2006-11-23 00:40:48 · 5 answers · asked by red-poka-dot-joe-bird 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Theater & Acting
It depends on when you are watching it!
So many plays in the past were meant to educate the people -- Miracle Plays, Political Plays that sort of deal.
Up until 1900, all plays were very over-the-top melodrama and theatrical. Anton Chekov began the "realism" in theater we are used to today.
Most theater is not really intended to be entertainment per se. The author and director does not want the audience to just sit back and watch like they might a movie.
Theater should be engaging, a cathartic experience. An audience member should experience some low-level anxiety as it reacts to the activities on stage and, ideally, connect with the performance.
2006-11-23 04:15:21 · answer #1 · answered by wrathofkublakhan 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
imagine living in the old days when there was no radio or television...theater served as entertainment. it tells stories of cosmic beings, imaginary worlds and reality. today, drama or play is categorized as an art. it has its own standards and aesthetics. for the audience, theater offers to entertain as well as to educate. when watching, it aims to make the audience live in a different world - whatever the audience feels adds up to the entire meaning of the show.
theater is not theater without its audience. and so, on the other hand, the purpose of the audience is to use all of its senses and think because in a way, he/she is also portraying.
2006-11-23 12:06:31 · answer #2 · answered by ikaboda111 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
its to tell a story. a play or musical if a form of entertainment.
2006-11-23 10:00:21 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
bak in Greece days actors and other performers were seen as very respectable ppl
2006-11-23 09:37:17 · answer #4 · answered by mike 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
they do it for fun
2006-11-23 08:41:39 · answer #5 · answered by crystal and clover 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋