Theatre

Ex. 3. Read the text and answer the questions following it:

Theater is a word with a magic ring. It calls up a bright and exciting picture. It may be of people in holiday spirit streaming down the aisles of the playhouse. It may be of the wonders hidden behind the folds of the front curtain. Or it may portray the hushed and eager audience, waiting for the house lights to dim.

Theater magic also works its spell on the other side of the curtain, behind the footlights. Anyone who has ever been a part of this world knows the thrills of life backstage. No one can forget the excitement that mounts steadily until the moment when the stage manager finally signals, "Curtain going up!"

There are many different kinds of theater performances. Circus, carnival, night club, fair, vaudeville, musical comedy, ballet, modern dance, opera, and operetta are all forms of theater. Motion pictures, television, and radio present all these forms.

Some people go to the theater to laugh, to relax, to escape from their everyday worries and cares. Others go to be emotionally stirred, to live (in a second-hand way) through the troubles and crises of the characters on the stage. Still others seek adventure and excitement. Some are curious to find out how other people live. Some go to learn, to be taught a moral lesson. As the French actor Louis Jouvet said, "Faced with the mystery of life, men invented the theater."

call up aisle fold hush (-ed) eager dim spell

Вызвать Проход Сгиб, складка Тишина, притихший Нетерпеливый Тускнеть Колдовство

footlights thrill backstage mount steadily stir

Рампа Острые ощущения За кулисами Нарастать Устойчиво, постепенно Возбуждать, волновать

1. What pictures can the word theatre call up?

2. What are the forms of theatrical activities?

3. Why do people go to the theatre?

4. Louis Jouvet said, "Faced with the mystery of life, men invented the theater." Do you have any other ideas about the origin of theatrical activities?

Ex. 4. Study the text and then say what the principles of the theatre classifications are.

Types of theatre

One way to classify the theater is by types of staging. Three general systems are in use:

The proscenium stage is still the most common. The scene of action is framed by a proscenium arch, and the front curtain represents the fourth wall of the stage room. When the curtain opens, the audience looks through this fourth wall into the room.

The thrust stage - also known as the open, or platform, stage - extends into the audience. Spectators sit on three sides. Often this type is combined with proscenium staging. Part of the action takes place in front of the curtain line and part behind.

Theater-in-the-round is also called arena, or central, stage. The action takes place on a platform space or on the floor in the center of the room. The audience completely encircles the playing space. Usually the spectators are banked in tiers of seats around the stage space.

Another way to classify the theater is by location and purpose. The theatrical capital of the United States is New York City, and American professional theater has long been identified with Manhattan's commercial theater district centered on Broadway. The term Broadway has come to mean professional theater. Smaller theaters with lower-budget productions are known as off-Broadway (whether or not the theater buildings are in the district or far from midtown Manhattan). These theaters have served experimental theater and as training grounds for new professionals. Off-off-Broadway was a later development for still less expensive and more daring productions.

Fringe Theatre. The term was adopted in London in the late 1960s when about a dozen new theatres emerged providing alternative entertainment to the commercial West End theatre or the big subsidized national theatres.

The concept of fringe theatre in London extends from purpose-built suburban theatres seating up to 500 people, through to spaces accommodating an audience of fewer than 50 people in rooms in pubs or cafes, converted cinemas, churches, or warehouses.

The first wave of London's fringe theatre was characterized by new group companies, which developed highly individual, sometimes surreal, styles with mixtures of movement, words, mime, and music, and frequently with the physical involvement of the audience. The majority of fringe shows are premieres by new authors.

arch encircle to bank daring

Арка Окружить Зд. наклонять Смелый

emerge subsidise concept mime

Появиться Субсидировать Концепция Пантомима

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Ex. 5. Study the text, imagine you are one of the theatrical professions and tell what your job is.