Crash Course Theater Episode 1: Introduction to Theater

Welcome and Overview

• Host: Mike Rugnetta
• Topics to cover in the series:
  • Tragedy, comedy, history, pastoral, and more.
  • Explore the history of theater and how to analyze it.
  • Significant plays and performances.

Defining Theater

• Theater:
  • A place where plays are performed (Greek origins: "the seeing place").
  • Can be varied in setting: big/small, indoors/outdoors, purpose-built or improvised.
  • Includes performances in unconventional spaces (parks, sidewalks, homes).
  • Refers to performance of plays and related literature/documentation.
  • Includes closet dramas (not meant for performance) and improvisational performances.
• Basic Definition: Requires at least one actor and one audience member.
  • Actors can be human, robots, laptops, animals, or puppets.
• Extended Definition: John Cage's perspective - theater takes place everywhere, facilitated by art.
  • Narrow Definition for series:
    • Deliberate performance by live actors for a live audience, typically scripted.

Spelling of Theater

• The spelling "theater" (E-R) is chosen for consistency.
• Both R-E and E-R are acceptable.

Theories on Origins of Theater

• Lack of Consensus: No unified origin story exists.
• Theories to Explore:
  • Ritualism:
    • Theory linking theater to religious rituals (6th/7th century BCE).
    • Ritual as a means of mediating between human and supernatural.
    • Ritual reenacts significant events (births, marriages, etc.).
    • Mircea Eliade: Ritual makes past events present.
  • Cambridge Ritualists:
    • Scholars like James Fraser viewed theater as evolving from rituals.
    • Involved anthropological approach, but often Eurocentric.
    • Example from Herodotus about Egyptian ceremonies demonstrates the ritualistic origins.
  • Functionalism:
    • Myths explain and rationalize the world.
    • Bronislaw Malinowski: Myths justify existing social orders.
    • Some early Greek dramas have origins in myths that serve this function.
  • Clown Theory:
    • Theater as derived from clown figures in early societies.
    • Clowns as secular shamans who critique authority.
  • Ludic Impulse:
    • Suggests theater arises from human playfulness and games.
  • Mimetic Impulse:
    • Proposed by Aristotle: humans' innate desire to imitate leads to theater.

Importance of Theater

• Why does theater matter?
  • The impact of theater throughout history will be discussed in the series.
  • Quote from Percy Bysshe Shelley: Theater aims to teach the human heart about itself through sympathies and antipathies.

Production Information

• Produced in association with PBS Digital Studios.
• Filmed in Indianapolis, Indiana.
• Supported by patrons on Patreon.