Stage and Theatre

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players"

So wrote the bard, William Shakespeare in As You Like It.

Two lines frequently quoted, yet in their way they set the stage for a special introduction to the world of theatre in a Learning two-page special feature in The Mercury, looking at the various elements of theatre. Theatre is nowhere near as popular as it was before films and TV, but it is not a dying artform as some people believe. Companies continue to stage plays, ensuring that the ancient artform will survive into the future.

While play acting starts in the first grade of school, few people realise the huge range of components - and people - needed to stage a full scale theatrical production. The same can be said of the long road theatre has gone down through the centuries from the first humble open-air production in ancient Greek times to today's multi-million dollar Broadway and West End London productions.

Activities

• Look in Pulse, the Entertainment Guide in Thursday’s edition of The Mercury to see what's happening in the theatre at present. Read the descriptions and decide which play would be the most fun, the most dramatic and the one you'd most like to see.

• Where can Theatresports be seen? Set up a Theatresports stage in your classroom. Divide the class into groups of 4 and hold a sudden death clash. Write improvisations on cards or use stories cut from the paper to be drawn at random by the Director as topics. Prepare for 1 minute and perform for 2 minutes. The audience votes on the winner.

• What skills and qualities do you think a theatre critic needs? Draw an annotated characterisation, e.g. big ears to listen for faults in the dialogue.
  
  
• Write a theatre review about a theatre production or school play you have seen. A good review tells the reader: the name of the play, who the main actors are, what the reviewer thinks of the play and why, when and where the play can be seen, a little about the plot, and something else about the production.

• Select an issue from today's newspaper and write a short script about the event.

• Write one day in your life as a brief theatre script.

• List various roles associated with a theatre production. Write a letter of application to a theatre company (select one from Pulse) describing how your interests and talents would suit a position.

• Drama takes many forms: improvisation, mime, dance, scripted plays, reader's theatre, circus and puppetry. Select one form and improvise a scene from today's newspaper. Can the class guess which picture your describing?

• Discuss and list the techniques you could use to get different effects in Reader's Theatre. Rehearse a script and perform to another class.

• Discuss the elements of a good comedy. Which of these apply to all theatre types? What types of comedy are advertised in Pulse or the Entertainment section? Use these to develop a comedy sketch or circus clowning scene.

• Focus on the drama. Divide the class into groups of 3 - person A, B and C:

-Activity 1. Person A is buying clothes at a department store, B is a checkout operator, and C is the observer and judges the action. The action should be mundane and involve ordinary chit chat.
-Activity 2. Person B is buying clothes, they are very concerned that the items should be Australian made. C is the operator and agrees there are too many imported goods. A watches the interaction and notes how the relationship between B and C develops.
-Activity 3. Person C is the buyer, A is the operator and B is next in the queue and doesn't care about Australian made goods. They just want to be served.
-Debrief: Discuss how relationships between characters develop and how tension is built up over time. Each group should report on their experiences to the class. These activities can be repeated with many topics, e.g. 'green' products, GM foods and current topics taken from the editorial page of The Mercury.

Websites

Australian Drama
www.mcauley.acu.edu.au/staff/delyse/australi.htm
Posted as a support for a university subject on Australian theatre this site contains some interesting articles and a chronology of theatre in Australia.

Justin's Drama and Theatre Links
http://www.theatrelinks.com/
There are some broken links here but some of the links are very useful for students of theatre and theatre history.

Theatre History on the Web
www.videoccasions-nw.com/history/jack.html
A useful collection of links to theatrical websites around the world.

Mr William Shakespeare and the Internet
http://shakespeare.palomar.edu
A guide to the best orthodox sites on Shakespeare.

Much Ado About Something
www.muchadoaboutsomething.com/index.html
Documentary maker Mike Rubbo's website based on his film about the Shakespeare authorship debate. Take a look at some of the links. See also The Shakespeare Authorship roundtable, offering links to sites for and against Shakespeare as author www.shakespeareauthorship.org.

Association of Community Theatre
http://showline.showbizweb.net.au/
Find out how to get involved with local community theatre groups or where to go to see a show.

Books

A History of Theatre
By Neil Grant
A stunning pictorial journey through the history of the stage. Published by Hamlyn and available from bookstores or order from Australian Online Bookshop at www.bookworm.com.au/bookworm

See How It Runs
By Julian Meyrick
A history of the Nimrod theatre and its place in the history of modern Australian theatre. Published by Currency Press and available from bookstores. For more details see www.currency.com.au

The Romance of the Sydney Stage
By Humphrey Hall and Alfred J. Cripps
Written in the early years of the 20th Century the manuscript for this book did not find publication until 1996. It is a lively, informative and entertaining account of theatre in Sydney from the First Fleet until 1861. Published by Currency Press and available from bookstores. For more details see www.currency.com.au

Building Works- Theatre
By John Malam
Beginning with a wonderfully illustrated cross-section of a typical modern theatre this book explains all aspects of theatre and putting on a play, also showing all aspects of running a theatre. Belitha Press. Distributed by Heinemann www.hi.com.au

A Greek Theatre
By Peter Chrisp
Looks at life inside a Greek theatre through the objects found there: comic and tragic masks, tickets, shield, ivy wreath, flute, costume. It moves on from the theatre to look at curriculum aspects of Greek life, including leisure and entertainment, religion, war and politics. Published by Hodder Wayland. Available from October 2003. For more details see www.hodderheadlineaus.com

The Theatre A Concise History
By Phyllis Hartnoll
A comprehensive but brief look, complete with a wealth of illustrations, at all of the forms of theatre throughout the centuries since its birth in ancient Greece. Published by Thames and Hudson and available from bookstores.

A History of the Theatre
By Glynne Wickham
A generously illustrated and more in-depth look at the history of theatre. Published by Phaidon Press and available from bookstores.

Behind the Media: Theatre
By Catherine Chambers
A look at how a musical theatre production comes together, how a theatre operates and a survey of some of the greatest productions. Published by Heinemann. For more details see www.hi.com.au