Good theater is believable (using suspension of disbelief), uplifting, depressing, surprising, breathtaking, ruthless, hilarious, heartbreaking, and frustrating. There are many other words to describe good theater but these are the words I choose right now.
Good theater is not necessarily the best thing you have ever seen. I often go see a show and don't like every aspect of it but still believe it is a good piece of work. It could be because the acting was spectacular, or maybe the lighting rocked my world. Either way, these two things standing with a good script, make good theater.
Good theater is when you stop breathing for a full minute (or more) until a scene ends, or a character exits. You don't realize you stopped breathing until the lights go out and the curtain falls and you let go of air.
Good theater comes in all shapes and sizes: a one person show, a musical, on a stage, in a park, in a bathroom...a live performance of some kind.
Good theater isn't black and white at all. The audience may walk out of a show thinking that this was the best piece of theater they have ever seen, while an actor might think it was the worst performance, the worst show, the worst cast, the worst script, the worst director, of their lives. Visa versa also works: the actors think it was their best performance every--it was good theater to them. The audience goes home to their families and tells them how awful the entire show was from start to finish without thinking twice. Point of view is important.
Good theater can be one split second in a show that was the only truly believable moment in the play, but it was brilliant. Sometimes a whole play will move me just because of one split second, or one little line, or one little pause.
Finally, good theater is creative. Theater is an art form, creativity is a must.
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"Good theater is when you stop breathing for a full minute (or more) until a scene ends, or a character exits. You don't realize you stopped breathing until the lights go out and the curtain falls and you let go of air."
ReplyDeleteI really like that point a lot. I think it goes in tandem with what you say about suspension of disbelief, which is something I puzzle over a lot. Why is it that we even enjoy going to shows? It's kind of bizarre when you think about it: we pay to sit for two (or five, Hannah!) hours to watch strangers pretend to be other strangers. When you over-analyze it, it really begins to sound trivial. But it's that suspension of disbelief that allows us to appreciate the performance on stage and to deem it as art. So yes, as you can see in my manifesto, I too am a fan of believability, and I just think you put it very well--you stop paying attention to your own body in the seat, stop breathing, even. It's almost as if we're playing another role as an audience member!