in this video we begin the semester and our discussion on the world of theater this course is really to be looked at as a theater appreciation course most particularly a production appreciation course this is a course for audience members its to generate an interest and those of you who are taking this course but not to try to turn you into actors or get you involved in production and that sort of thing we've often heard the words behind the scenes this is a class about everything that takes place behind the scenes I like to start this semester off by talking about some things a little larger than the world of theater I'd like to talk about two terms and compare them those two terms are art and entertainment so in this lecture this video and into the next video we will talk about the differences in these two terms we will talk about what art is versus entertainment and we will also talk eventually about how theatre has found its place in the world of art so let's talk about art have you ever had a conversation with someone in the arts whether they paint or sculpt or composed music or choreographed dances or they're involved in theatre or write poetry and you ask that person what is art and they give you an answer and you walk away from that discussion thinking to yourselves you know I don't feel like I know anything more about art than I do when this conversation began that's quite often the case let's talk about what's going on there usually if you walk away from a conversation with one of us in the arts and we had difficulty tell explaining to you what our art is it's usually because we are struggling with it ourselves you know the conversation you say hey what is art and there's this long pause a grimace on a face as they ponder a skyward look up toward Evans than a nodding of the head a clinching of the fist and the shaking of that fist a deep breath and then a mile long expulsion of Burbidge what did I just say I'll show you you say what is art and they give you this they go that's the long pause because they're trying to think of a way of making it simplified for those of you don't who don't understand there's the pause there's the grimace and the pond rinse as the information is coming in that's the skyward look toward the heavens Yap it's coming the nodding of the head the clinching of the fist they're getting it they're getting it there's the deep breath and then they let loose and they tell you art is how you feel and we like oh oh boy here it goes we start rolling our eyes art is an expression of oneself one's inner emotion what is art to me may or not be art to you but that's okay because art is in the eye of the beholder and blah-blah-blah-blah-blah well guess what that answer while it might be accurate in some of its generic descriptions does not separate art from anything else you know I'll ask my students in my traditional classrooms I'll say what is art right the beginning of the semester and they'll say some of those things so raise their hand they'll say an expression of oneself or they'll say you know it's how one feels its inner beauty blah blah blah blah blah okay fine but guess what there are a lot of things that we do to express ourselves screaming or shouting or flipping someone a bird at a green light because they didn't take off too fast is an expression of oneself I would argue that's not a work of art I was in a production once of The Wizard of Oz and I had a lot of time off I had directed the show I had a small part in the show also but I had a lot of time off the set and I was sitting backstage with my scenic artist and a brand-new actor somebody who had just retired he had never been involved in theatre before he had been a CEO for John Deere corporation and all of this and water doesn't find some something to do with some of his the new time on his hands so the three of us are sitting backstage and he was really enjoying this he played alkyl Henry in The Wizard of Oz no small role but it was his first time and he asked the question to the two of us the scenic artist and myself Thea the director in the end a scene designer they said what is art and I started to get the answer that I'm going to give to you and immediately my scene designer who is also a teacher stopped me and mid-sentence and she said hold on hold on don't go giving them all of that simplifying tell them the way I do my students and she said I explained that art is visual communication okay well so is a stop sign yes art is visual communication but so is a stop sign so is the little sign on the door on a bathroom door that says this is for the men and the other side that says this is for the women you know you know there are a lot of things a billboard the label on your coke can that are visual communication that definition doesn't separate art from many other things so what we need is a definition that allows you to see who we are as compared to a brain surgeon or a plumber or electrician the problem is often in the arts those of us in New York it's easy to fake if you will being an artists why because it's such a gray area to some that you kind of have to fall for it I have degrees in theater I am known for my theatrical my artistic activity here in town so if you walk in and you don't have an artistic bone in your body and you come and you look at me and watch me pain painter by the way but let's pretend and I have this white coat on it's covered with paint I have paint all over my face and there's a canvas on the wall and I'm throwing paint all up against that wall and I'm dipping my hands and fingers in all these different colors and I'm letting it roll and I'm sweating and I'm breathing hard and I had I have this intense look on my face and I'm finished and I step back wiping that paint on my face as I wipe the sweat off and you say what is that mr. grooms I could barely catch my breath and I say that is the inner reflection of a youthful rage and if you universe in decline half up you're gonna go whoa that's deep did you see that the other half I'm gonna roll your eyes and walk away but all of you kind of have to believe me why because I said that's what it is and I've got credentials that says I'm an artist well guess what I would be lying to you because I couldn't tell you what that thing is now I'm not mocking abstract or abstract art is a valid art form I don't understand a lot of it but that doesn't make it not art my grandmother didn't understand the game of football looked like a bunch of overweight guys you know scramble around and busting each other's heads over something that she didn't believe was the ball that was shaped funny it was abstract to her it didn't make it not a football game so just because we don't understand something does it mean we it doesn't mean it isn't what we claim to be but on the flip side we can make the false claim because you have to believe us if you don't know otherwise so let's talk about the definition of art I'm going to give that to you then I'm going to follow up with a definition of entertainment then I'm going to follow up with one other term as we wrap up this video when we come back into the next video I'm going to elaborate on these terms art by definition is man's attempt to capture the human spirit and to touch upon intellectually it of meanings man's attempt to capture the human spirit and to touch upon intellectually elusive meanings now I'm wondering how many of you watching this video right now are thinking to yourselves well that sounds just as wacky and far-fetched as the stuff you've made fun up for the last several minutes well maybe it should at this point in the next video I'm gonna make blue color sense out of that term entertainment is defined as the pleasure afforded by being amused the pleasure afforded by being abused and then there's one other term that I want to give you because everything we talk about in the world of art and entertainment it's going to take place under the roof of this next term and that is theater I'm not going to get the definition but I'm going to tell you that theater comes from the Greek word Theatron which translated means seeking place so in this semester we're going to talk about all the arts and the entertainment that takes place in the scene place looking forward to the next video thank you