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Theatre Influence On American Culture

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Even though theatre is fictional and can be perceived as both unimportant, and a negative influence on society, theatre had the biggest influence on American modernization for three main reasons: Theatre is a huge contributor to literacy and education, it positively altered the identity of the American people, and it encouraged existing trends and set new trends.

Let us begin by talking a little bit about Modern American theatre. It helps when contemporary e While emulating the current lifestyles of the people, American theatre also sets new trends which alter the identity of the people. Trends do not just occur with types of clothing, they occur within languages spoken and specifics in relationships between people. For example, personal …show more content…

Theatre contributes by providing a history with an incredibly vast range. I have found much more information on theatre compared to my research on general American history. Also, as an actor, theatre’s contributions not only come from it’s history but from hands-on training. Actors get to experience various historical acting methods created by memorable figures such as Kabuki, and Stanislovsky. Honestly, theatre is so underrated in my opinion. Sure, people might respond by stating that film is very popular, which makes up for theatre not getting the recognition it truly deserves. However, there is a clear difference between theatre and film, each with their own advantages. Theatre is never performed in the exact same way. Something changes in every performance even if it is subtle, and that is what makes theatre unique. Theatre performances are a one-of-a-kind experience. They are a chance for people to put their issues aside and let themselves get captured in the world of the play. In a very specific sense, it is almost magical. I, myself, have been influenced by theatre. When attending plays in Chicago, or at the Krannert Center for Performing Arts, I am surprised at how captivated I become with the performance as a whole. Actors, who become the characters with their individual qualities, putting on plays as a strong ensemble is remarkable. There is a sense of unity among actors. It is inspiring to see total strangers bond and put on a great show. Branching off of that, it is clear that the main way theatre influenced American modernization was through demonstrating not only unity, but resiliency. There were many moments where American theatre could have collapsed, such as the World War I and World War II

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The Seagull does this, but only to a short extent- there is a small play performed within the play, and there is talk about the relevance of theatre and art to modern life. In contrast, SFB is a veritable motherload of meta. The characters know that they’re characters, and that they happen to be performing for you. They even know that they’re specifically in an adaptation- in our specific production vision, we like to see it as our characters taking the story into their own hands to retell it. The audience see two overlapping worlds: the reality the characters face in the plot of the play, and the constructed reality of a theatrical

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This play does just that. It looks deeper than just an entertaining night at the theatre it encourages conversation and debate. It forces people to discuss the uncomfortable topics and increases understanding of unfamiliar situations. I watched the audience cringe and become uncomfortable, I saw the characters bring us together and tear us apart, but most of all I felt a connection, an understanding with my fellow audience members when we all walked out together still saddens by the events that had taken place. If your are looking for an intriguing night filled with a roller coaster of emotion that leads to a deeper understand of your fellow humans than this is the show for

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Luis Miguel Valdez was founder and director of “El Teatro Campesino”, also known as farmworkers’ theatre. “El Teatro Campesino” was found in the 1960’s in California, it merged with the National Farm Workers Association, which was found by Cesar Chavez. “There is no monolithic or essential ‘Chicano experience,’ but the period was a crucial moment in the development of a Chicano consciousness, a consciousness that led to the sociopolitical Chicano Movement, of which Chicano theater was an integral component” (P.24). Valdez recreated his plays for entertainment and to persuade people to join the strike. How did Chicano theater inspire the Chicano movement in the 1960’s?

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The enaction of the Federal Theatre Project (FTP) provided many theatre professionals with new, much-needed jobs during the Great Depression, but its impact didn’t stop there.

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The federal theatre project started in 1935 after beginning of World War 1. This period experienced economic problems, which led to The Great Depression. This period is also known as the time in which media brought the world together. The Federal theatre was a branch of the “noncommercial America theater’’ led by Hallie Flanagan Davis. The Federal Theatre Project also established “The Living Newspaper”, trained people who took interest in writing, and collaborated news and drama.

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In the early 1960s Newton Minow, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and later, chairman of the board of PBS, once described television as a �vast wasteland. � He also said, � When television is good, nothing is better. When it 's bad, nothing is worse.

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Forms of entertainment prevalent today, including movies and musicals, are the same forms of entertainment Americans in the early decades of the twentieth century. It wasn’t uncommon for those in the 1920s to use extra income to visit a movie theater, or those in the 1930s to gather to watch a performance in their town to provide a sense of relief from daily hardship. Across these years, there were ample reasons, both good and bad, to absorb multiple forms of entertainment, but it all served a similar purpose: to provide a good time for the audience. Due to both disposable incomes and the need for an “escape” during this period, Hollywood saw a large increase in prevalence, which caused a larger variety of media to be created. In movies released

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The Greeks were the first to introduce the concept of theater. As a matter of fact, one performer, Thespis, created the idea of a chorus, which was a group of people that expressed opinions, gave advice, and had the author’s point of view. The chorus would be the equivalent to the “score” in modern theater. The International Thespian Society, an organization formed to honor student’s success in the theater, was named after Thespis. In Greek theater, the place that the actors performed was called the “paraskene,” while in modern theater it is called the stage.

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“The theatre, for all its artifices, depicts life in a sense more truly than history, because the medium has a kindred movement to that of real life, though an artificial setting and form.” George Santayana Drama is one of the genres of theatre where comedy, tragedy or actions may be other genres. While drama refers to the written texts, prose or verses composition, which become theatre only when it is performed on the stage with actors performing the role of characters in the text in front of the audience i.e. it is abstract and subjective, theatre is a live performance that meant to be seen, it is physical and concrete. The renaissance period was considered the rebirth of several inspirational

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In the 1920s, movies became the most popular form of American entertainment. No one expected these films, that were once only a couple seconds long, to influence history as much as they did. This addition of technology to the American lifestyle had the rich and the poor lined up to see the newest showings. The movies reflected American culture and personalities. The film industry made an outstanding increase when it changed location, met competition, and when it began adding sound and color.

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It was a rich, intricate era of theatrical developments and changes. In The Cambridge Guide to American Theatre, Wilmeth states that American theatre “became one of the largest industries in the country, encompassing not only dramatic performances and musical theatre… but also minstrelsy, vaudeville, amusement parks, circuses, and the new media of film and radio” (Wilmeth 107). This proves that American theatre was just as influential and popular as the theatre groups of Europe. The staging of Civil War theatre was the time of the proscenium, which we still use to this day. The theatre was for audiences of many kinds, aristocratic and the common-man; many performances were done on the streets of large cities like Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston.

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To add on, some people might say “theater is not a necessity in life”. So what? Theater just gets taken away, which is too heartbreaking to understand when it’s not within people’s grasps. Theater might not be an essential for survival, but the importance of this argument is that it can improve in the educational system. And isn’t that what it is all about?

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