How do you prefer to spell theatre? theater or theatre?

Question

Do you see a difference in the two? I personaly think theater is like a movie theater and theatre is like a live production theatre.

Answer 1

oooooo, this is a big pet peeve of mine. I can't stand spelling it "theater". I ALWAYS spell it "theatre". I don't know why....oh, but if I'm talking about a movie theater, I spell it the other way...yeah, I'm a little anal about it :)

Answer 2

Same differentiation for me... the Theater is where I go to see a movie, and Theatre is live, staged production and the building in which it is housed.

Interesting... spell check on Yahoo! Answers found "theatre" as a misspelled word !!

Answer 3

The British spelling is "theatre." The USA spelling is generally "theater." In the US, frequently theaters, especially those designed for stage plays and wanting to appeal to an elite patronage, will name their particular places of business with the "re" spelling; e.g., the Alhambra Theatre. Thus, it is not surprising that one would think of "theater" for movies and "theatre" for stage productions.

Technically, most dictionaries will give these as alternate spellings. But note, for instance, that if you read the article on "theatre" in Wikipedia and click on the link to "theatre in the United States," suddenly the spelling will be "theater" with simply a footnote about the difference. I think some US readers will think of the "theatre" spelling as sorta snobbish.

Answer 4

Theater is the customary spelling of the observe contained in the kind courses for newspaper and printing. Theatre is the classic spelling of the observe. It turns right into a rely of own selection contained in america of a to apply one or the different. Theatre is often the use contained in the united kingdom.

Answer 5

Theater is the physical building, Theatre is the ART FORM.

Answer 6

I prefer to spell the word like this: theatre. But it is accepted spelled both ways THEATER and THEATRE!

Answer 7

The preferred spelling in England is "theatre," if my theatre history professor can be trusted. In America, "theater" is preferred. Either is accepted, though.

Sidenote: the -er/ -re debate originated as an outgrowth of the Yale-Harvard rivalry shortly after the Revolutionary War. Harvard favored -re, as a way of honoring our traditional roots in Europe. Yale favored -er as a new, distinctly American form.

Answer 8

The words have two different meanings. "Theater" is the building. ""Theatre" is the act of doing theatre. In other words, one would do theatre in a theater.

Answer 9

British English,theatre and American English,theater.I think they aren't different in meaning or usage, just in the pronunciation.I prefer to spell theater b/c it's easier .

Answer 10

I'm pretentious and a xenophile - I spell it theatre


:-)