or the entire class. eBook provides a simple, elegant
reading experience, available for offline reading.
ORGANIZATION OF THE TENTH EDITION

Chapters are again ordered logically to make studying as intuitive as possible. As
in previous editions, Theatre: The Lively Art can be studied in any order the
instructor prefers. We listened to instructors who asked us to improve the overall
organization by streamlining some material for easier classroom use.
As in previous editions, we provide discussions of the unique nature of theatre
as an art form and highlight the multicultural nature of theatre that today’s stu-
dents will experience. In addition, throughout this edition, we focus on the global
Connect: Enhancing the Theatre Experience xv

SmartBook eBook
DESIGNED FOR DESIGNED FOR
• Preparing for class • Reading in class
• Practice and study • Reference
• Focusing on key topics • Offline reading
• Reports and analytics • Accessibility
SU P P O RT S SU P P O RT S
• Adaptive, personalized learning • Simple, elegant reading
• Assignable contents • Basic annotations
• Tablet iOS and Android apps • Smartphone and tablet via iOS
and Android apps
nature of theatre to give students the groundwork for understanding the wide
diversity of theatre today.
In Part 1, Theatre in Today’s World, we review theatre in everyday life and
the theatre audience. The chapters in this part provide a foundation for studying
the elements of theatre in Parts 2 and 3.
In Part 2, Creating Theatre: The Playwright, we introduce students to the
person or group creating a script, the dramatic structure, and dramatic characters.
We then continue with dramatic genres and investigate point of view in a text as
expressed in tragedy, comedy, tragicomedy, and other genres.
In Part 3, Creating Theatre: The Production, we discuss the people and elements
that make theatre possible: the actors, the director, the producer, and the designers
who together bring the theatre to stunning life. Important too are the theatre spaces
where a production occurs. Design and production techniques (in particular lighting,
costume, and makeup) have been updated to include the latest advances in technology.
In Part 4, Global Theatres: Past and Present, we offer a survey of theatre
history, beginning with Greek theatre and continuing to the present. Chapters 15
and 16 are devoted to theatre of the past one hundred years or so. The forces that
came into being just a little more than a century ago—in realism and departures
from realism, in acting techniques, in the emergence of the director, and in scene
and lighting design—define theatre as it exists today. In these final chapters we
cover the contemporary theatre scene around the world and the diverse theatres
in the United States, including the LGBT, feminist, African American, Asian
American, Native American, and Latino theatres.
xvi Connect: Enhancing the Theatre Experience

FEATURES
Based on feedback from instructors and students, the new Tenth Edition of Theatre:
The Lively Art offers both time-tested and newly revised text features that help
students deepen their understanding and appreciation of the theatrical experience.
URLs to Online Plays Many of the plays referenced in the text that also appear
online are highlighted in blue typeface when first mentioned in a chapter. Should
you want to read one of these plays, you can refer to the list at the end of the
book and find the URL. Titles are listed alphabetically.
Playing Your Part A revised and expanded set of critical thinking questions and
experiential exercises has been added to each chapter as part of an extended peda-
gogical program. The feature is divided into two categories: Playing Your Part:
Experiencing Theatre and Playing Your Part: Thinking About Theatre. These
PLAYING YOUR PART:

EXPERIENCING THEATRE
1. Have you ever had to pick someone for a team or for a job? How did you go about making your choice? Is that similar
to casting in the theatre? Why? Why not?
2. Have one of your classmates read a short speech from a play. Ask her or him to change the pace or rhythm of
delivery. What terms or phrases did you use to make this request? Were your directions understood? How did the
change in pace or rhythm affect the delivery of the speech and its impact on those listening?
3. Observe how one of your instructors interacts with the class through his or her movement. How does this movement
affect the way in which the class material is delivered? Does your observation of this provide you any insight into
the importance of stage blocking?
4. Ask if you can attend a technical rehearsal or dress rehearsal at your university theatre. What insights did you gain
from attending those rehearsals?
PLAYINGThe
The Director’s Collaborator: YOUR PART:
Stage Manager
Another key collaborator of the director, especially during the rehearsal process
THINKING ABOUT THEATRE
and then during the run of the show, is the stage manager. During the rehearsal
process the stage manager works as the right-hand person to the director, doing
such tasks asthat
1. Imagine taking
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to what extent do you think this
of rehearsal schedules,
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fault, and daily
what extent thereports and failure?
performer’s logs. Throughout the final
stages of preparing
2. If you get bored or theimpatient
production,
when for example,
watching the stage what
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do you continues to
think the director could have done in
give preparing
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to prevent this fromconsistency
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be beautifully coordinated, of that the director’s hand is
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stay4. true
If youtohavetheread
director’s interpretation
a play this semester (or and that all
sometime technical
in the cues
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that play? actors,
it is the stage manager’s responsibility to make sure they are prepared. If a per-
former in a long running show is replaced, it is often the stage manager’s respon-
sibility to work with the replacement to make sure she or he works within the
confines of the director’s vision. Connect: Enhancing the Theatre Experience xvii
THEThe responsibilities
PRODUCER ORof MANAGING
the stage manager vary depending on the type of theatre
DIRECTOR
in which they are working and from director to director. In commercial theatre it
As spectators,towerealize
is important naturally
thatfocus
stageon the eventand
managers onstage
actorsrather than on what
are members happens
of the same
questions and exercises not only help students to think critically about what they
have read in the chapter, but also help them to connect what they’ve read to their
own experiences. Playing Your Part exercises can be used as homework assignments
or to inspire classroom discussion. These sets of questions invite students to engage
in experiences relating to the theatre.
IN FOCUS: QUESTIONING They may ask students to attend a per-
THE PLAYWRIGHT’S ROLE formance and write about their reactions
to it, or to take on the role of playwright
Some contemporary commentators have questioned If a theatre piece is created by a group of performers
what they refer to as the “centrality” of the playwright or by a director, then these people are in effect operat- by imagining a play about their own
and the play. These critics point out that there have been ing as playwrights. The playwright’s function has not
companies whose performers or directors, sometimes been eliminated; it is simply being carried out by
lives. These creative activities help stu-
with the assistance of audiences, improvise presentations: someone else. dents feel the vitality and immediacy of
They create a presentation while actually performing it. As for the matter of the “centrality” of the playwright,
There have also been times when texts were developed this argument, too, does not eliminate the necessity of the theatrical experience.
by performers or by a director who assembled material what we are calling the blueprint that every theatre event
from various sources. Some theorists argue, therefore, requires. Whether the blueprint is a text, a script, an
that an “authorless” theatre exists: theatre in which idea, a scenario, an improvisation, or anything similar, it In Focus These boxes help students
performers create their own works, sometimes using a is an indispensable element in the process of creating a
traditional text only as a jumping-off point. theatre production. The work of the playwright or other understand and compare different aspects
Theorists who question the centrality of the text
also argue that the playwright’s importance has been
“authors” need not be “central” or predominant to be
essential and irreplaceable. Also, the fact remains that
of theatre, whether in the United States or
overstated—that a play is simply a suggestion or start- throughout the history of both Western and Eastern the- around the world. Some highlight specific
ing point and that the artists who create a stage presen- atre, the significant role of the playwright has been
tation are its true “authors.” In addition, they hold that widely accepted. Whether it is a dramatist like Sophocles, examples of global influence on theatre.
each audience member may create his or her own
“reading” of a production; in this sense, the spectator
Shakespeare, or Ibsen in the West, or Chikamatsu—an
eighteenth-century Japanese dramatist—in the East,
Artists discussed include Peter Brook, Josef
is the “author,” and any discussion of a play’s theme or both their own contemporaries and later generations Svoboda, Julie Taymor, Bertolt Brecht, and
meaning is inappropriate. It should be pointed out that have seen their dramatic texts as foundations on which
this argument seems largely a question of semantics. productions are based. Thornton Wilder. Boxes on legendary the-
atre artists Augusto Boal, Ariane Mnouch-
After subject, focus, and purpose have been decided, two crucial steps in
kine, and Tadashi Suzuki are also included.
developing a play are creating dramatic structure and creating dramatic characters. Other In Focus boxes discuss the audience, the
playwright, the actor, and the director, each focus-
STRUCTURE IN DRAMA
Though it may T H Enot A T beR Ereadily apparent,
GREECE
Y e a revery
b . cwork
. e . CofU art
LTU has R Esome A N type D PO ofLstruc-
ITICS
ing on a unique issue in the contemporary theatre
ture. When does the action of a play begin? How are Agethe scenes
of Homer (800 b.c.e.)put together? to engage students in discussion and debate.
How does the action unfold? What is the high point of the action? Questions like
these are related to dramatic structure, but we should note that structure is And some boxes explore the close relationship
significant
Arion, harpist in alldevelops
and poet, art. the dithyramb 600
As we have said, the structure of a play is analogous to that of a building.
(c. 600 b.c.e.) between theatre and other forms of popular enter-
In designing a building, an architect plans a skeleton (c.or substructure that will
Thales of Miletus begins natural philosophy (physics)
585 b.c.e.) tainment through the ages, from the mimes and
provide inner strength; the architect determines 575
the depth of the foundation, the
weight of the support beams, and the stress on the Peisistratus, side walls. Similarly, a
tyrant of Athens (560 b.c.e.)
jugglers of ancient Rome to the circuses and
playwright develops a dramatic structure.
Thespis, supposedly first “actor” in dithyramb
stresses and strains(mid–sixth in the
550
The playwright introduces various
century)form of conflicts; sets boundaries and outer limits,
vaudeville of the nineteenth century to the rock
such as how many
it takes place; andAthens
characters
Play contests
calculates
begin in
(534 b.c.e.)
participate, how long the action lasts, and where
dynamics—when tensionPythagoras
increases andtemples
slackens.
concerts and theme parks of today.
We have also added new In Focus boxes in
525 flourishes; Doric of southern Italy
Some feminist critics argue that the playwright’s gender might also influence
and Sicily (c. 525 b.c.e.)
structure and that feminist dramas are less linear and less traditional in building
every chapter to cover technological developments
Athenian democracy (510 b.c.e.)
dramatic tension. 500 Pindar begins to write odes (500 b.c.e.)
Comedy introduced to City

Dionysia (c. 487 b.c.e.)
Battle of Marathon
(490 b.c.e.)
Persian Wars
(499–478 b.c.e.)
in theatre (such as discussing technology and the
Aeschylus introduces
second actor (c. 471 b.c.e.) Sophocles introduces
475 Chapter 3 Creating the Dramatic Script
Socrates born (470 b.c.e.) actor) and
53
key issues affecting the contemporary
theatre (such as audience etiquette as well as color
third actor (c. 468 b.c.e.) Hippocrates born Pericles begins rise
Aeschylus’s Oresteia; (460 b.c.e.) to power: age of Pericles
introduction of skene Prizes awarded for
450 (462–429 b.c.e.)
blind and nontraditional casting).

(458 b.c.e.) tragic acting (449 b.c.e.) Beginning of Parthenon;
Dramatic activities Herodotus flourishes (447 b.c.e.)
incorporated into Lenaia Phidias dies (500–435 b.c.e.)
wiL16863_ch03_046-075.indd 53
(c. 442 b.c.e.) Sophocles’s King
Oedipus (c. 430 b.c.e.) 425 Peloponnesian Wars (431–404 b.c.e.) In addition all of the theatre history chapters
9/28/17 11:07 AM
Euripides’s Trojan Women
(415 b.c.e.) Aristophanes’s Lysistrata
(411 b.c.e.)
Athenian fleet destroyed Spartan hegemony begins now also have new In Focus boxes that help students
see the continuing impact of the past on the contem-
(404 b.c.e.) (404 b.c.e.)
400 Trial and execution of
Socrates (399 b.c.e.)
Aristotle born
375
Plato’s Republic
(c. 375 b.c.e.)
(384–322 b.c.e.)
porary theatre. Two examples are the ongoing tradi-
tion of theatre festivals and their relationship to the
Spartan hegemony ends
(404–371 b.c.e.)
Theban hegemony ends
Greek theatre festivals and contemporary religious

Professional actors replace (371–362 b.c.e.)
Philip II, king of Macedonia
amateurs at City Dionysia 350
(352 b.c.e.)
(c. 350 b.c.e.)
Aristotle’s Poetics
(c. 335–323 b.c.e.) Theater of Dionysus
Alexander succeeds Philip II;
in 335 b.c.e., occupies Greece
drama and its relationship to the Middle Ages.
completed (c. 325 b.c.e.) 325
From this period to Hellenistic culture spreads throughout eastern
c. 100 b.c.e., Greek Menander’s Dyskolos Mediterranean (c. 320 b.c.e.)
Timelines Timelines are included for each period

theatres built throughout (316 b.c.e.)
Mediterranean (320 b.c.e.)
300
and country addressed. These timelines have been

Artists of Dionysus recognized (277 b.c.e.)
275
markedly improved from those in previous e ditions,
with entries much easier to read than before. Each
xviii Connect: Enhancing the Theatre Experience
wiL16863_ch11_252-285.indd 263 9/28/17 11:35 AM

timeline shows landmark events and accomplishments in the social and political
arenas on one side and significant theatre events on the other.
Experiencing Theatre History We present in these boxes narratives of actual

events in theatre history, taking the readers back in time so they have a sense of
being in the audience at a performance of, say, Antigone in Athens in 441 b.c.e.,
or at the premier of Hamlet at the Globe Theatre in London around 1600.
Writing Style A sense of immediacy

and personalization has been a goal in
our writing style. We have attempted to
ℰx p e ri e nc i ng 𝒯𝒯he at re ℋi st ory ANTIGONE
write Theatre: The Lively Art in the A t h e n s , 4 4 1 b . c . e . The Dionysia festival, an annual series of of a woman, appear in the playing
most readable language possible. The year is 441 b.c.e. It is a morning in
late March in Athens, Greece, and the
events lasting several days. During
this festival, all business in Athens—
area: They represent Antigone and
her sister, Ismene. Antigone tells Is-
book contains a wealth of information citizens of Athens are up early, making both commercial and governmental— mene that she means to defy their un-
their way to the Theatre of Dionysus, comes to a halt. On the day before the cle, the king, and give their brother
presented in a manner that makes it an open-air theatre on the south side plays, there was a parade through the Polynices an honorable burial. Is-
vivid and alive. of the Acropolis, the highest hill in
Athens. On the Acropolis are several
city, which ended near the theatre at a
temple dedicated to the god Diony-
mene, unlike Antigone, is timid and
frightened; she argues that women
temples, including the Parthenon, a sus, for whom the festival is named. are too weak to stand up to a king.
magnificent new temple dedicated to There, a religious observance was Besides, Ismene points out, Antigone
Production Photos As always, the the goddess Athena, which is under held at the altar. will be put to death if she is caught.
vast majority of the photos in the book construction at this very time.
The Theatre of Dionysus has
Today is one of three days of the
festival devoted mainly to tragedies.
Antigone argues, however, that she
will not be subservient to a man, even
are not only in full color but are gener- semicircular seating built into the
slope of the hill on the side of the
On these days, one playwright will
present three tragedies and a satyr
the king.
When the two female characters
ously sized to help students see and Acropolis. At the foot of the seating play. The three tragedies are some- leave the stage, a chorus of fifteen
area is a flat, circular space—the times linked to form one long play, men enters. These men represent the
appreciate the dynamic and dramatic orchestra—where the actors will called a trilogy; but sometimes they elders of the city, and throughout the
world of the theatre. Also, a number of perform. Behind the orchestra a
temporary stage house has been built,
are three separate pieces—as they
are today.
play—in passages that are sung and
danced—they will fulfill several
global theatre productions have been from which the performers will make The play about to begin is Anti- functions: providing background in-
entrances and exits. The facade of the gone by Sophocles. Its subject comes formation, raising philosophical
included in this edition. The illustrations we’ve chosen—both photographs and stage house for the performance to- from a familiar myth: Antigone is the questions, and urging the principal
line drawings—explain and enhance the material in the text. day represents the temple at Thebes,
where the action will take place.
daughter of King Oedipus. After her
father’s death, her two brothers, Eteo-
figures to show restraint. The choral
sections alternate with scenes of
Priests of various religious orders cles and Polynices, fight a war confrontation between Antigone,
are sitting in special seats at the edge against each other to see who will be- Creon, and the other main
Photo Essays Students are placed in the audiences of important productions in of the circle opposite the stage house. come king of Thebes; during the war, characters.
these pictorial essays to bring to life key elements in the text. These essays provide Other dignitaries, such as civic and
military officials, are arranged
they kill each other. Antigone’s uncle,
Creon, then becomes king of Thebes.
As the play continues, Antigone
attempts to bury Polynices, but she
context for theatre-viewing experiences, while highlighting outstanding perfor- around them in the first few rows; Creon blames Polynices for the con-
flict and issues an edict that Poly-
is caught and brought before the
king. In their confrontation, Anti-
above them sit both citizens and
mances and designs. slaves. No one—not even those sit- nices is not to be given an honorable gone defies Creon. She is sentenced
ting in the top row—will have any burial. Antigone decides to defy Cre- to death and put into a cave to die.
trouble hearing the performers; the on’s order and bury Polynices. The By the end of the play, not only is
acoustics are so good that a whisper audience members know this myth Antigone dead; so too are Creon’s
photo essay
by an actor in the orchestra will carry well and are curious to see how wife and son, who have killed them-
to the upper reaches of the Sophocles—one of their favorite dra- selves. In the final scene, we see
amphitheatre. matists—will deal with it. Creon standing alone, wearing his
The plays performed for the citi- As the Lee
playAaron Rosen as Chris Keller,
Michael begins,
Tisdale two
as George actors,
Deever, and tragic mask, bereft of all those
Modern Domestic Drama
zens of Athens are part of the City each wearing the mask and costume
Diane Davis as Ann Deever in All My
Sons, by Arthur Miller, directed by whom he held dear.
Serious drama in America came David Esbjornson at the Huntington
of age in the mid-twentieth Theatre Company. (©T. Charles Erickson)
century, with plays by Eugene
O’Neill, Tennessee Williams,
Arthur Miller, and Lillian
Hellman, among others. Though
all four experimented with
nonrealistic dramatic devices,
much of their strongest work was
realistic domestic drama. Included
here are examples in photographs
from recent productions.
Long Day’s Journey Into Night by Eugene
O’Neill with Paul Nicholls as the younger
son, Edmund, Jessica Lange as Mary
Tyrone, and Paul Rudd as James Tyrone,
Jr. (©Rune Hellestad/Corbis Entertainment/
Getty Images)
wiL16863_ch11_252-285.indd 265 9/28/17 11:36 AM
Seth Numrich, left, and Danny Burstein

in a recent Broadway revival of Golden
Boy by Clifford Odets, directed by
Bartlett Sher. (©Sara Krulwich/The New York
Times/Redux)
Gillian Anderson as Blanche

Dubois and Vanessa Kirby as
her sister Stella in Tennessee
Williams’ A Streetcar
Named Desire in a
production at the Young Vic
in London, directed by
Benedict Andrews. (©Robbie
Jack/Corbis Entertainment/Getty
Images)
82 83
wiL16863_ch04_076-103.indd 82 9/28/17 11:08 AM

Connect: Enhancing the Theatre Experience
wiL16863_ch04_076-103.indd 83 9/28/17 11:08 AM
xix
CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER CHANGES
In addition to the major changes outlined earlier, we have included significant
new material throughout the text, including the following:
Chapter 1: Theatre Is Everywhere
∙ Updated examples of the relationship between theatre and popular entertain-
ments. A new discussion of the theatrical qualities of cosplay.
Chapter 2: The Audience
∙ New and expanded discussion on “where and how we see theatre.” New and
expanded discussion of participatory and immersive theatre as well as the
history of theatre etiquette.
Chapter 3: Creating the Dramatic Script
∙ Updated the In Focus box on Writing for Theatre, Film, and Television.
Chapter 4: Theatrical Genres
∙ New In Focus box on Additional Forms and the Debate over Categorization.
Chapter 5: Acting for the Stage
∙ More extensive discussion of contemporary acting techniques and actor training.
∙ New In Focus box on Technology and the Actor.
Chapter 6: The Director and the Producer
∙ Expanded discussion of the responsibilities of the stage manager and the cast-
ing director.
∙ New In Focus box on Color Blind and Nontraditional Casting.
Chapter 7: Theatre Spaces
∙ Description of the transformation of the Broadway Imperial Theatre for the
musical Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 as an example of how
space is a key element of a production.
∙ The discussion of stage direction has been moved to this chapter from “Scenery”
to help students better understand the proscenium theatre.
Chapter 8: Scenery
∙ Enhanced discussion of video and projection design.
∙ New In Focus box on projection design.
∙ Enhanced discussion of the use of technology to assist the scene designer.
Chapter 9: Stage Costumes
∙ New In Focus box on Technology and Costume Design.
Chapter 10: Lighting and Sound
∙ New In Focus box on Rock Concert and Theatre Lighting.
∙ New discussion of Assistive Listening Devices for hearing impaired audience
members under the Sound Design discussion.
Chapters 11 through 16: Today’s Diverse Global Theatre
∙ Updated coverage in many of the history chapters, particularly citing recent dis-
coveries (such as the excavation of the Curtain in the English Renaissance section).
xx Chapter-by-Chapter changes
∙ Updated examples in the final two chapters, such as references to Fun Home
and Hamilton in the review of musical theatre and multicultural theatre.
∙ Discussion of additional multicultural theatres and artists in the final chapter.
∙ In Focus boxes in each chapter that help the students understand the continu-
ing influence of theatre history on our theatre.
∙ Questions on how to evaluate a production of a historic play as well as how
to evaluate a production of a new or contemporary play.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
In the preparation of this book, we are indebted to a long list of colleagues whose
assistance in providing important insights and material has been invaluable.
These include the following: Professor J. Thomas Rimer—Asian Theatre; Profes-
sor James V. Hatch—African American Theatre; Professor Sam Leiter—Asian
Theatre; Professor Ann Haugo—Native American Theatre. We are grateful to
Professor Jeff Entwistle for his important contribution to the chapters on design—
scenic, costume, lighting, and sound—and we also thank Professor Laura Pulio
for her helpful suggestions on acting. For others whose names we have failed to
include, we apologize.
At McGraw-Hill, we wish to express appreciation to the following people:
Sarah Remington, brand manager; Art Pomponio, product developer; Kelly Odom,
marketing manager; and Sandy Wille and Melissa Leick, content project managers.
Through the years, many instructors have given us helpful comments and
suggestions. For their assistance in developing the Tenth Edition of Theatre: The
Lively Art, we wish to thank the following people:
Daphnie Sicre, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Michael Smith, Ohlone College
Benjamin Haas, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Felecia Harrelson, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Greg McLarty, Wharton County Junior College
David Wolski, Eastern Illinois University
Theresa Layne, Mira Costa College
Caleb Stroman, McLennan Community College
Amy Dunlap, North Greenville University
Michelle Feda, Illinois State University
Rachel Tyson, East Central Community College
Mary Pratt Cooney, Oakland University
Jeremy Peterson, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College
Adam Miecielica, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Sam Weakley, Northwest Mississippi Community College
Werner Trieschmann, Pulasko Technical College
Monique Sacay-Bagwell, Lander University
Katherine Kavanagh, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Richard Bristow, Gerogia Highlands College
Carol Lynne Damgen, California State University, San Bernardino
Amanda Labonte, Illinois State University
Sandra Grayson, Mississippi College
Scott Robinson, Central Washington University
Cheryl Hall, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Acknowledgments xxi
Phyllis W. Seawright, Ph.D., Mississippi College
Claremarie Verheyen, School of Theatre and Dance-University of Houston
Gaye Jeffers, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Stephen Thomas, Tarrant County College Northeast
Shannon Walsh, Louisiana State University
Dr. Lawrence James, Tennessee State University
Michael Detroit, University of Memphis
Rachel Dickson, University of Houston Downtown
Edward Muth, Houston Community College
Lofton L. Durham, Western Michigan University
Courtney Young, University of Houston and Lone Star College
Nicholas Basta, University of North Carolina Wilmington
For the first nine editions of Theatre: The Lively Art, the amazing photo expert
and researcher Inge King located and helped us select every photograph. Though
she did not work on this edition, it is impossible to thank her adequately for the
contribution she has made through the years to the continuing success of this
textbook. We are well aware that she has always played an indispensable role in
making its acceptance so widespread and over such a long period of time.
xxii Acknowledgments
Theatre: The Lively Art
1
PART
Theatre in
Today’s World
THE AUDIENCE SALUTES

THE ARTISTS
The essence of theatre is a live
audience in the presence of actors
performing a dramatic script. Today,
there is more live theatre available
to audiences than perhaps at any
time in history, with a wide variety
of theatre sites and an impressive
variety of the types of theatre
offered. Central to the theatre
experience is the interaction
between audience members and
live performers. Here we see the
audience giving a standing ovation
as cast members take their curtain
call. (©Eddie Linssen/Alamy Stock Photo)
2
1 Theatre Is Everywhere
2 The Audience
4
THEATRE IS
EVERYWHERE
1
As you begin your introductory theatre course, some of you may be asking: Why
should I study theatre? For those of you who are theatre majors, you could be asking:
Why am I studying theatre? I just want to learn how to be an actor, director, play-
wright, designer, or to work in production. The answer is knowledge of the basics
of theatre is essential to anyone who wishes to pursue a theatre career. For those of
you who are not majoring in the subject, this is perhaps an elective for your general
education. For you, it should be pointed out that having a general understanding of
theatre and its history is important to anyone who has never before gone to live
theatre as well as someone who already enjoys attending the theatre and wishes to
enhance that experience, an experience that will be with you the rest of your life.
In our textbook we will explain the elements that make up live theatre—acting,
directing, design, playwriting, as well as briefly survey its history—but before we turn
to specifics we should be aware of two significant facts. One is the longevity and
endurance of theatre, and the other is its widespread popularity, the fact that despite
the pervasive competition of electronic, digital, and other forms of dramatic entertain-
ment, there is today in the United States more widespread engagement in live theatre
than perhaps at any time in its history. To begin with let us explain what we mean
by the term “live theatre,” and then turn to how various competing media and popular
entertainments have borrowed from it and challenged it in the last 100 years.
THEATRE TODAY
Prior to the modern period, for more than 2,000 years in the West and 1,500 years
in Asia, the only way audiences could see theatre of any kind was to attend a live
performance. Spectators left their homes and went to a space where a theatrical
THE PERVASIVENESS OF THEATRE

Symbolic of the far reach of theatre today is the performance of this production of Fous de
Bassin, created by the French company Ilotopie, on the water canals around the Puerto Madero
neighborhood as part of the opening of the IX Buenos Aires’ International Festival in Argentina
in 2013. (©Natacha Pisarenko/AP Images)
5
event was taking place where they joined others to watch a production. If people
wanted to see a tragedy, with kings and queens, heroes and villains, or a comedy
making fun of human foibles, they would have to become audience members to
watch a live performance.
Then, after all those centuries, at the beginning of the twentieth century,
everything began to change. In rapid succession a series of technological inno-
vations offered alternative ways to hear and observe drama. First, there was
radio, and then silent film, and after that, movies with sound. Black-and-white
film soon gave way to movies in color and not much later, film was joined by
television, first in black and white and after that in color. Film and television
now also use 3D technology as well as computerization to create amazingly
realistic effects. Today, the computer and a series of hand-held electronic
devices, including smartphones and tablets, allow viewers to watch films,
television shows, and digitized performances anywhere. With all of these inven-
tions, arriving in quick succession, viewing drama has become much more
accessible and much less expensive.
With the development first of radio and silent film, there were predictions
that such inventions would sound the death knell of live theatre. Surely, it was
argued, with the advent of sound film and television, especially when color came
in, live theatre was doomed. Consider what had happened to both film and televi-
sion: talking pictures eliminated silent film, just as later, color television obliter-
ated black-and-white TV. It seemed likely, therefore, that drama on film and
television, and even more, on computers and other digital devices, might well
eradicate live theatre.
The term for live theatre that is not observed through an electronic medium
Nonmediated or live is nonmediated theatre. Contrary to the predictions, nonmediated theatre, or live
theatre Theatre that is theatre, has not only survived but has thrived. In fact, today it is more vibrant,
not observed through an more widespread, and more accessible than at almost any time in history.
electronic medium.
The Unique Quality of Theatre

In the face of the formidable competition that has arisen from all forms of elec-
tronic media, why do we continue to go to the theatre? There are a number of
reasons, but the most important single reason can be found in the title of this book.
We call theatre the lively art not only because it is exciting, suspenseful, and amus-
ing, but also because it is alive in a way that makes it different from every other
form of dramatic presentation. It is this live quality of theatre that makes it so
durable and so indispensable.
The special nature of theatre becomes more apparent when we contrast the
experience of seeing a drama in a theatre with seeing a drama on film or televi-
sion. In many ways the dramas presented are alike. Both offer a story told in
dramatic form—an enactment of scenes by performers who speak and act as if
they are the people they represent—and film and television can give us many of
the same feelings and experiences that we have when watching a theatre perfor-
mance. We can learn a great deal about theatre from watching a play on film or
television, and the accessibility of film and television means that they have a
crucial role in our overall exposure to the depiction of dramatic events and
dramatic characters.
Nevertheless, there is a fundamental difference between the two experiences,
and we become aware of that difference when we contrast theatre with movies.
This contrast does not have to do with technical matters, such as the way films
6 Part 1 Theatre in Today’s World

can show outdoor shots made from helicopters, cut instantaneously from one
scene to another, or create interplanetary wars or cataclysmic events by using
computer-generated special effects. The most significant difference between films
and theatre is the relationship between the performer and the audience. The expe-
rience of being in the presence of the performer is more important to theatre than
anything else. No matter how closely a film follows the story of a play, no matter
how involved we are with the people on the screen, we are always in the presence
of an image, never a living person.
We all know the difference between an image of someone and the flesh-
and-blood reality. How often do we rehearse a speech we plan to make to
someone we love, or fear: We run through the scene in our mind, picturing
ourselves talking to the other person—declaring our love, asking for help,
asking the boss for a raise. Sometimes we communicate with them via text
messages, imagining them in our mind. But when we meet the person face-to-
face, it is not the same. We freeze and find ourselves unable to speak; or
perhaps our words gush forth incoherently. Seldom does the encounter take
place as we planned.
Like films, television seems very close to theatre; sometimes it seems even
closer than film. Television programs sometimes begin with words such as “This
program comes to you live from Burbank, California.” Recent televised musicals
have had titles such as Hairspray Live! But the word live must be qualified.
Before television, live in the entertainment world meant “in person”: not only
was the event taking place at that moment; it was taking place in the physical
presence of the spectators. Usually, the term live television still means that an
event is taking place at this moment, but “live” television does not take place
in the presence of all of the viewers. In fact, even if there is a live studio audi-
ence, it is generally far removed from the vast majority of the viewing audience,
possibly half a world away. In television, like film, we see an image—in the
case of TV, on a screen—and we are free to look or not to look, or even to
leave the room.
Our fascination with being in the presence of a person is difficult to explain
but not difficult to verify, as the popularity of rock stars attests. No matter how often
we as fans have seen a favorite star in the movies or heard a rock singer on a CD,
computer, tablet, smartphone, or other digital device, we will go to any lengths to
see the star in person. In the same way, at one time or another, each of us has braved
bad weather and shoving crowds to see celebrities at a parade or a political rally.
The same pull of personal contact draws us to the theatre.
At the heart of the theatre experience, therefore, is the performer–audience
relationship—the immediate, personal exchange whose chemistry and magic
give theatre its special quality. During a stage performance the actresses and
actors can hear laughter, can sense silence, and can feel tension. In short, the
audience itself can affect, and in subtle ways change, the performance. At the
same time, as members of the audience we watch the performers closely,
consciously or unconsciously asking ourselves questions: Are the performers
convincing in their roles? Have they learned their parts well? Are they tal-
ented? Will they do something surprising? Will they make a mistake? At each
moment, in every stage performance, we are looking for answers to questions
like these. The performers are alive—and so is the very air itself—with the
electricity of expectation. It is for this reason that we speak of theatre as the
lively art. It is for this reason, as well as a number of others, that we study
theatre as an art form.
Chapter 1 Theatre is Everywhere 7

THE AUDIENCE APPLAUDS
The audience is an integral, indispensable part of any theatre performance. Here, the audience
watches a performance of a classical theatre piece in the outdoor theatre of Regents Park in London,
England. (©Eric Nathan/VisitBritain/Getty Images)

In the next chapter, we will examine in detail the dynamic of the actor–
audience relationship. Before we do so, however, other qualities of live theatre
are worth exploring. One, as we’ve suggested, is the astonishing popularity of live
theatre in the face of the competition it faces. Another is the amazing way in
which theatre permeates every aspect of our lives, in ways of which we are often
not even aware.
The Range and Accessibility of Theatre

One measure of the amazing health of live theatre today is the astounding range
of opportunities we have of attending theatre, with locations, not only in the
United Sates but throughout the world, presenting a greater variety of theatre
offerings perhaps than ever before. For a long time Broadway in New York City
was the fountainhead of live theatre in the United States. Though it is still thriv-
ing, and Broadway shows, particularly popular musicals, regularly tour to major
and mid-size cities throughout America, theatre that originates on Broadway is
not as predominant as it once was. Performing arts complexes in all parts of the
country that continue to present productions of Broadway shows, in addition, often
have other spaces which feature different types of live theatre. These might include
1,000-seat, 500-seat, or 200-seat theatres that offer new plays, revivals, intimate
musicals, and other kinds of dramatic entertainment.
As we shall see, in New York, as in other cities throughout the United States
and the world, there are also smaller spaces and companies that focus on more
cutting edge dramas or experimental works. In addition, we shall also discuss the
many theatre companies that focus on underrepresented groups.
At the same time, during the last half-century there has been a burgeoning
of what are known as regional theatres: permanent, professional, nonprofit the- Regional theatres
atres that offer a season of first-class productions to their audiences each year. Permanent, professional,
Their association, the League of Resident Theatres, lists a total of 74 such theatres nonprofit theatres offering
scattered across the country. Added to the above are approximately 120 Shake- first-class productions to
speare theatres found in virtually every state in the United States that feature, their audiences.
especially in the summer months, high-quality productions of Shakespeare and
the classics as well as modern plays.
Another important component of today’s theatre landscape is the many college
and university theatres found in every one of the fifty states, as well as Canada
and elsewhere. Many colleges have not one but perhaps two or three theatre spaces
in which students and guest artists perform. There might be, for instance, a 500- or
600-seat theatre, a smaller 200-seat theatre with a different configuration, and a
100-seat “black box” for more experimental or intimate productions.
Finally, in every corner of the United States, there are an astonishing 7,000
so-called community theatres. These are semiprofessional and experienced ama- Community theatres
teur groups who present a series of plays each year that appeal to their audiences. Semiprofessional and
It might surprise many of us to learn that these several thousand theatres present experienced amateur
roughly 46,000 productions each year to audiences that number in the millions. groups that present plays
Obviously, taken together, the total number of theatre events presented each year that appeal to their specific
audiences.
in the United States is a staggering, almost unbelievable figure.
It is not, however, just the vast range and number of annual productions that
is surprising, it is the diversity of offerings. First, there is the rich mixture of
traditional theatre from the past with the latest theatre offerings of today. Theatre
from the past begins with the Greek theatre, the foundation of all Western theatre,
and moves through Shakespeare in the Elizabethan era, the Spanish playwright

PLAYING YOUR PART:
EXPERIENCING THEATRE
1. Locate as many theatre venues in your area as you can—professional, amateur, college theatres. Also, locate theatres
that may be in nearby cities or towns. (The Internet can be helpful in this search.)
2. Find out the size and shape of the theatres you have identified in your area and surrounding area.
3. Learn what kinds of productions each of the theatres presents: musicals, comedies, classics, new plays, and so forth.
4. Make plans to attend a production at one or more of the nearby theatres. (This could be incorporated into a class
assignment.)
Lope de Vega from the same era, through the French playwright Molière in the
seventeenth century, the great playwrights at the beginning of the modern era—
Ibsen, Strindberg and Chekhov—through the outstanding American playwrights
of the twentieth century—such as Eugene O’Neill, Arthur Miller, Tennessee Wil-
liams, and August Wilson. The works of these playwrights, along with many
others, are being offered year in and year out by professional nonprofit, commu-
nity, and university theatres.
Alongside these plays from the past there is a constant stream of new plays
from young playwrights, both in traditional and experimental forms. The latter
includes experimental and avant-garde theatre of all kinds. Two such approaches
Site specific theatre are site-specific theatre and performance art. Site-specific theatre offers presenta-
Theatre presented in a tions in nontraditional theatre settings, such as warehouses, churches, firehouses,
nontraditional setting so street corners and public parks. The idea is that the unusual locale together with
that the chosen a fresh approach in the material will make audiences conscious in a different way
environment helps of what they are seeing and experiencing. Performance art is usually highly
illuminate the text.
individual and presented by only one person but never by more than a small
Performance art Most number. The content is usually quite personal, and may be combined with art,
often refers to a solo dance, film or music. We will discuss both of these forms later in our review of
performance created by the contemporary theatre.
performer but also can be a
work that mixes visual arts,
dance, film, and/or music. Global and Multicultural Theatre
Two additional types of theatre should be mentioned when we speak of the wide
diversity of theatre available to today’s audiences. One is global theatre, which
means theatre not just in the Western tradition, but theatre from around the world.
As in the West, there is a rich tradition of theatre in Asia. In India theatre began
more than 2,000 years ago, and Chinese theatre, a few centuries after that, while
Japanese theatre was established by 800 c. e. In other parts of the world, in Africa,
in pre-Columbian Latin America, and in the Native American cultures of North
America, there are rich traditions of rituals and ceremonies that have recognizable
elements of theatre: costumes; song and dance; and impersonation of people,
animals, and divinities.
The various ways in which we see theatrical traditions from different nations
and cultures influence one another today were relatively rare prior to 1900. Today
we live in a world where such cross-cultural relationships are extremely easy, owing
to modern transportation and communication. Thomas Friedman, in his acclaimed
book The World Is Flat, analyzes how globalization has affected business and

DIVERSE OFFERINGS
Today’s theatre offers a wide choice in the places where we see theatre and in the types of theatre we can enjoy. One
important aspect involves the many diverse and multicultural theatre experiences that are available. An example would be
the scene above from the Bale Folclorico Da Bahia in a performance of Sacred Heritage at the Sunset Center in Carmel.
(©Education Images/Universal Images Group/Getty Images)

industry in contemporary society. One can no longer tell whether a product is made
by a company in a specific country since most major corporations are multinational.
The automobile industry clearly reflects the trend toward industrial globalization,
as does the technology industry. A car created today by a Japanese, Korean, or
German manufacturer may be fully or partially assembled in the United States. A
PC, cell phone, or tablet may be manufactured in China and sold in the United
States, but the 24-hour help desk may be located in India. The same is true in
today’s theatre. Theatre artists cross national boundaries to stage their works with
artists of other countries. Popular works tour the world and cross-pollinate other
theatrical ventures. International theatre festivals bring artists of various nationali-
ties to interact with those in the host community. In addition, traditional theatrical
techniques from differing countries may be fused together to create a unique con-
temporary work.
People throughout the world are becoming aware of the multiracial and mul-
ticultural aspects of our society, as are Americans themselves. In the late nine-
teenth and the early twentieth centuries, the United States was known as a
“melting pot,” a term implying that the aim of many foreign-born people who
came here was to become assimilated and integrated into the prevailing white,
European culture (and we might add, male, as women during this era still had to
fight for basic rights, such as the right to vote). In recent decades, however, it has
come to be seen that such a homogeneous culture has many biases; as a result,
we find a trend to recognize, maintain, and celebrate our differences. This con-
sciousness of diversity has been reflected in theatre. Many organizations have
emerged that present productions by and for groups with specific interests includ-
ing feminism; gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgendered points of view; and many
others relating to diversity in politics, race, gender, ethnic background, and sexual
orientation. Again, we will discuss global and multicultural theatre more fully
when we survey our contemporary theatrical landscape.
THEATRE, TELEVISION, AND FILM

Theatre is the fountainhead of all drama in whatever form it appears: film, televi-
sion, computer, tablet, or theme park. The ancient Greeks, 2,500 years ago, estab-
lished the categories of tragedy and comedy that are still used today. They also
developed dramatic structure, acting, and theatre architecture. Roman domestic
comedies are the prototype of every situation comedy we see in the movies or on
television. In other words, though we may not be aware of it, each time we see
a performance we are taking part in theatre history. Wherever theatre or other
media arts occur, their foundation, their roots, are always found in historical fore-
runners and antecedents.
When audiences watch a performance of a Shakespearean play in an outdoor
theatre—for example, at the Shakespeare festival in Ashland, Oregon, or at the Old
Globe in San Diego, California—they are not only watching a play by a dramatist
who lived 400 years ago but are also sharing in an environment, a configuration
of audience and stage space, that goes back much farther to the ancient Greeks.
In the same way, when an audience sees a drama by the French playwright
Molière, they are partaking not only of a theatrical tradition that traces its roots
to seventeenth-century France, but also of a tradition that goes back to Italian
commedia dell’arte, which came to prominence a century earlier. And the theatre
space in which it is performed goes back to the proscenium stage, which originated
during the Italian Renaissance in the early seventeenth century. Similarly, at a

college production of Bertolt Brecht’s The Good Person of Szechwan, the audience
members are not only seeing a play by one of the most innovative playwrights of
the twentieth century; they are seeing a play that was strongly influenced by tech-
niques of ancient Asian theatre.
And, as we noted, whenever we watch films or television shows, on whatever
electronic device we choose, we are seeing popular works clearly influenced by
these traditions, practices, and forms of theatre.
Theatre and Television

The characters of film and television—the heroes, the villains, the victims, the
comic figures—all come straight from predecessors in theatre. The way stories
are structured—the early scenes, the succession of crises, the withholding and
revealing of information—were there first, hundreds of years ago, in the theatre.
In other words, the structure, the dynamics, the subject matter of both television
and film can be traced directly to antecedents in theatre.
On television, we can see a wide range of dramatic offerings that have a clear
counterpart in theatrical prototypes. Daytime soap operas present a variety of
domestic crises in family and other relationships. These dramas use many theatri-
cal devices to ensure our continued viewing. A suspenseful moment concludes
each segment; heightened music and emotions capture our attention. Recognizable
character types—young lovers, difficult parents, doctors, lawyers, and criminals—
inhabit the world of the all daytime soap operas.
Nighttime hospital and police shows, as well as earlier popular westerns,
present the thrills and suspense of traditional melodrama. The stereotypical char-
acters, including the heroes and villains; the focus on the spectacular and the
grotesque; and the neat and happy resolutions are all related, as we shall see, to
nineteenth-century melodrama. The popularity of CSI, Chicago PD, Chicago
Fire, The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones is related to their use of traditional
characteristics of the suspenseful melodramas staged in the theatres of earlier eras.
Situation comedies depict young as well as middle-age characters in farcical
and humorous encounters. These comic television shows have, throughout the his-
tory of the medium, focused on domestic situations, language filled with sexual
double meaning, physical humor, exaggerated characters, and recognizable situa-
tions. Classic situation comedies, such as I Love Lucy, Will & Grace, Seinfeld,
Modern Family, Big Bang Theory, Transparent, and Black-ish, all reflect comic
traditions, techniques, characters, and structures developed earlier in theatre.
Popular television variety shows throughout the medium’s history have all
been influenced by earlier popular theatrical forms that we will discuss later, such
as minstrelsy, burlesque, and vaudeville. The long-running format of Saturday
Night Live, which combines take-offs of serious films or literature, satire of polit-
ical figures, exaggerated fictional characters, and popular musical acts, is a close
replica of vaudeville, a popular theatre form of the early twentieth century.
The NBC network has also televised live stage musicals annually, frequently
casting major film, theatre, TV, pop music, and stage stars. To reflect the desire
to emulate an actual musical theatre experience, the shows all have Live attached
at the end of their traditional titles. Those staged for TV productions include: The
Sound of Music (2013), Peter Pan (2014), Hairspray (2016), and Bye, Bye, Birdie
(2017), featuring Jennifer Lopez.
On television, even news documentaries are framed in dramatic terms: a car
crash in which a prom queen dies; a spy caught because of an e-mail message; a

high government official or corporate officer accused
of sexual harassment. Extremely popular reality
shows are also staged like theatrical events. Many of
the shows focus on highly dramatic situations and
turn the real-life individuals into theatrical characters.
And we all know that the reality shows are theatri-
cally manipulated to create a sense of dramatic ten-
sion, ongoing suspense, and heightened conflict
among the participants.
Theatre and Film

Film has been influenced by theatre even more clearly
than television has. Movies provide dramatic material
of many kinds: science fiction; romantic and domestic
comedies; action-packed stories of intrigue; historical
epics; and even film versions of classical plays, such
as Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Othello, and Romeo and
Juliet. And we should note that there is a combina-
tion of film and video when we watch movies at home
on a DVD, a Blu-ray, or streamed through our smart
4K Ultra HDTV, Blu-ray player, game console, tablet,
smartphone, or other device. Various types and cate-
gories of theatrical offerings have been appropriated
by film. Successful film musicals, such as Into the
Woods (2014), are movie versions of hugely success-
FILM AND THEATRE ful stage musicals. As mentioned earlier, classical and
From the beginning theatre has had a profound effect on contemporary plays are frequently adapted into mov-
film, as well as on other media. Stories, characters, even ies, such as the Pulitzer Prize winning Fences.
dialogue are lifted straight from theatre and put on film. In addition, most film genres borrow from past
The scene above is from a popular film of 2016, Fences, theatrical traditions. For example, popular cinematic
which is based on a play written by August Wilson in melodramas, such as the films based on comic book
which Denzel Washington, seen above, also appeared
heroes, reflect the characteristics of the theatrical
previously on Broadway. Playing his wife in the film,
as she did in the Broadway production, is Viola Davis.
genre and earlier theatrical innovations. We shall see
(©Joan Marcus)
that the intense interest in creating awe-inspiring spe-
cial effects was as prevalent in nineteenth-century
theatre as it is in twenty-first-century film.
At the same time, since the inception of commercial film, there has been a
great deal of crossover by theatre and film artists. As we shall see, many film
stars began their careers in theatre. For that matter, Hollywood frequently raided
the New York theatre for actors, directors, and writers during the 1930s, 1940s,
and 1950s. Many current film and television stars began their careers in theatre
and return to it on occasion; one example is Denzel Washington, who won a Tony
Award for a Broadway revival of Fences in 2010, which he made into a critically
acclaimed film in 2016. And many playwrights, from the earliest days of film and
television, write for these media. Sam Shepard, David Mamet, Tony Kushner, Neil
LaBute, Theresa Rebecki, Sarah Treem, and Beau Willimon are examples of suc-
cessful theatre, screenplay, and teleplay authors.
In recent years, many movie and television stars, whose entire careers have
been in these media, have performed onstage as an artistic challenge. For example,
Daniel Radcliffe, from the Harry Potter movies, starred in London and Broadway

productions, including the musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really
Trying (2011), The Cripple of Inishmann (2014), Privacy (2016), and Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern Are Dead (2017). In 2013, the film stars Daniel Craig, a recent
James Bond, and his wife Rachel Weisz, also a film star, appeared on Broadway
in Harold Pinter’s Betrayal; Craig, along with stage and movie actor David
Oyelowo, also starred in Othello (2016) off-Broadway. Among other well-known
film actors to star in Broadway productions are Tom Hanks, James Franco, and
Scarlett Johansson. What attracted audiences to these, and many other examples,
were the production’s media stars.
And just as film stars are admired for their wealth and status, while at the
same time their personal lives are viewed suspiciously—for example, consider the
constant attention on their romantic breakups—so, too, were theatrical stars from
the earliest times on. This obsession with the lives of stars is reflected today in
the popularity of such tabloids and magazines as Star, National Enquirer, and
People as well as Hollywood gossip television shows, including TMZ; and in just
the same way, there were earlier theatrical publications that reported about the
lives of stage personalities.
THEATRE IS EVERYWHERE
The connection between theatre and both television and film probably does not
come as a surprise to most people. On the other hand, most of us would no doubt
be surprised at the great extent to which theatre permeates and informs so many
other aspects of our lives. Think of how often we use theatre as a metaphor to
describe an activity in daily life. We say that someone is melodramatic or highly
theatrical or acts like a “prima donna.” When we don’t believe children, we say that
they are play-acting. We refer to the battleground on which a war is fought as a
“theatre.” Clearly, theatre is an activity that we use to describe how we live.
Religious and civic ceremonies and rituals also have theatrical qualities. (We
shall see in the chapters “Early Theatres: Greek, Roman, and Medieval” and “Early
Theatre: Asian” how the origins of theatre may be connected to religious rituals
and ceremonies.) Weddings, funerals, other religious ceremonies as well as family
and society celebrations have strong elements of theatre in them. Costumes, a set
script, various roles to be played: all of these are similar to counterparts in theatre.
In addition, as we will note in a later chapter, acting is part of our everyday
lives. We describe the role-playing we do in our professional and personal spheres
as if we were performers on the stage of life. Children and adults imitate behav-
iors that they admire in the same way that actors and actresses mimic behavior.
As we go through our college careers, we play many roles, such as student, friend,
romantic partner, organization member, and student government leader. As adults
we also play a number of roles: doctor, lawyer, engineer, nurse, parent, teacher,
spouse, political figure.
Theatre is incorporated in our lives in other ways. Taken in its broadest sense,
it is everywhere around us. A Thanksgiving Day parade, a trial in a courtroom—
all of these have recognizable theatrical elements: costumes or uniforms, a formal
structure, performers, and spectators. The same is true of such activities as a
presidential nominating convention, a Senate hearing, or a White House press
conference. Even seemingly spontaneous, unrehearsed events, such as a high-
speed automobile chase or a gunman holding hostages in a suburban home, have
been imbued with theatrical qualities by the time they are broadcast on television.
The person holding the television camera has framed the “shots” showing the

THEATRICAL ELEMENTS IN RITUALS AND CEREMONIES
Weddings, funerals, other religious ceremonies as well as family and society rituals have strong elements of theatre in them.
Costumes, a set script, various roles to be played: all of these are similar to counterparts in theatre. Shown here is a wedding
ceremony with the bride and groom in appropriate attire, and a presiding official. Often the one officiating is a priest,
minister, or rabbi. (©Stewart Cohen/Getty Images RF)
event; and for the evening news, the people who edit and report a segment on a
real-life tragedy have taken great care to present the story as a brief drama, with
an attention-grabbing opening followed by a suspenseful or shocking revelation
and then a closing quotation, perhaps from a relative or neighbor. We even
encounter drama in seemingly real-life reports on television: not only the evening
news but documentaries and so-called “reality” shows.
Among our popular activities and institutions, rock concerts, amusement
parks, museums, sporting events, and digital media all display and rely on strong
theatrical components.
Theatre and Rock Music

When we turn from electronic and digital media to live performance, we see that
theatre has pervaded and influenced a popular music form with which we are all
familiar: rock. Throughout its history, rock has appropriated theatrical elements.
The singer and dancer Lady Gaga is a perfect example. Her extravagant outfits and

over-the-top visual effects are directly derived from theatrical antecedents, as are
her lighting and special effects. The purpose, of course, is to draw attention to the
performer. “One of my greatest art works,” she has said, “is the art of fame.” Her
“Monster Ball (2009–2011)” and “ArtRave: The Artpop Ball (2014)” tours were
highly staged theatrical events. For that matter, a New York Times article describing
her Monster Ball performance at Radio City Music Hall was entitled, “For Lady
Gaga, Every Concert Is a Drama.” The same is true of the highly theatrical per-
formances of many other contemporary pop stars.
Numerous other rock stars have created theatrical characters for their perfor-
mances. Beginning with Little Richard and Elvis Presley in the 1950s, and con-
tinuing with the Beatles in the 1960s, through punk rock, glam rock, rap, hip-hop,
and other forms, popular musical performers have used exaggerated characteriza-
tions, gender-bending personas, costumes, props, and makeup to create theatrical
characterizations. The actual performers were often less recognizable than their
stage personae.
The connection between rock performance and theatre is also illustrated by the
many rock stars who have acted in films, television, and stage. For example, the
hip-hop and rap star Mos Def has appeared on Broadway and in numerous movies.
The popularity of music videos also reflects the integration of theatrical elements
into rock and roll. These videos turn many songs into visual, dramatic narratives.
As noted earlier, current rock concerts are also highly theatrical events, using
live performers, lights, sound, projections, and properties in ways that are like
multi-media presentations. For example, Beyonce’s 2016 Formation tour incorpo-
rated all of these elements almost blurring the distinction between rock concert
and theatrical spectacle. Other pop stars such as Justin Timberlake and Christina
THEATRICALITY IN ROCK MUSIC PERFORMANCES

Good examples of the crossover of theatrical elements between the popular arts and traditional
theatre are the elaborate, outsize presentations of individual performers and music groups in
their live stage presentations. Extravagant costumes, spectacular lighting, sound and scenic
effects are the hallmark of these performances. A good example was Lady Gaga’s performance
at the Super Bowl in 2017. (©Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images)

Aguilera have staged their concerts like theatre performances, with spectacular
lighting effects and gymnastic-like dance routines. Even classic rock groups have
added highly visual theatrical elements to their touring shows to appeal to more
contemporary fans. Each year, the Grammy Awards becomes a more theatrical
event, showcasing incredibly spectacular lighting, costuming, multimedia, and
special effects to enhance the show.
Acoustic and less spectacular tours by some well-known rock stars are a reac-
tion against these intensely theatrical concerts and reflect a desire to return the
focus to the live performer, stripping away much of the stage effects. We shall
see that some contemporary theatrical theorists and experimental artists also argue
for diminishing spectacular scenery and using fewer special effects, to reestablish
the primacy of live performance.
In the past few years, there has also been a new phenomenon in musical
theatre: the use of previously recorded rock and pop music as the score for musi-
cals. The most popular example of such musicals is Mamma Mia! (1999), which
used the songs of a group from the 1980s, ABBA. Other examples include All
Shook Up (2005), which used Elvis Presley’s hits; Jersey Boys (2004), which
traced the career of a pop group of the 1960s, the Four Seasons; Rock of Ages
(2006), which used 1980s rock music; American Idiot (2009), adapted from Green
Day’s concept album; Motown (2013), which used the 1960s pop music by African
American performers from Detroit; and Beautiful (2014), based on the early life
and music of Carole King.
Some rock composers have also composed scores for musicals, including
Elton John for Aida (1998) and Billy Elliott (2005), David Bryan, keyboardist for
Bon Jovi, for Memphis (2009), Bono and Edge of U2 for Spiderman: Turn Off
the Dark (2011), Cindy Lauper for Kinky Boots (2012), and Sarah Bareilles for
Waitress (2016). We will discuss the influence of rock on the American musical
more fully later when we survey the history of this popular theatrical form.
Theatricality in Amusement Parks, Museums,

Las Vegas, and Sporting Events
Rock illustrates that we have come to expect theatrical elements as part of our
popular entertainments and that theatre is around us in many unexpected venues.
Amusement parks like Disney World, Sea World, and Universal Studios incorporate
theatrical material; most, for example, present staged productions based on films,
which attract huge audiences. The rides at these amusement parks also incorporate
theatricality by placing the participant in a theatrical environment and a dramatic
situation. Rides based on the Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, and Harry Potter films,
among many others, allow us, as riders, to be actors in a dramatic plotline, in a space
that functions as a kind of stage setting. Disney World has announced plans to build
an “immersive” hotel that will allow guests to become part of a Star Wars story.
We can also see theatre around us in many other everyday activities. Many
restaurants, such as the Rainforest Cafes, have theatrical environments. Shopping
centers and specialty stores, such as Niketown and American Girl, contain spaces
for performances that highlight specific holiday seasons or product lines.
Museums have recently adopted some of these theatrical techniques to attract
visitors. For example, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in
Springfield, Illinois, includes stage presentations, with live actors and high tech
special effects, about this famous president as well as about how historians and
archivists work. The museum also contains many exhibits that function like stage

LAS VEGAS AS THEATRICAL ENVIRONMENT
Almost the entire central part of Las Vegas, Nevada, is a gigantic stage set. Everything from the pyramids to the Eiffel Tower
and New York City is re-produced there. Seen here is a re-creation of a canal in Venice to house shops at the Venetian Hotel,
Las Vegas. (©Andreas Sterzing/VISUM/The Image Works)
settings, including a reproduction of the log cabin in which Lincoln originally

lived. Many museums now host performances, such as the Museum of Contem-
porary Art in Chicago and the Walker Center in Minneapolis.
In cities such as Orlando, Florida, dinner theatres present theatrical entertain-
ments based on Roman gladiators, medieval knights, and gangsters of the 1930s.
Medieval Nights is an extremely popular dinner theatre entertainment in Orlando,
New Jersey, and Chicago. Las Vegas is a highly theatricalized environment. Its
hotels—such as New York, New York; the Bellagio; Luxor; and Mandelay Bay—
are constructed like huge theatrical sets. Lavish stage shows use all the elements
of theatre to entertain audiences. Possibly the most spectacular is KA, a $165
million production of Cirque du Soleil, staged at the MGM Grand by the avant-
garde Canadian director Robert LePage, and which gained notoriety for the death
of a performer in 2013. In addition, many performance artists and Broadway
musicals have set up companies in Las Vegas. These theatre productions are even
modified to meet the time limitations of the traditional Las Vegas stage show.
Contemporary sporting events also integrate significant theatrical elements.
Sports arenas, as we will note later, function much like theatre spaces. The intro-
duction of sports teams before the start of competitions is often highly staged, with
spectacular sound, lighting, and visual effects. Halftime shows, particularly at
championship games such as the Super Bowl, are often huge stage spectacles with
musicians, dancers, and special effects. Lady Gaga’s 2017 Super Bowl perfor-
mance, for example, included lighting effects, flying her in, and the use of drones.

THEATRICALITY IN SPORTS EVENTS
Sporting events are often highly theatrical—football, basketball, and baseball, as well as many other sports, have a definite
theatrical component. One prime example is the half-time show at the annual Super Bowl. Shown here is the half time show
at the Super Bowl in 2017 at which the performer Lady Gaga appeared and which featured stunning lighting and special
effects. (©Cal Sport Media/Alamy Stock Photo)
Theatre and Digital Media

At the start of the twenty-first century, digital media are omnipresent, ranging
from the computer to the Xbox to the iPad to the multitude of smartphones. One
result is the immense popularity of video games and other interactive activities
accessed through the Internet, on all of these devices, and which are clearly influ-
enced by theatre. These digital entertainments usually present a theatrical plotline
in which we engage. Many of these storylines are based on popular melodramatic
premises taken from films, comic books, and other entertainments. Some are based
on historical events, such as actual wars and battles; others are fictional tales. Their
goal is to make us feel as if we are actors within the universe of the game. The
desire to create realistic special effects graphics continues a tradition that began
with nineteenth-century stage melodrama, continued into film and television, and
now is an engaging element of these digital games.
There are also interactive theatrical role-playing websites on the Internet.
These sites all allow us to feel as if we are actors in a theatricalized fantasy world.
Even websites that are supposedly realistic chat rooms allow us to play roles as
if we are actors in a performance for an unseen audience.

PLAYING YOUR PART:
THINKING ABOUT THEATRE
1. Attend a theatre performance. Note the following: (a) What it is like arriving at the theatre, entering the lobby, then
entering the theatre itself. (b) As the performance begins, how you become aware of the type of theatre you will see:
musical, historical play, modern domestic drama, comedy, or something other than these.
2. As the play gets under way take note of the following:
a. The scenery: Is it life-like or fantasy? Is it complete or merely suggestive of time and place? Is it beautiful to look
at or is it depicting something frightening or strange? Is the stage filled with scenery, or relatively bare? As the
play progresses, does the scenery remain constant or are there frequent scene changes?
b. The lighting: What kind of lighting is there? Is it the lighting of a rock concert or nightclub, or does it seem like
the natural lighting of a home or an outdoor park or patio? What are the colors of the lighting? Are the colors
appropriate to the situation? Does the lighting change frequently or only rarely?
c. The acting: Are the performers supposed to be ordinary people, of the type you would recognize from friends,
family, or everyday characters on TV? Or are the characters historical people or larger-than-life figures? Is there
anything special about the way one or more actors perform? Are they believable and ordinary, or is there some-
thing unusual or distinctive?
The term cosplay is a contraction of costume and play. It describes a combina- Cosplay A contraction of
tion of role-playing, costuming, and social interactions and became a worldwide costume and play that
popular culture phenomenon because of the Internet. Cosplay, which began in combines role-playing,
the 1990s, refers to people, known as cosplayers, dressing up as characters from costuming, and social
interactions through the
cartoons, video games, films, television series, and other entertainments.
Internet or at conventions.
Often those engaged in cosplay attend large fan conventions for popular tele-
vision shows, comic book conventions, and cosplay competitions. The combina-
tion of online social networks and dedicated websites allows cosplayers to interact
virtually and at any time of day or night from across the globe.
Another impact of digital technology is that audiences can attend live broadcast
and digitally streamed productions from theatres across their nation and across the
globe. The National Theatre, for example, established National Theatre Live, which
broadcasts productions via satellite to film houses. Some theatres stream perfor-
mances to audience members’ computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones. Broad-
way HD was established to allow individuals anywhere to stream Broadway
quality shows to their digital devices. But like live television, these streamed events
do not place audiences in the presence of the live performers as theatre does.
Although there is an abundance of dramatic materials available in movie
houses, on television, on Blu-ray or DVD, streamed digitally into our homes, in
amusement parks, at sporting events, in video games, and on the Internet, theatre
itself is also a highly diverse and eclectic art form that attracts a wide spectrum
of audience members and artists and is, in stark contrast to these others, a truly
live, nonmediated art form.
THEATRE AND THE HUMAN CONDITION

There is one additional, highly significant, but often overlooked reason for us to
attend and study theatre. Throughout its history theatre has had a two-fold appeal.
One attraction is the sheer excitement or amusement of a theatre event. The other

is the unique ability of theatre to incorporate in dramatic material profound, pro-
vocative, timeless observations about our human condition. Ideas, moral dilem-
mas, probing insights—these have long found vivid expression in exceptional
plays and exceptional performances. Moreover, in theatre these performances are
live, not reproduced on a film, television screen, or digital device.
In Greek and Shakespearean tragedy, and in the works of modern playwrights
like Henrik Ibsen, Anton Chekhov, Eugene O’Neill, Tennessee Williams, Arthur
Miller, Lorraine Hansberry, and August Wilson, we encounter questions and issues
that strike at the very heart of our human existence. In the comedies of the French
playwright Molière, we see personal foibles exposed as they have rarely been
before or since.
Finally, theatre also differs in significant ways from other types of live enter-
tainment such as performances by rock stars. Rock musicians, for example, make
no pretense of offering the same kind of experience as a production by a theatre
company. A drama or a piece of performance art has a structure—a beginning,
middle, and end—a purpose, a cast of characters, a unique completeness that a
concert by a rock artist would never aspire to.
In other words, theatre, which influences so much of the world around us, is
an art form with its own characteristics: its own quality, coherence, and integrity.
SUMMARY
1. During the past century live theatre has faced a number of daunting challenges from
other dramatic media: films, television, electronic media, etc.
2. Live theatre has been able to meet these challenges not only because of its unique
characteristics, but chiefly because it is only in live theatre that the audience is
physically present at a performance by live actors.
3. Live theatre today is available in a wide variety of venues: commercial theatre,
nonprofit professional theatre, college and university theatre, amateur theatre, chil-
dren’s theatre.
4. There is also a wide range of the types of theatre available today: classic, traditional,
experimental, avant-garde.
5. Theatrical elements are part of many other activities in which we engage: religious
services, rock concerts, theme parks, sports events.
Design elements: Playing Your Part box (theatre seats): ©McGraw-Hill Education;
In Focus box (spotlight): ©d_gas/Getty Images

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174. Culture-areas
The native cultures of the New World are signalized by the two
outstanding traits already alluded to. First, they have come to us
virtually in momentary cross section, flat and without perspective. In
general there are few historic data extant about them. Second, they
represent the civilizations of by far the greatest geographical extent
and highest attainment that have developed independently, in the
main at least, of the great web of culture growths which appear to
have had their principal origin in the regions not far from the eastern
Mediterranean. They offer, accordingly, a separate problem, and one
which, on account of the dearth of temporal data, has had to be
approached through the medium of space. As soon, therefore, as
knowledge of American cultures became orderly, its organization
was inevitably effected in terms of geography. The result has been
the recognition of a series of culture-areas or culture-centers, several
of which have already been referred to (§ 150-152). These
geographically defined types of culture are gradual and empirical
findings. They are not the product of a scheme or imagination, nor
the result of theory. They are not even the formulation of any one
mind. They do represent a consensus of opinion as to the
classification of a mass of facts, slowly arrived at, contributed to by
many workers, probably accepted in exact identity by no two of them
but in essential outlines by all; in short, a non-philosophical,
inductive, mainly unimpeachable organization of phenomena
analogous to the “natural” classification of animals and plants on
which systematic biology rests.
These culture areas, centers, or types have been established with
greater exactitude for North than for South America. The ten usually
recognized (see Fig. 34) are:
1. Arctic or Eskimo: coastal
2. Northwest or North Pacific Coast: also a coastal strip
3. California or California-Great Basin
4. Plateau: the northern inter-mountain region
5. Mackenzie-Yukon: the northern interior forest and tundra tract
6. Plains: the level or rolling prairies of the interior
7. Northeast or Northern Woodland: forested
8. Southeast or Southern Woodland: also timbered
9. Southwest: the southern plateau, sub-arid
10. Mexico: from the tropic to Nicaragua.
The only serious divergence of opinion as to distinctness or
approximate boundaries might arise in regard to numbers 4 and 5 of
this list. The culture of the Mackenzie region is so deficient and
colorless that some students have hesitated to set it up as a
separate unit. The Plateau culture is also vague as to positive traits.
A plausible argument could be advanced apportioning it between the
adjacent Northwest, Plains, California, and Southwest cultures. In
fact, usage has here been departed from in reckoning the Great
Basin, that part of the plateau which is without ocean drainage, with
California instead of the Plateau.
Fig. 34. Culture-areas of America. The numbers refer to the names as listed
on pp. 336, 338. (Modified from Wissler.)
The Mexican area is less homogeneous than any of the preceding.

At least three sub-centers must apparently be recognized within it:
those of the Nahua or Aztec, Zapotec, and Maya. The Nahua were
politically and economically dominant at the time of discovery, but
the Maya center is likely to be the oldest. To it seems due most of
the progress achieved in architecture, sculpture, calendry, and
writing. The sources of knowledge in the Mexican area are historic
and archæological rather than contemporaneously ethnological, and
are available through the medium of Spanish writings. Also the
phenomena are more diverse and intricate, as is only natural with
higher cultures. The consequence is that they are scarcely as well
ordered as those from north of Mexico and have not yet been
brought into as close a comparable relation with the latter as these
among themselves.
South American cultures seem to arrange themselves on fewer
lines of cleavage than those of the northern continent. Only five
areas are as yet distinctly recognizable. This paucity is perhaps due
to a less intensive search for facts and less systematic attempt to
classify them, so that future studies may increase the number of
areas recognized. Yet a simplicity of plan of culture relationships is
evident. The narrow strip between the Andes and the Pacific is a
region of rather high culture throughout, the whole remainder of the
continent one of much lower and comparatively uniform culture. The
areas determined are:
11. Colombia or Chibcha: western Colombia with the nearer parts
of Central America and northwestern Ecuador. This is in the main a
timbered region.
12. Andean or Peruvian: from southern Ecuador to northern Chile
and northwestern Argentina. This is distinctively an arid to sub-arid
and unforested belt.
13. Patagonia: characteristically an open, semi-arid country.
14. Tropical Forest: the vast Orinoco, Amazon, and La Plata
drainages, prevailingly lowland, humid, and containing the greatest
forest in the world. Three sub-regions stand out with a certain ethnic
differentiation, although the basis of their culture seems to be that of
the woodland. They are: the savannahs of the Guiana region; the
highlands of eastern Brazil; the Chaco, west of the middle La Plata
system. All three of these are open areas or only part timbered.
15. Antillean: the West Indies, including probably the Venezuela
coast. This culture was the earliest to perish in the New World. It
received the first shock of Caucasian discovery and settlement, and
its carriers had no hinterland to which to retreat. It is therefore
imperfectly known. Its closest affiliations are with the preceding area.
In fact, the Antillean may yet prove only a subdivision of the Tropical
Forest culture. In the discussions that follow, it has been omitted, but
can in the main be understood as included in what is said of the
Tropical Forest area.
175. Diagrammatic Representation of

Accumulation and Diffusion of Culture Traits
The outstanding facts regarding these fourteen or fifteen culture-
areas can be most vividly presented in a table allotting a column to
each area. Roughly, at least, these columns can follow one another
in geographical order. In each column, then, there might be entered
all the culture traits found in its area. If one culture were twice as rich
or complex as another, the double number of entries would pile up
twice as high and impress the eye.
Actually, such a procedure is hardly practicable. The number of
culture elements is too great. Often too there would be doubt
whether a feature should be reckoned as one or several. Metal
working comprises smelting, casting, forging, alloying, plating,
soldering, and welding. These are distinct techniques. Yet they
usually occur together or are all lacking. One tribe practises simple
two-ply twining. Another adds three-strand, diagonal, and lattice
twining and three-strand braiding, probably as developments of the
original two-strand process. As between two adjacent or related
basket-making peoples, this difference may be very significant;
measured against cloth weaving, it is trivial.
Accordingly, in order to render the data more easily apperceived
and conceptualized, only the more fundamental aspects of arts and
institutions have been included in the diagram (Fig. 35), plus some
that perhaps involve intrinsically less significant principles or
faculties, but were of particular importance in the life of the peoples
following them, such as the tipi or skin tent of the Plains tribes. This
means that a necessarily subjective selection of traits has been
made in the compilation of the table. But the reader who is not a
specialist in the matter will generally be grateful for the elimination;
and this elimination has at least been conducted without a conscious
bias in any one direction. If anything, it would seem that the selective
condensation has operated against the preëminence of the
advanced areas. With every possible datum inserted, the peaks in
the table would probably overshadow the valleys much more
conspicuously.
Accepting the diagram, then, as affording an approximately truthful
picture, it is obvious that much the greatest advancement took place
in Middle America—the region from Mexico to Peru; and that on the
whole the majority of culture traits found in any of the more backward
areas are shared with this middle region. These are the traits below
the heavy line that steps up and down across the diagram. A
minority of traits—those above the heavy line—are local to the
several areas. On the basic principle that a trait occurring over a
continuous territory may be assumed to have originated but once
and to have spread by diffusion, the bulk of the culture of most of the
areas must have come into them from outside. On the principle that
a people with many established arts is more likely to make a new
invention than is a retarded people, the great majority of the diffused
elements may therefore be attributed to a Middle American source.
In this region, then, lay the focal point, the hive, of American
civilization. From it, the tribes of the Lower Amazon and the upper
Mississippi equally derived most of the limited culture which they
possessed.
Fig. 35. Diagram illustrating the occurrence of some representative elements of
culture in the various areas of America. In general, assumed early elements
are below, late ones above, within each column; but for the figure as a whole,
horizontal levels do not indicate contemporaneity as they do in figure 36.
Height of columns is representative of quantity or elaboration of culture
content, which towers impressively in Middle America, to fall away towards the
peripheries. Hatching indicates elements that may once have existed in areas
but are now lacking; stippling, elements perhaps introduced from Asia. Entries
above the heavy line are local developments.
In South America, the diffusion proceeded broadside from the

length of the Andes. In North America, it radiated fanwise from the
south Mexican angle, the Southwest serving as the gateway or first
relaying station that let through most but not all of what it received.
One area alone, the Northwest Coast, was reached but imperfectly
by Middle American influences, yet attained a tolerable development
through its own creative force, supplemented in some measure by
the drift into it of sporadic culture element migrants from Asia. Here
only, then, there occurred a markedly independent growth of
civilization, though definitely secondary to the great evolution of
Middle America which in the main determined the culture of the twin
continents.
176. Representation Showing
Contemporaneity and Narrative
Representation
So far as possible, the traits in each column of the diagram have
been disposed in the order of their presumptive appearance in time.
In the lowest level, for instance, have been set those elements that
are likely to have been common to all the first immigrants into
America. Local developments tending on the whole to be late, have
been placed toward the heads of columns; and, roughly throughout,
widely diffused and therefore apparently early elements are nearer
the bottom. In general, accordingly, the sequence upward of traits
indicates their approximate sequence in time. But this arrangement
obviously holds chiefly for each column as a unit. As between the
columns, it breaks down, since the top of each column would
represent the same period, the moment of discovery, and these tops
are not on a level.
The display of the same data in such a manner that vertical
position would adequately represent proportional lapse of time as the
horizontal placing suggests geographical contiguity, would
necessitate another arrangement. In such a diagram the height of
each column would be the same, but the richer cultures would have
their constituent elements more closely crowded. That is, each new
invention or institution or importation followed more rapidly on its
predecessor than in the peripheral areas. For instance, while maize
agriculture was spreading from Middle America to the Southwest and
thence to the Northeast, the Middle Americans were adding varied
agriculture and metallurgy, human sacrifice, and astronomy. The
strata in the diagram would therefore generally not be level but
would slope upward from their origin in the middle. This would be a
more accurate schematic representation of what happened.
On the other hand, difficulties would arise in the graphic
representation. The domestication of the llama, for instance, is
confined to a single area, the Andean. Yet the domestication is
rather ancient, as archæological discoveries prove; perhaps older
than the spread of many culture elements from the Andes into the
Tropical Forest, or from Mexico into the United States. The llama
could therefore not be placed properly near the head of the column
representing Andean culture, because the top of this column would
signify recency. It would have to be inserted lower down, thus
breaking the continuity of strata extending through several areas.
Thus the diagram would quickly become so intricate as to lose its
graphic value.
It would simplify the problem if the large mass of culture elements
could be segregated into a small number of groups, each assignable
to a stratum or period, much as the constituents of the religion and
then of the whole culture of the California Indians were analyzed and
then regrouped in the preceding chapter. Such a procedure,
however, is much easier and more accurate for the subdivisions of
one limited area than for an entire hemisphere, because the
interrelations of the areas constituting this are naturally very complex
and at many points imperfectly known. Such a schematic
representation of the course of culture in the whole of the Americas
on the basis of as many traits as are included in Figure 35, is
therefore not attempted here. Instead, there is reproduced an
analogous but simpler scheme (Fig. 36) recently published by an
author whose primary concern is with Middle America, who has
presented his story in the form of a treatment by larger periods, and
in his diagram extends these to the remainder of the two continents.
If his figure seems different from the preceding one, it should be
remembered that the two approaches are not only from somewhat
different angles but independent of each other, besides which it will
be found that the divergence between the two illustrations (Figs. 35
and 36) is more apparent than intrinsic.
Fig. 36. Diagrammatic representation by Spinden of the development of native
American culture. Fewer elements of culture are included than in figure 35,
but these are definitely placed according to their indicated sequence in time.
While this diagram was prepared with particular reference to Middle American
civilization and therefore has reference only to the culture areas cut by the line
ABCD, and while it carries the peopling of the continent a few thousand years
back of the time assumed in this book, it is in substantial agreement with the
views expressed in the present chapter.
At best, however, all diagrams are not only schematic but static;
and it may accordingly be worth while to try to narrate some of the
principal events of the history of American civilization in order to
bring out their continuity and relations as they appear in perspective.
But the reader must remember that this is a reconstruction from
indirect and often imperfect evidence, probably correct in the large
and in many details, certain to be incorrect in some proportion of its
findings, tentative throughout and subject to revision as the future
brings fuller insight. It aims to give the truth as it can be pieced
together: it is never a directly documented story like those familiar to
us from orthodox “history.”
177. Racial Origin of the American Indians
The American race can hardly have come from anywhere else
than Asia: it entered the New World perhaps ten thousand years
ago. Its affiliations, as previously set forth (§ 23, 25) are generically
Mongoloid. This statement does not mean that the American Indians
are descended from the Chinese or Japanese, any more than the
fact that these are denominated Mongolians implies belief in their
descent from the particular modern people known as the Mongols.
We call ourselves Caucasians without any intimation that our
ancestors lived in the Caucasus mountains or that the present
inhabitants of the Caucasus are a purer and more representative
stock than we. So the Mongolians are that group of “yellow” peoples
of eastern Asia of whom the Mongols form part; and the Mongoloids
are the larger group that takes in Mongolians, East Indians, and
Americans. From the original proto-Mongoloid stem, all three
divisions and their subdivisions have sprung and differentiated. The
American Indians have probably remained closer to it than the
Chinese. It would be more correct to say that the Chinese have
developed out of an ancient Indian-like stock, acquiring slant eyes
rather late.
The proto-Mongoloid stem must be ten thousand years old. It is
probably much older. In the Aurignacian period, the third from the
last in the Old Stone Age, twenty-five thousand or so years ago,
possibly longer, the two other great types of living men were already
rather well characterized. The fossil Grimaldi race of this period
shows pretty clear Negroid affinities; the contemporary Cro-Magnon
race can probably be reckoned as proto-Caucasian. It is therefore
probable, although as yet unproved by discoveries, that the proto-
Mongoloids were also already in existence.
178. The Time of the Peopling of America

About the end of the Palæolithic or beginning of the Neolithic
some of these proto-Mongoloids drifted from Asia into North
America. These were probably the real discoverers of the New
World, which they found inhabited only by brutes. The time of their
invasion can be but roughly fixed, yet within its limits it seems fairly
reliable. Had the migration occurred much later, when the Neolithic
was already well under way, the domesticated animals and plants of
the Old World would have been introduced—cattle, pigs, sheep,
wheat, barley, rice, millet, all of which the Americans lacked. The
same holds for inventions like the wheel.
Analogous arguments weigh against a belief in a possible earlier
peopling of America, say in the middle Palæolithic. In that event
there ought to be cave or rock shelter or river terrace deposits
corresponding to those of Europe in containing only implements of
Palæolithic type. But none such have been found in America, or
where alleged, their circumstances have remained matters of
controversy.
Further, if Palæolithic man had inhabited the western hemisphere,
it is likely that his fossil remains would have come to light. There has
been much excavation, and numerous investigators are alive to the
importance which evidence of this sort would bear. Yet to date not a
single human fossil of positively Pleistocene age or type has been
discovered. Numerous sensational finds have been announced. But
in every case their geological matrix or stratum has been proved
either recent or open to doubt. And not a single fragment of a
skeleton of Neandertal type, or one equally different from modern
man, is on record from America. Every once alleged Pleistocene
skull or part appears to belong to some branch of the American
Indian race as it exists to-day. It is therefore unlikely that man
reached America before the last stage of the Palæolithic.
If the date of the entry is set at ten thousand years ago, the
elapsed period accounts very well for the present diversification of
the American race. There are broad and narrow headed tribes, tall
and short ones, some with hooked noses, others with slightly wavy
hair. But the fundamental type is everywhere the same. The
differences seem just such as environment and mode of life, the
accidents of descent from small groups, and perhaps a slight effect
of selection, would be certain to accomplish in time. In general, the
natives of America are remarkably homogeneous, considering the
vast territory they occupy, its variations of temperature, humidity,
altitude, and food supply, and the marked differences in the living
customs of many tribes. The one group that at all stand apart are the
Eskimo; and these are distinct in language and culture also.
Moreover, they occupy the parts nearest to Asia, including both sides
of Behring Strait. Thus they seem to represent a separate origin. But
all the other groups from Alaska to Patagonia are so closely related
somatically, that no comprehensive and generally accepted sub-
classification of them has yet been possible. In fact, the American
race seems almost too undifferentiated to require ten thousand years
for its superficial diversifications; until it is remembered that human
races left to themselves seem in most cases to alter rather slowly.
Mixture is one of the greatest factors of racial change, and in the
isolation of America this element was eliminated to a much larger
extent than in most of the Old World.
179. Linguistic Diversification

Language tells a similar story. The American Indian languages
certainly appear to be diverse. It has been customary to reckon
about a hundred and fifty distinct speech families in North and South
America (§ 50). But many of these are imperfectly known; of late
several Americanist philologists have been inclined to see definite
resemblances between numerous tongues that are superficially
different. Buried and disguised resemblances are being noted, which
point to original unity. Thus the number of genetically distinct families
or language stocks is shrinking. The number to be ultimately
recognized bids fair to be small.
Old World conditions are at bottom more similar than at first
glance seems. English and the modern Hindu languages, such as
Bengali, although certainly related, are quite different from each
other. The proof of their common Indo-European origin rests largely
on the similarities between their ancestral forms, Anglo-Saxon and
Sanskrit. These in turn are tied together more closely by the
connecting evidence of other ancient languages, such as Greek and
Latin. Take away these extinct tongues and the modern transitional
ones, imagine English and Bengali to be the only representatives of
Indo-European, and it is doubtful whether their common parentage
could be wholly proved. The relationship would certainly not be
readily recognizable; the most painstaking analysis would reveal so
many words wholly peculiar to each language, and so many
exceptions to every suggestion of regular sound equivalences, that
conservative philologists would perhaps refuse to commit
themselves on the problem of a single origin.
This imaginary situation parallels the actual one in American
linguistics. Not a single ancient form of speech has been preserved.
Many living ones are inadequately known. The fact that some
enthusiast has compiled a grammar of Nahuatl or Quechua or
Eskimo does not necessarily mean that he has dissected out its
whole structure. A book devoted to a language may be as superficial
as it looks learned. And the man who really knew Nahuatl has
usually concerned himself very little with Quechua. So far as he
might become acquainted with it, it would appear so different that the
pressing of comparisons would seem sterile. Thus the great diversity
of American languages came to be accepted not because any one
believed it to have been really established, but because until recently
no critical scholar considered himself able to establish serious
connections. It has been a case of unproved rather than disproved
unity of origin.
If the Indo-European languages were not our own but those of a
strange race and therefore known to us much less intensively; if the
history of their ancient forms were obliterated instead of preserved
for us for over three thousand years; and if they were allowed a
period of ten thousand years in which to have differentiated,
philology would probably be assigning them to several distinct
stocks. Multiply by three the amount of difference which Bengali
shows from Sanskrit, and by six that of English from Anglo-Saxon,
and a degree of divergence might be attained roughly comparable to
that between Nahuatl and Quechua, or Maya and Iroquois. This is
not an assertion that Nahuatl and Quechua are related. It is a claim
that in the light of present knowledge they might have been one
language ten thousand years ago. A single people with a single
speech could well have given rise in so long a period as that—three
hundred generations—to languages that now seem so different.
And at that, there is no reason for believing that all the American
languages are necessarily derivable from a single mother tongue.
There might have been half-a-dozen or a dozen idioms in use
among as many populations which moved out of Asia into Alaska.
For of course it is improbable that the migration was an isolated,
unitary event. More likely it filled a period of some length, during
which a succession of waves of population lapped from one
continent into the other. Each of these waves, which only the
perspective of ages has merged into the appearance of a single
movement, may have brought its own speech, from which in time
there branched out languages that ultimately became so
differentiated as to appear now like distinct families. Not that it is
known that this happened; but it seems inherently plausible that it
might have happened, and there is no present evidence to the
contrary.
In short, philology interposes no obstacle to the acceptance of the
date which has been assumed as roughly defining the period of the
peopling of America.
180. The Primitive Culture of the Immigrants

As to the culture the immigrants brought with them, direct
testimony being lacking, it is necessary to fall back on the working
hypothesis that this culture was about the equivalent of the most
backward American culture of to-day; or, better, of the common
denominator of all American cultures, including the lowest. This
procedure yields the group of elements entered in the bottommost
layer of Figure 35. These elements were either brought along on the
invasions or developed so soon afterwards as to become equally
widely diffused. The harpoon, for instance, was used in Europe in
the Magdalenian—at the close of the Palæolithic. For the bow and
arrow, there is no proof in Europe until the opening of the Neolithic.
The dog, the earliest animal attached to man, is known from the
same period, whereas cattle, swine, and sheep were kept only at the
height of the Neolithic (§ 67, 222). As the American Indians possess
dogs, it is difficult to attribute the custom otherwise than to a heritage
from the same culture stage in the Old World to which the harpoon
and bow belong. This connection is made more certain by the fact
that the Indian dog is most closely related not to the specifically
American coyote but to the circumpolar wolf and perhaps the jackal,
and diverged into much the same types of breeds as the Old World
dog. There are American races of dogs—some of them ancient, as
represented by skeletons from mounds, and mummies from Arizona
and Peru—that are respectively droop eared, curly tailed, short
legged, long furred, hairless, or undershot in the jaw, thus
corresponding closely to the breeds evolved with similar traits in the
eastern hemisphere, and virtually forcing the conclusion that the dog
was brought into America by man and not domesticated from a wild
species in this continent.
Such evidence as this it is that yields the period indicated—the
closing stages of the Palæolithic or earliest Neolithic—as the time of
man’s entry into America. The ten thousand years set as the lapse
since this event are admittedly more arbitrary. No one pretends to
date the remoter stages of European prehistory exactly. Relative
durations are all that it is legitimate to pin much faith on. Dates are
avowedly approximations. The estimate here chosen for the end of
the Paleolithic is 8000 B.C.—ten thousand years ago. This round
number, not taken too literally, has the virtue of concreteness and
seems somewhere near the truth. It may yet prove to be a few
thousand years short or over. But it does allow enough time, and no
obtrusive excess of time, for the diversification of the Indians in race,
speech, and culture; and this seeming accord of the assumption with
the present facts may be taken as a rough corroboration.
The other culture elements assigned in Figure 35 to the first or
immigrant stratum cannot be dated by any concrete remains, since
some are institutions and others are arts whose materials are
perishable—baskets and fire-drills, for instance. They are, however,
found among all or most of the lower American tribes, and recur
more or less widely in the eastern hemisphere.
The first settlers may accordingly be pictured as a people living off
nature; hunting, fishing, gathering roots and fruits and seeds, digging
or picking shellfish. Their best weapons were the bow and the
harpoon with detachable head. The latter may already have been
propelled by the atlatl or spear-thrower, an artificial extension of the
arm. Simpler weapons were also used: clubs, stones, probably darts
and spears, perhaps daggers of bone or stone. Flint was chipped
and flaked, other stones were beginning to be ground or rubbed into
form. Bone awls served for piercing; less certainly, eyed needles for
sewing. Cordage of bast was twisted, and in all likelihood baskets,
bins, weirs, traps were woven or twined, perhaps also nets made.
Dogs were alternately played with and kicked about; they were half
kept, half tolerated, probably eaten in time of need. There was no
organization of society but on a basis of blood and contiguity.
Related groups would act together until they fell apart. Labor was
sex allotted; the men of each community possibly maintained a
house or place of meeting at which they gathered in their leisure,
perhaps nightly, and which women feared to enter. Beliefs in souls
and spirits were already immemorially old. The people had risen to
the point of being no longer passive toward the immaterial; the most
intense-minded among them aspired to communication with the
spirits; they demonstrated to their fellows their control and utilization
of supernatural beings, and were what we call shamans. Custom in
fact conceded the influence of the spiritual world on every human
being, and felt it to be strongest at times of passage or crisis—birth,
maturity, death. Puberty in particular seemed important, as
portentous of the whole of adult life. The welfare of the individual and
his proper relation to the community were therefore sought to be
insured by spiritual safe-guarding. Girls were secluded, treated or
doctored, trained; boys subjected to whipping or other ordeals of
fortitude; the passing of such initiation admitted them to the men’s
house.
181. The Route of Entry into the Western

Hemisphere
With such background man entered America at Behring Strait. He
may have navigated; more likely, or more often, he crossed on the
ice. The water distance is only about sixty miles; the Diomede
islands lie near the middle of the gap; and the ice may have
extended across pretty continuously, ten thousand years nearer the
peak of the last glaciation. Long before, there had been a land bridge
from Siberia to Alaska, by which horses, camels, cattle, elephants,
deer and many other species extended their range from one
continent to another. But this was in geological antiquity, man’s entry
in geological recency—immediacy, rather; and the divided
configuration of the continents was probably already established.
Horses had become extinct in the New World when man arrived, the
elephant tribe probably also. Llamas, pumas, jaguars took the place
of Old World camels, lions, tigers. The fauna of the Americas, their
vegetation, their climate, were nearly as they are to-day.
The Aleutian islands have also been suggested as a migration
route. But their chain is long, the gap at the western end one of
hundreds of miles of open water, scarcely negotiable except to rather
expert navigators. Still weaker would be any supposition of arrival
from Polynesia. Here the distances between the nearest islands and
the mainland run to thousands of miles. Only well-equipped
voyagers could survive, and there is nothing to prove positively that
even late Palæolithic man had boats. Further, all the Polynesian
evidence points to a late settling of the eastern islands of the Pacific;
a few thousand years ago at most. Exclusion therefore indicates the
Behring route as the only one to be seriously considered.
The migration was scarcely a sudden or single one. It went on for
generations, perhaps for thousands of years in driblets. Two or three
explorers would set across and return, to be followed by a few
families. Others succeeded them. There would be no crowding, for a
long time no resistance at the strait on the part of jealous established
settlers. The open south, always milder, generally more fruitful the
farther one went, lay ahead. It must long have drawn immigrants
away from the strait faster than they crossed it. Some of the invading
bands almost certainly differed from one another in customs,
perhaps perceptibly in appearance, though of one general level of
culture.
182. The Spread Over Two Continents

Before them lay fifteen million miles of tundra, forest, plains, sea
coast, desert, savannah, jungle, and plateaux, rich in this or that
food, with no occupant to dispute possession or block travel but
bear, wolf, puma, and jaguar—timid beasts compared with those of
the Old World. So the immigrants pushed across the breadth of the
continent and down its length, entered the tropics in Mexico, defiled
through Panama—and a second continent stretched before them.
How long it took the first wanderers to diffuse themselves from
Alaska to the Strait of Magellan, it is impossible to say. Perhaps a
couple of thousand years, perhaps only a few hundred. Curiosity, the
desire to see, are strong in men if fear imposes no restraints.
Sooner or later, at any rate, they were living throughout both
continents. The advance guard had long lost knowledge of the rear,
if indeed the rear did not arrive until after the advance could progress
no farther. When the Caucasian discovered America he might have
commenced at Cape Horn, gone on to a people whose very
existence was unknown to those at his starting point, and repeated
the step a dozen times until his journey brought him to the Arctic.
Before the rise of the empires of Mexico and Peru the number of
links in the chain ignorant of each other would have been greater.
The moving bands of the primitive first-comers no doubt lost touch
with each other quickly in even shorter stretches. Thus diversities of
speech, of mode of life, would become established. A family of
brothers might become dominant in a band through the number of
their descendants and so color the somatic type of the group, which
in turn, favored by fortune and expanding, might lay the hereditary
foundation for a sub-racial variety.
Movements of population continued to occur until the present. The
maps of speech stocks previously presented (Figs. 14, 15) prove
that distant migrations took place after great groups like Athabascan,
Algonkin, Uto-Aztecan, Arawak, Tupi, had each lived in compact
coherence long enough to establish a well defined language. But so
far as these more recent migrations can be traced from speech, they
no longer trended prevailingly from north to south and west to east
as the first general diffusion must have moved, but shifted in the
greatest variety of direction. They are a sort of boiling of the kettle,
not a downhill flow. They relieved internal strains and vacillated back
and forth with circumstances; they represented no drift like the first
occupation. Much of their story may ultimately be worked out and
provide a national history of pre-Columbian America. But the effect
of these later pressures and expansions and wanderings on the
culture development of the New World as a whole is likely to have
been relatively slight.
183. Emergence of Middle American Culture:

Maize
For perhaps five thousand years little of wide significance
happened in America. There may have been progress, but it was
slow, and in the long perspective of time its slender evidences are
not yet determinable. One can affirm little of this early period except
that differences in culture must have begun to develop in conformity
with the localized opportunities of environment.
But by the end of the first half of the duration of American antiquity,
let us guess somewhere about 3000 B.C., a perceptible
differentiation appears to have taken place between the culture of
the Middle American[24] highland and the remainder of the Americas.
The highland had forged ahead. Especially, perhaps, was this true of
the region of southern Mexico and Guatemala. Why it was here that
civilization first gathered a notable momentum, it is difficult to say;
we are dealing with obscure beginnings at a remote period. An
unusual concentration of population is likely to have been an
important factor. This in turn may have rested on the ease of
existence in a sub-tropical area. Advanced civilizations in general
find their greatest opportunities in fairly temperate environment;
incipient ones in semi-tropical climates or unforested regions in the
tropics. At least there are the parallels of Egypt, Babylonia, India.

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Theatre: The Lively Art 10th Edition

Edwin Wilson | Alvin Goldfarb

To Elaine Goldfarb and to the memory of Catherine Wilson

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Edwin Wilson attended Vanderbilt University, the University of Edinburgh, and

Alvin Goldfarb is President Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Western Illinois

iv About the Authors

Chapter 2 The Audience 25

Chapter 4 Theatrical Genres 77

Chapter 6 The Director and the Producer 133

Chapter 7 Theatre Spaces 161

Chapter 8 Scenery 185

Chapter 9 Stage Costumes 207

Chapter 10 Lighting and Sound 229

Evaluating Lighting and Sound Design 248

Chapter 12 Early Theatre: Asian 287

Chapter 13 Renaissance Theatres 311

Chapter 15 The Modern Theatre Emerges 377

Chapter 16 Today’s Diverse Global Theatre 417

MARGINALIZATION OF WOMEN AND AFRICAN

ORGANIZATION OF THE TENTH EDITION

Connect: Enhancing the Theatre Experience xv

xvi Connect: Enhancing the Theatre Experience

PLAYING YOUR PART:

dramatic tension. 500 Pindar begins to write odes (500 b.c.e.)

Comedy introduced to City

blind and nontraditional casting).

Greek theatre festivals and contemporary religious

Timelines Timelines are included for each period

and country addressed. These timelines have been

xviii Connect: Enhancing the Theatre Experience

wiL16863_ch11_252-285.indd 263 9/28/17 11:35 AM

Experiencing Theatre History We present in these boxes narratives of actual

Writing Style A sense of immediacy

wiL16863_ch11_252-285.indd 265 9/28/17 11:36 AM

Seth Numrich, left, and Danny Burstein

Gillian Anderson as Blanche

wiL16863_ch04_076-103.indd 82 9/28/17 11:08 AM

THE AUDIENCE SALUTES

THE PERVASIVENESS OF THEATRE

The Unique Quality of Theatre

6 Part 1 Theatre in Today’s World

Chapter 1 Theatre is Everywhere 7

8 Part 1 Theatre in Today’s World

The Range and Accessibility of Theatre

Chapter 1 Theatre is Everywhere 9

10 Part 1 Theatre in Today’s World

Chapter 1 Theatre is Everywhere 11

THEATRE, TELEVISION, AND FILM

12 Part 1 Theatre in Today’s World

Theatre and Television

Chapter 1 Theatre is Everywhere 13

Theatre and Film

14 Part 1 Theatre in Today’s World

Chapter 1 Theatre is Everywhere 15

Theatre and Rock Music

16 Part 1 Theatre in Today’s World

THEATRICALITY IN ROCK MUSIC PERFORMANCES