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Burlesque Type of American theatre entertainment characterized by chorus-girlnumbers interspersed with comedians and other acts. It started in the mid-1800sand became very popular in the early 1900s with stars such as Al Jolson,W.C. Fields, Sophie Tucker, Fannie Brice and strippers Gypsy Rose Lee andSally Rand. It declined with the rise of movies and was finally bannedin the 1940s as a threat to public morality. Note: In Europe prior to the1900s, a burlesque was a parody.

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Cabaret Type of theatre that emphasizes skits, songs, magic and comedyacts, often performed in a somewhat intimate setting. Chamberlain's Men An Elizabethan stage troupe. It's most famous member wasa young William Shakespeare. Comedie Francaise The national theatre of France. Other documents about Comedie Francaise: Comêdie Française Commedia dell Arte (Also Commedia dell'Arte, Commedia dell-Arte) Type of comedypopular in Italy in the 1500s and 1600s, performed by specialty troupeswho improvised on stock characters in stock situations. It influenced Frenchfarce, English pantomime, harlequinade and punch-and-judy. The charactersincluded: Arlecchino (Harlequin), the young male suitor of the beautifulyoung ingenue Columbine; Pantaloon (comicrelief father of Columbine), Pierrot (Pedrolino,childlike character in dunce cap), and Pulcinella, a humpback servant ina striped costume, who later evolved into Punch in Punch-and-Judy.

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Downstage Toward the front of the stage. The term derives from stages that were raked -- i.e., sloped downward toward the audience. Thus the front of the stage was "downstage," the rear of the stage was "upstage." To "upstage" someone was to make them more the rearward than oneself, or as it came to be, to distract the audience's attention from them. Dramaturg A person who serves as an editor for a theatre company, helping select plays and helping writers refine their work. Sometimes called a literary manager. Other documents about Dramaturg: Dramatica Playwriting Seminars, The, by Richard Toscan Writing (Dramatic) StoryCraft Writers' Page Drawing Room Comedy Broad term referring to witty, upper-class comedes that werepopular from the turn of the century. Chief playwrights included OscarWilde, Noel Coward and Clyde Fitch. Drury Lane Theatre Historic English theatre. The first theatre on the site,the Theatre Royal, opened in 1663. As theatres often did in those days,it burned down nine years later, but was rebuilt again in 1874. From 1746to 1776, Garrick was the resident star and co-manager. Richard Brinsley Sheridan succeeded Garrick as manager, and several of his plays were producedthere. The theatre burned down again in 1809, was rebuilt in 1812. Duringthe 1800s it was occasionally home to famous stars like Edmund Kean andGeorge MacReady. In the latter 1800s it was associated with spectacular melodramas and stage machinery. Since the 1920s it has featured big, Broadway-stylemusicals.

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Elizabethan Theatre Historical period in English theatre associated with thereign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603). Along with ancient Greece, it wasone of the great flowerings of theatre. During this time drama re-emergedartistically from the constraints of the church, became a business thatappealed to the general public, and produced such writers as ChristopherMarlowe, Thomas Kyd, William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Beaumont & Fletcherand many others. Other documents about Elizabethan Theatre: Scene Design: Inigo Jones #2 Scene Design: Inigo Jones #3 Scene Design: Inigo Jones #4 Elizabethan London: drawing Elizabethan Review Entr'acte A musical interlude between play acts.

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Farce Labiche, Molnar, Comedy of Errors, Plautus, Menander Other documents about Farce: Adelphi, by Terence Guardsman, The, by Molnar, Ferenc Liliom, by Molnar, Ferenc Play's the Thing, The, by Molnar, Ferenc

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Grand Guignol A style of macabre, horrific melodrama, popular in the late1800s and early 1900s, featuring women in peril, ghosts or horrific murders.It first developed in France, notably at the Theatre du Grand Guignol.It appeared in England in the early 1900s, no doubt assisted by the sensationalismsurrounding the "Jack the Ripper" killings. Greek Theatre Theatre culture that flourished from approximately 600 BCto 200 BC around what is now Athens, Greece. It was here that the theatreas it is known today evolved from religious rituals. Acting, tragedy, comedy,the architecture and terminology of theatre were all developed. Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes and Menander wrote many plays that becamethe models for many subsequent plays and are considered among the greatest ever written. Other documents about Greek Theatre: Didaskalia Poetics, by Aristotle Agamemnon, by Aeschylus ELAC Guide to Ancient Greek Theatre Actors: Ancient Greek comic, mosaic Actor: Ancient Greek comic, statue scroll snak01 Ancient Greek actor with cothorni and onkos Actors: Ancient Greek, frieze Actor: Ancient Greek with masks Mask: Ancient Greek #1 Mask: Ancient Greek #2 Theatre: Ancient Greek #1

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Kabuki Type of Japanese theatre, a combination of acting and danceto tell a story, usually featuring stock, superhuman heroes and villains.It is aimed mainly at the common people, as opposed to the highbrow Noh.It was actually created by woman in Kyoto, Japan, but now roles are performedby men, who apply elaborate makeup for female roles (known as onnagata).

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Legitimate Theatre Term usually meaning the stage in general, as opposed tofilm. In prior days, it referred to pure drama without music or dance.The origin of the term is pre-1900 English, when theatres had to be licensed. Living Theatre Influential off-broadway theatre company and acting schoolthat emphasized improvisation and physical theatre. It was founded in 1947by Judith Malina and Julian Beck.

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Masque A type of theatre intended for the private entertainmentof the Royal court during Elizabethan times. It consisted of a mixtureof songs, poetry, dance and drama, as well as elaborate staging. Majorfigures were authors Ben Jonson and John Milton, and designer Inigo Jones,who often collaborated with Jonson. Other documents about Masque: Scene Design: Inigo Jones #2 Scene Design: Inigo Jones #3 Scene Design: Inigo Jones #4 Matinee Afternoon performance of a play. Method, The Acting approach, based on Stanislavsky'steachings. As explained in the book An Actor Prepares, it involves internalrather than external preparation. It was taught by Lee Strasberg and hisActor's Studio, graduates of which included Marlon Brando, Rod Steiger,Montgomery Clift, Julie Harris and others. Mime (See pantomime) Morality Play A style of religious play popular in Western Europe from1300-1500. An outgrowth of Medieval Catholic teaching, morality plays wereintended to teach moral lessons to the common people. The characters inthem were personifications of virtues, vices and metaphysical concepts.The most famous Morality Play is Everyman, an English version ofa Dutch Morality Play. Toward the latter 1400s, Morality plays became lessreligious and more entertainment-oriented, presaging the secular theatreof the Elizabethan period. Other documents about Morality Play: Playe Called the Foure P.P., The, by Heywood, John Mystery Plays A style of Medieval theatre that dramatized episodes fromthe Bible, usually the birth, death and resurrection of Christ. UnlikeMorality Plays, Mystery Plays were often staged on a grand scale, and wereusually written and performed annually in series called cycles.The most famous examples of Mystery Plays are the Wakefield Cycle, fromMedieval England, and Passion Plays, such as the one performed regularlyat Oberammergau.

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Noh Drama

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Off-Broadway Theatres in the Greenwich Village section of New York whichoften host smaller, less commercial productions compared to Broadway. Other documents about Off-Broadway: Playbill On-Line Off-Off-Broadway Very small, avante-garde or out-of-town (New York) productions.

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Pantomime Acted out without dialogue or props, dependent on the skillof the mime to make the audience imagine the props and setting. Passion Play Religious drama depicting Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.Passion plays originated in the Middle Ages, when they were performed aspart of the celebration of Good Friday. They are still performed todayin parts of Europe, notably Oberammergau in southern Germany. Playbill Poster that advertises a play Prompter A person who assists the actors with their lines. The prompteris hidden from the audience, usually in the wings but occasionally at thefront of the stage. Provincetown Players Pioneering American theatre company. First formed in ProvincetownMassachussetts in 1916, they later moved to New York. Associated with EugeneO'Neill.

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Queen's Men, The English acting company, founded in 1583 by twelve membersof Queen Elizabeth's court. It was the most well-known of a number of Elizabethanacting companies associated with royal patrons, including The Lord Chamberlain'sMen, of which Shakespeare was a part. It disbanded in 1594, but was revivedseveral times until the London theatres themselves were all closed in 1642.

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Rake A stage's angle of incline. Prior to the 1900s many stageswere sloped, higher in the rear than in the front. The purpose was twofold:To make the action at the rear more visible to the audience, and to helpwith the illusion of perspective. Realism Theatre movement, associated with Naturalism.Beginning in the late 1800s and gaining momentum through the early 1900s,Realism and Naturalism emphasized character-based plotting, realistic acting,and somewhat minimalistic scene design. It was a reaction against the histrionic,artificial theatre that was popular at the time. Its main proponents includedIbsen and his ardent supporter George Bernard Shaw, Chekhov, Stanislavskyand the Moscow Art Theatre in Russia,W.B.Yeats and others of the Irish DramaticMovement. Repertory A theatre company that tends to use the same actors and productionpersonnel, and presents plays for a short amount of time. Other documents about Repertory: Yahoo! Theatre Companies page Revenge Tragedy Form of violent, gory tragedy first popular in Ancient Romeand later in Elizabethan England. The plots usually involve horrific crimesavenged in equally horrific manner. The main attraction was the sensational,macabre gore, as for example a scene in Seneca and later Shakespeare'sTitus Andronicus in which murder victims are baked in a pie andeaten. Some revenge tragedies: Hercules (Furens), Phoenissae (Thebais),Troades, Medea, Phaedra (Hippolytus), Oedipus, Agamemnon, Thyestes, Hercules(Oetaeus) (1st Century A.D. / Seneca), Spanish Tragedy, The(1585-1589 / Thomas Kyd), Tamburlaine the Great (1587 / ChristopherMarlowe), Titus Andronicus, Coriolanus, Pericles, Princeof Tyre, Richard III (William Shakespeare), Antonio and Mellidaand Antonio's Revenge (1599-1600, John Marston), Sejanus(1603 / Ben Jonson), Revenger's Tragedy, The (c1606-1607 / CyrilTourneur), Catiline (1611 / Ben Jonson). Other documents about Revenge Tragedy: Agamemnon, by Seneca Revue A sequence of sketches, comedy routines and dance numbers,sometimes satirical. The most famous example were the Ziegfeld Follieson Broadway in the 1920s. They became popular in London during the 1940swith names that included Jessie Matthews, Gertrude Lawrence, Beatrice Lillie,Noel Coward and Fokine. Satirical revues became popular again in the 1960swith Beyond the Fringe and Nichols & May. Roman Theatre Other documents about Roman Theatre: Adelphi, by Terence Seneca, bust

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Sturm und Drang German phrase meaning extravagant passion and high drama, or literally "storm and stress." An outgrowth of romanticism, its chief proponents were Goethe and Schiller.

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Theatre of Cruelty Theatricalism Tragedy Other documents about Tragedy: Poetics, by Aristotle Agamemnon, by Seneca

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Upstage The back of the stage, so called because the stage used tobe inclined or raked. The opposite is downstage.Also, the origin of the verb "upstage," when one actor moves in front ofanother actor, making him closer to the back of the stage, and capturingthe audience's attention away from him.

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Vaudeville Type of American theatre that combined comedy routines, song and dance, and other light entertainment. It thrived in the early 1900s but faded away in the 1930s when sound movies came in. Many popular performers came out of vaudeville, including Al Jolson, Ethel Merman, W.C. Fields and the Marx Brothers. Other documents about Vaudeville: Carl's Vaudeville and Ragtime Show

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Yiddish Theatre Movement among Jews in Europe and Russia to create theatre in the Yiddish language. It began in the late 1700s, and by 1876 the first permanent company had been established by Abraham Goldfaden. Material then consisted mainly of sketches and songs. After being banned briefly in Russia, it sprang up again in the early 1900s with a more artistic tendency. It was popular in Eastern Europe and New York, where there were several influential productions of Sholom Aleichem's stories, particularly The Golem. Yiddish theatre declined in America in the 1930s, but continues to this day in Eastern Europe.