Art of Theater

In contrast to the majority of fine arts, the art of theater is one of the only ones that is based on a live performance to bring a visual representation to a written piece of work. A theater production will involve a combination of a stage setting and a group of actors that will take on roles that convey the drama to the audience. Although most experts will argue that acting has always been a large part of human behavior, the development of theater is usually attributed to the symposia of Hellenistic Greece. During this time, the theater productions followed a strict division into comedies, tragedies and satires and served as a base for the majority of Western theater that came much later.

The classical forms of Greek theater were wildly popular and many of the same plays, such as those from Euripedes and Sophocles, are still performed to this day in many theaters across the world. Following the examples of Greek and Roman theater, the modern incarnation of theater owes a large debt to the Renaissance period in Europe. It was during this time that the theater evolved into a combination of fine art and also as a form of entertainment for people of all backgrounds. This time period gave birth to William Shakespeare and other playwrights that would imbue the field of theater with freedom and a new accessibility.

With the current growth in popularity of films and movies, theater has taken a back seat as the favored form of entertainment. However, there are still many locations with a thriving theater scene, including the Broadway area of New York and the West End in London. In both of these locations, a person will be able to choose from a wide variety of many dramatic, comedic, and musical theater offerings each and every day.