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The Art of Theatre

The document discusses the author's intrigue with theatre and their personal experience with it. The author was given the lead role of Petruchio in a production of The Taming of the Shrew in secondary school, which sparked their passion for theatre. They directed a play in junior college which gave them insight into the complexity of theatre, including using costumes, set design, lighting, and music to portray character and set mood. Their experience with theatre has broadened their thinking to see real life interactions as a performance with people taking on roles of director, actor, and audience.

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Phua Hsuan Te
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68 views

The Art of Theatre

The document discusses the author's intrigue with theatre and their personal experience with it. The author was given the lead role of Petruchio in a production of The Taming of the Shrew in secondary school, which sparked their passion for theatre. They directed a play in junior college which gave them insight into the complexity of theatre, including using costumes, set design, lighting, and music to portray character and set mood. Their experience with theatre has broadened their thinking to see real life interactions as a performance with people taking on roles of director, actor, and audience.

Uploaded by

Phua Hsuan Te
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Write an essay that explains why you’ve been intrigued by an idea, concept, or theory

you have encountered. This idea can come from either a traditional academic discipline
-- such as history, science, philosophy, or mathematics -- or from fields such as film,
engineering, art, or politics.

In planning your essay, bear the following in mind: we are looking for evidence of your
specific, first-hand response to an idea or theory. Your essay should identify the idea and
explain if you have a personal, unique, or notable relation to it. Then, analyze the
concept with as much detail and depth as possible, explaining how your engagement with
this idea changed or broadened your thinking.

The Art of Theatre


Definition
Theatre is defined as the performance of a cast of actors on stage using a variety of tools
to tell a story to their audience. These tools stimulate mainly our visual and aural senses
and range from the actors themselves to the set that they perform on. The concept of
Theatre to deliver a story, as opposed to other modes such as television, has intrigued me
and I have spent the past few years exploring this concept.

1st Hand Response


Theatre, unlike a novel or a movie, develops a more intimate relationship with its
audience. It provides the audience with an unadulterated experience of the story, away
from the surreal computer-generated images (CGI) of modern media. Being able to see an
actual human being on stage brings the audience closer to the story, allowing him to
relate better to the scenario. Theatre offers an experience unlike any other, making use of
costumes, lighting, sound and much more to provide a limitless volume of information
for the audience to process.

Personal Relation
I have had a passion for theatre since young and my first opportunity to experience it
first-hand came in Secondary 4 when I was given the lead role of Petruchio in an adapted
version of Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew”. It was there and then that I learnt
the many skills that an actor requires, every bit of detail was crucial, from facial
expressions to body posture. Apart from that, working with other actors on stage was
another challenge, as I had to assimilate my character and interact with others while
keeping all my individual actions. I had learnt valuable skills from Theatre that I
continued to hone in my Junior College.

Analysis
I directed a play “The Roadrunners” in my second year in Junior College. As director, I
was in charge of every aspect of the play and it opened my eyes to the complexity that is
Theatre. I had to decide how I wanted the scenes to be portrayed and worked on my
actors both individually and as a cast. The color and style of costumes told the audience
the age and maturity of the character, and that combined with his actions on stage, gave
the character an identity for the audience to perceive. The set, ranging form the furniture
on stage to the background, worked together with lighting and music that determined the
mood of the scene. The permutations on stage are infinite and no two runs are ever the
same.

Broadened Thinking
My experience with Theatre has broadened my thinking in the way that we can apply it to
real life. Each of us has the roles of director and actor, whilst those we interact with are
our audience. Our mind directs how we wish to act and react, mentally displaying how
the scene is to be acted out in our head and then instructing the body on what to do. The
body then takes this instruction and manifests it in the form of speech and body language
like an actor takes direction on stage. The third component involves how our audience
perceives our “performance” and what message we intended to give. It is with this that I
enjoy every encounter with people both an actor and an audience.Such is the
magnificence of Theatre and the impact that is has had on my life.

“All the world’s a stage,


and all the men and women merely players;”
---As You Like It
William Shakespeare

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