What is Theatre Aristotles Poetics 5 th C

What is Theatre? : Aristotle’s Poetics (5 th C. BCE) & the Aristotelian Tradition Aristotle’s view of theatre = rooted in Greek terms “drama” & “theatre: l drama < Grk. dromenon, “thing done” • drama = “an imitation of an action, ” says Aristotle l theatre < theatron, “seeing place” • performance of the imitation for spectators

Aristotle’s 6 Elements of Tragedy (Drama) Plot: l the “structure of events” through which action is imitated/represented Character: l personof the drama or “moral bent” of the person Thought: l “proof and refutation of moral choice” Verbal Expression: l “conveyance of thought through language” Music & Spectacle l sensuous, less artistic elements

Key Dramaturgical Concepts: dramatic situation or “given circumstances” l including setting character objectives & superobjective obstacles dramatic tension or conflict crisis climax reversal recognition

The Aristotelian Tradition = founded in Theory of Ritual Origin l l drama/theatre evolve from dithyramb, (ritual choruses performed in praise of Dionysos prior to 6 th C. BCE ) theatre began when some participants stepped out of chorus and became spectators of the ritual the first actor, Thespis, stepped out from chorus to perform individual role in dialogue with it ritual action gradually evolved into theatrical imitation of action • purpose = more aesthetic than religious

l Modern Dev. of Theory of Ritual Origin: • The Cambridge School of Anthropology (late 19 th C. ) – The Cambridge Thesis » primal ritual -> various religious rites -> dramatic genres – certain Greek tragedies follow form of the primal ritual • rise of Aesthetics as independent branch of philosophy (began Germany, late 18 th C. ) – What makes a work of art and not something else?

Aesthetic(ist) Views of Theatre: What makes a work of theatre essentially theatrical? l imitation of human action + live performance (social or communal, ephemeral) • CP. other literary forms, the visual arts, music • CP. other dramatic media (film, television etc. ) l theatre has the unique capacity to combine all of the arts in a single work • Richard Wagner: the Gesamtkunstwerk

Performance Studies Theoretical Foundations: l dramatism or dramaturgism • Kenneth Burke, A Rhetoric of Motives – analysis of human motives and actions in dramatic terms l role theory • Erving Goffman, Presentation of Self in Everyday Life – theatrical analysis of social interaction re: roles performed l structuralist anthropology -> Richard Schechner, Performance Theory (1976) – refutes Cambridge Thesis – replaces vertical view of ritual <-> theatre across time with horizontal view across society/societies

Schechner’s Dev. of Performance Studies • recurrent performance genres: – Ritual, Play, Games, Sports, Dance, Music, Theatre • Characteristics: – rules/conventions: “scripts” – special ordering of time and space – objects have special value beyond an economic one – form of event remains constant although rules may change – dynamic of ‘efficacy’ <-> ‘entertainment’

Performance Studies - The Philosophical Problem l l To what activities may the basic principles of the performance genres not be applied? Is life inherently theatrical or performative, OR are performances specialized activites det apart from life? • “All the world is not a stage, but the ways in which it isn’t are not always easy to specify. ” (Goffman)