The term theatre in general refers to the art form that has developed in Central Europe with the establishment of the bourgeoisie as a formative social force since the 18th century. In everyday use, the term “theatre” refers to either the location of a scenic show event or to the show event itself. Theatre therefore also refers to the institutions, groups and organizations from which such show events are produced and presented.
The definition of the term “theatre” can only be made superficially and reduced to certain aspects, because even in theatre studies there is no uniform concept of theatre. In order to relate the phenomenon of theatre to cultural education, the definition is to be focused primarily on social and communicative aspects of impact.
Theatre is a performing art and can be regarded from a sociological point of view and as a special form of social interaction. The social art form theatre is based on communication, specific conventions and framing. The simplest description of the theatrical communication process is: A plays B while C watches, A is the actor, B is the character he embodies and C is the audience of the performance. The theatrical communication between actors and spectators takes place through the embodiment of characters in the context of a specially established playing situation, in which the performing actors or the depicted characters act. With the spatial emphasis of the scenic processes through the theatre architecture and the physical emphasis by the physical-performative actions of the performers, this framing is reinforced. One of the conventions of the theatre is the unspoken appointment that the spectator can distinguish between the everyday reality and the playful fiction of theatrical reality. In theatre, with reference to reality, a different reality is constituted, in which the actions of the characters can be characterized as a reduced pro-treatment.
Theatre Pedagogy – Play as Art and the Art of Mediation
The spheres of artistic and pedagogical theatrical work are inseparable. Theatre pedagogy at the theatre has long since ceased to be regarded as an instrument of explanation and mediation of theatre art, but as its conceptual component. Art and pedagogy, “the pair of twins who are equal and different in character”, as Christel Hoffmann observes, can be understood as dialectically interdependent spheres of cultural education in theatre.
Theatre pedagogy makes the various forms, expressions and effects of theatre useful for social and artistic educational processes not only for our youth. That is why the playing person is at the centre of theatre pedagogy: be it the young person who is on stage together with others or the young spectators who improvise on a particular topic in order to prepare or follow up a visit to the theatre. In addition to that, theatre pedagogy increasingly sees itself as a mediation art with a performative character. With playful and performative means, themes of children and adolescents are dealt with scenically and the theatre is understood as an experimental space of artistic research for the young experts of their reality of life. Artistic practice thus becomes cultural education in and with theatrical art.
Mediation art is now seen as an independent art format. The “Winterakademie” at the Theater an der Parkaue in Berlin is an example of this as “an expression and part of an expanded understanding of theatre pedagogy” says Willenbacher. The aesthetic research project follows two basic principles of aesthetic learning in theatre: participation and play. The “Winter Academy” involves young people and artists in a common playful process of searching and discovering, in which everyone participates with their personality, their ideas, their worldview and their experiences in order to explore “the game in reality and reality in the game” Sauer said.
Theatre is an art form that combines the communication, dancing and movement, and visual elements to express the meaning that they want to give. Theatre art is not only in the form of live performances but it can also be in the form of dramatic acts like films, television programs and other social media platforms and applications like custom paint by numbers and others.
