International Encyclopedia of Communication Online

Extract

The term theatre refers to that art form based on mimetic activity. It differs from the closely related performance arts of →  cinema and →  Television by its requirement that the enactment be physically present to its observers, which gives it an important specificity of occasion or event. Despite its traditional close connection to the dramatic text, the play script, and the importance of both the spoken word and other auditory effects, the theatre has generally relied strongly on visual effects, not only involving the physical bodies of the performers, but also the supplementary arts of scenic and lighting design, costume, and makeup (→  Visuals, Cognitive Processing of ; Visual Representation ). As the art which most closely imitates the ongoing processes of human society and culture, theatre has been involved in the depiction of almost every aspect of these processes – religious, historical, intellectual, emotional, political. It has been utilized to express the deepest emotional and spiritual intuitions of humanity as well as the lightest and most casual passing fancies. It has served to advance new, sometimes revolutionary, ideas and also to confirm and celebrate well-established traditional ones. Its effectiveness in such matters has caused it to be the most closely watched and regulated of all the arts by civic and religious authorities. There is a traditional distinction ... log in or subscribe to read full text