Which is better? Plays(stage productions) or Movies??

Question

I'm doing a general poll for an English course, to see what the public prefers better.

Answer 1

Movies. Everything that can be done on a stage can be done on film, but the opposite is not also true.

Some people like plays because of "romantic" feelings in preference of being close to the action or they just prefer the old-fashioned stories of most plays, but, like I said, those can be done on film as well.

Answer 2

That's kind of like asking, which is better, peanut butter or jelly?

Everyone will have an opinion based solely on their preference, and the two are pretty much so inexorably connected, that it's really quite impossible to judge one superior to the other.

But, what the hell, I'll give it a shot.

I think theater does something that movies can NOT do actually, which is bring you to a shared experience that you share not only with the audience, but with the actors themselves (as well as each and every person that sweated during its production). No two performances are the same, even if your audiences can not tell them apart--the actors can. There is a certain...energy...that the cast brings each time they perform.

There is an interactivity in theater that is absent in cinema.

Watching cinema is a passive experience, whereas there is a moment in theater where you, and you alone, make eye contact with the actor on stage and a unique connection is formed.

I don't think movies, for all their glitz and polish, will every be able to duplicate that. The viewing is the same for each viewer; that movie you see on the screen is exactly the same to each and every person in the theater with you, even if your opinion, and his opinion, and her opinion of the film differs--that's because each of us differs. But the experience is identical.

Not so I think in theater.

So, although I've seen many many more movies than plays, and they are more top of mind generally, and often quoted between my friends and I at the bar, I think the truly soul-enriching experiences (whatever that means) have been at the theater.

Answer 3

Please, be careful about how you frame this question.

Because i work in both stage productions and films, I can tell you that if it were not for the innovations of the stage, hollywood and film would never have existed.

During the Great Depression of America in the 1930s, many Broadway actors, actresses, directors, and technical theatre technicians were out of work. So, with nowhere else to go, they ventured out west and found work in Hollywoof. With them, they brought their trade: the kinds of equipment, the kind of lingo like "Action!", and the kind of foundations that made Hollywood as successful as it was today.

So, to say which is better is a real fallacy because saying one is better than the other is really saying that hollywood's (and therefore film's) foundations are based on the "weaker" (less better) stage productions.

Answer 4

There's no "better" and no "worse." They're entirely DIFFERENT experiences.

I love movies, and would happily sit in the dark eating popcorn all day/every day. But, you have to understand that this is PASSIVE entertainment. You sit there, and the images on the screen do all the work.

A live theatrical performance is a 100% interactive event. The audience's energy has everything to do with the quality of that performance; any actor will tell you as much. Live theatre demands FAR more of its audience...and provides far greater rewards.

Answer 5

A lot of these answers are long, so I'll keep my opinion short.

I love the VARIETY of the theatre. If you ever go to see a staged production, it changes every time! That's because the actors change every day, mishaps occur, and new things are learned with every performance. In cinema, that never happens. I love theatre because instead if you do choose to see something more than once, you know you're going to come out with something new every time!

BEST WISHES!!!

Answer 6

i love gazing video clips yet in my personal opinion, performs are more advantageous suited because this is stay and no "digital camera tricks" are performed. So, what you word is what you get. on the different hand the actors on a play ought to easily accept credit than on the flicks because, interior the flicks, if an actor made a mistake, the director can continuously re-take it. although on a level play, once an actor made a mistake he has to hit upon a fashion to look its component to the script, otherwise he will smash the finished act.

Answer 7

I believe movies are better but I am very fond of stage productions!!

Answer 8

In most cases I prefer a good movie.

Answer 9

what a vague question.

i supposed i have to say plays since i'm a theater student :D

yay 2 points!

Answer 10

plays