What is Theatre?: Aristotles Poetics (5th C.

BCE) & the Aristotelian Tradition

Aristotles view of theatre = rooted in Greek terms drama & theatre:

drama < Grk. dromenon, thing done

drama = an imitation of an action, says Aristotle

theatre < theatron, seeing place

performance of the imitation for spectators

Aristotles 6 Elements of Tragedy (Drama)

Plot:

the structure of events through which action is imitated/represented personof the drama or moral bent of the person proof and refutation of moral choice conveyance of thought through language

Character:

Thought:

Verbal Expression:

Music & Spectacle

sensuous, less artistic elements

Key Dramaturgical Concepts:

dramatic situation or given circumstances including setting character objectives & superobjective obstacles dramatic tension or conflict crisis climax reversal recognition

The Aristotelian Tradition = founded in Theory of Ritual Origin

drama/theatre evolve from dithyramb, (ritual choruses performed in praise of Dionysos prior to 6th 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

Modern Dev. of Theory of Ritual Origin: The Cambridge School of Anthropology (late 19th 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 18th C.)
What makes a work of art a work of art and not something else?

Aesthetic(ist) Views of Theatre:

What makes a work of theatre essentially theatrical?

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.)

theatre has the unique capacity to combine all of the arts in a single work Richard Wagner: the Gesamtkunstwerk

Performance Studies
Theoretical Foundations: dramatism or dramaturgism
Kenneth Burke, A Rhetoric of Motives
analysis of human motives and actions in dramatic terms

role theory
Erving Goffman, Presentation of Self in Everyday Life
theatrical analysis of social interaction re: roles performed

structuralist anthropology -> Richard Schechner, Performance Theory (1976)

refutes Cambridge Thesis replaces vertical view of ritual <-> theatre across time with horizontal view across society/societies

Schechners 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

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 isnt are not always easy to specify. (Goffman)