what is the point of theatre today?

Answer 1

The same things it's always been: expansion of the mind, partly, but mostly just pure entertainment.

Answer 2

Theatre in all its forms -- stage or cinema -- performs many important functions. It is meant, as Shakespeare says in "Hamlet," to hold a mirror up to the world. The ancient Greeks developed the idea that the most important function of theatre (especially tragedy) was to serve as a tool of catharsis. I believe that both are true.

Catharsis can best be defined as a purging of strong emotion. All people have a capacity for it, and catharsis is a way of expressing that emotion and then being able to pick up and move on.

Kind of like that song "Vicarious" by Tool.

Theatre also serves to reflect the world, and in doing so, it allows members of its audience to reflect upon a show's relevance to their lives. It's why some movies make you think for days, and sometimes can even change your perception of a facet of life.

If you're talking about the point of stage theatre, then the answer is a little bit less logical and more intuitive. As you probably know, seeing a video of a live production is like seeing a postcard of the Grand Canyon. It doesn't even catch a thousandth of the grandeur of its subject. Now, I can really only speak for myself here, but I find that live theatre serves the general purpose of all performance more than cinema does.

Why? Because you are sitting right there watching fellow human beings actually go through each emotion. There is the electricity that can only come from knowing that what you see will be different than what the next audience sees, and in fact will be different from what the show will ever be again. It is present, alive, ever changing, just like our world.

Sometimes movies can become stale, but a live show is often more exciting because of its very nature. The interaction between audience and actor is very strong. The point is that it may seem obsolete, but it will continue as an art form becasue there will always be people who are able to take more away from it than they ever will from a movie.

Answer 3

In addition to the good points others have made there is this: live performance is the last bastion of LOCAL artistic expression. Mass media is all the same. Only in theatre and dance will you find work that actually challenges as well as entertains the audience. The cost of doing theatre, even professional theatre, is so much lower than tv and film, that you get a much wider variation in viewpoints. You also get better stories, because the playwrights don't feel the need to copy what's been done before...with the exception of Braodway which has become a big budget mass media experience.

Answer 4

Because theatre is in the moment. You may think that film and television offer sufficient replacement, but they lack the energy and vibrancy of the here and now experience that is theatre. To see a great performance, which can never been again, and to see actors in the pursuit of excellence as they utilize their craft, is to be involved in something unique. And then of course there is the process of catharsis which I don't think film of television offers in quite the same way.

Answer 5

As one of the oldest forms of entertainment it has survived to date longer than radio, cinemas and tv. A good comedy in a theatre is in my opinion one of the best reasons for it's survival. It is that connection between actors and audience and sometimes with panto audience participation. It should stand on it's own to feet but our taxes support a great many worthless causes, including the long term unemployed!

Answer 6

theater...like it was 1,000 years ago....is for entertainment through expression. There is nothing like live theater. No matter what happens in the show, it can't be redone. That's the beauty of it. When you see live theater and there is a blunder, but the audience has no idea, that is when you can spot true actors. screw Hollywood, go BROADWAY! check out some theater dude, you will be pleasantly surprised. OR! you can try being a part of a show, its the best experience in the world!

Answer 7

Self expression through both writing and acting. If you're saying that cinemas and technology are taking over theatre, I think there will always be something appealing about seeing people preform live with no retakes.

Answer 8

A place where you can enjoy live entertainment,have a laugh,experience being part of something.shed a tear,clap,whistle let yourself go television does not have this experience.

Enjoy a musical watch something avant garde become part of the show.
Theatres are really essential and why become a slave to a tube.

I presume you have been to the Theatre.

Answer 9

Is this a trick question?

With our minds being constantly bombarded and eroded by PASSIVE entertainments -- of which TV and film are the prime offenders -- theatre remains an art form that, at its best, REQUIRES an audience to engage with it, to think actively about it, and to respond to it.

Don't believe the nay-sayers who claim that the "legitimate" stage is sickly or even dying; it's not going ANYWHERE.

Answer 10

Theatre (correct spelling) is acting in its purest form.
The electronic media is increasingly catering for the lowest common denominator.
There are qualities in theatre that never happen in filmed work.
And I run a film company!

Answer 11

on the contrary i would have to ask "what is the point of t.v today?" i moved house 10 months ago and have never gotten round to getting sky reinstalled and so haven't seen t.v for months. do i miss it? no. T.V today is crap, all we get offered is endless variations of Big Brother. I could go into Curry's and watch myself on the CCTV cameras and it would be more exciting.

I would like to have more opportunities in my home town to go to the theatre, operas, musicals etc.