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344 Arts and Entertainment

Theatre

Theatre is the performance of a drama (play) usually on a. STAGE in front

of an audience. The Ancient Greeks were the first to build theatres where people

could watch the two main types of drama:. TRAGEDY and. COMEDY.

WHAT WERE THE FIRST PLAYS?

The first plays developed from

religious rituals where a chorus (a

group of performers) recited stories of

the Greek gods and heroes. In the 6th

century bc, a Greek poet, Thespis, became

the first actor to recite lines by himself.

WHO IS INVOLVED IN MAKING A PLAY?

The director is the person who chooses the play

and tells everyone what to do. The actors become

the characters in the play by acting out the plot

(story). Other people design and make the set and

costumes, and create lighting and sound effects.

KABUKI 3

Kabuki is traditional

Japanese theatre with

an all-male cast. (Men

play the female roles.)

The highly dramatic

plots rely on skills in

dancing and singing,

as well as acting.

4 THE ZULU MACBETH

Shakespeare’s Macbeth

(1606) is updated from

historic Scotland to

20th-century Africa,

illustrating the

timeless theme

of ambition.

A hakama is a

divided skirt, worn

here by a samurai

(warrior). Each

character has a

specific costume

Assistant

works on stage,

performing costume

transformations

Distinctive make-up style is

called kumadori. Deep red

on a white face symbolizes

rage mixed with cruelty

i i k li

drama