History
- Online Guide The terminology ‘theater’, meaning ‘a place for viewing’, originated in Ancient Greece some 5000 years back. Theater is a branch of performing arts that focuses on live performances by actors, which creates a self-contained drama. Since its inception, theater has taken many forms that involve dance, gestures, and pantomime combined with various other performing arts to portray a single artistic form. Based on the type of performance, theater has broadly been classified into 3 categories, which are drama, musical theater and comedy. They emerged at different times in the history of theater and slowly progressed to the technically advanced modern day theater. The various categories have been shared here with discussion on different types of theater right from their origin.
- Theatre History A good site for the history of theatre with many links. There are also links to aspects of production such as acting, directing and design.
- Theatre Database A site for theatrical history with links to styles and playwrights.
Genres
- Theatre History A good site for the history of theatre with many links. There are also links to aspects of production such as acting, directing and design.
- Theatre Database A site for theatrical history with links to styles and playwrights.
- Greek Drama, Rivendell Educational Archive Greek Drama – Playwrights, poets and mythologies
- Roman Theatre From the Theatre Database and including extra links.
- Commedia dell' arte A Commedia dell'Arte website from Judith Chaffee, with resources, annotated bibliography, links, and workshop information
- Russian theatrical history A brief guide with links.
- Early Twentieth Century Russian Drama This web site from Northwestern University is dedicated to the work of Stanislavsky, Diaghilev and Meyerhold, Chekhov and Mayakovsky and Bulgakov, Malevich and Tatlin, Stravinsky and Shostakovich. It includes links to directors, playwrights, plays, designers and the visual arts.
Commedia dell'Arte
Commedia dell’arte is a theatrical form characterized by improvised dialogue and a cast of colorful stock characters that emerged in northern Italy in the fifteenth century and rapidly gained popularity throughout Europe. The earliest known company formed in Padua in 1545, and by the turn of the seventeenth century troupes such as the Gelosi, Confidenti, and Fedeli enjoyed international celebrity. Some troupes were favored at foreign courts, especially in France, where images from the commedia became a favorite theme of artists such as Jean-Baptiste Joseph Pater (1695–1736) and Antoine Watteau (1684–1721) (49.7.54). Read more on metmuseum.org.
History of Commedia dell'Arte
Roman Theatre, Amman
Medieval Morality Play
Commedia dell' arte
Globe Theatre
