Post on 05-Jul-2015
Bethany Hansen
B3
“I regard the theatre as the greatest
of all art forms, the most immediate
way in which a human being can
share with another the sense of
what it is to be a human being.”
Oscar Wilde
Dictionary.com: “an art form portraying a
dramatic event for entertainment uses”
Mimicry of human behavior containing
plot, climax, characters, and other thematic
elements
Used as a channeling of human sentiments
Thought to originate from the Greek god of
fertility and wine: Dionysus
Thespis became the first actor and is where
the term thespian comes from
Several years occurred before the invention
of the third or fourth actor
The Greeks held competitions for tragedies
to determine who had the greatest writing
skills
The Greeks also held these competitions for
comedies when they were invented later on
Romans developed theatre, frequently
copying Greek plots and having competitions
1564-1616
Wrote in plays in three categories: comedy,
tragedy, history
Wrote about 38 plays during his career
His literature was so famous, it is still used
as a learning guide for curriculum
Romeo and Juliet
One of Shakespeare’s most well-know play ever written, it is an
extremely popular piece of literature and used frequently in
modern theatres.
Several inventions led to the creation of film
such as: photography, chronophotography,
phosmotrope, and the kinematoscope
The first films were only a few seconds long
and of a simple activity such as sneezing
As technology increased, so did motion
picture
Eventually, movies became longer and plots
more complicated
Five major film studios know at the Big Five
Studios became extremely
successful, generating 90% of all fiction films
made during the 1920s
Warner Brothers
20th Century Fox
Paramount Pictures
A Radio Picture
Metro-Goldwyn Mayer
Film did not really become popular until the
1920s
It became an activity available to everyone
and not just the upper class
Technology continued increasing, and the
silent film became a thing of the past
When speaking film first came out, the
actors/actresses would not sound pleasant or
the camera would make excessive noise
when moving
The first musical was “The Black Crook” and
came in 1866.
The area of Broadway became a popular
place of entertainment because it was a busy
part of town in New York City where many
people lived.
As theatres began being built, the number of
shows steadily increased
Broadway Actors/ Actresses
Lillian Russell
Ethel Merman
Al Jolson
Fred and Adele Astaire
Gene Kelly
Carol Channing
Ethel Water
Composers/ Writers
George and Ira Gershwin
Leonard Bernstein
Cole Porter