Street theatre

Last updated
Street theatre outside the Centre Pompidou in Paris Street theatre in the Beaubourg forecourt, Paris 1987.jpg
Street theatre outside the Centre Pompidou in Paris
A troupe of street theatre performers by the beach in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Streetperformers.jpg
A troupe of street theatre performers by the beach in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Acrobatics over Salvador: La Marioneta Gigante by Spanish company Carros de foc Salvador, La Marioneta Gigante.jpg
Acrobatics over Salvador: La Marioneta Gigante by Spanish company Carros de foc

Street theatre is a form of theatrical performance and presentation in outdoor public spaces without a specific paying audience. These spaces can be anywhere, including shopping centres, car parks, recreational reserves, college or university campus and street corners. They are especially seen in outdoor spaces where there are large numbers of people. The actors who perform street theatre range from buskers to organised theatre companies or groups that want to experiment with performance spaces, or to promote their mainstream work. It was a source of providing information to people when there were no sources of providing information like television, radio etc. Nowadays, street play is used to convey a message to the crowd watching it.[ citation needed ] Street play is considered to be the rawest form of acting, because one does not have a microphone or loud speakers.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Sometimes performers are commissioned, especially for street festivals, children's shows or parades, but more often street theatre performers are unpaid or gather some income through the dropping of a coin in a hat by the audience.

The logistics of doing street theatre necessitate simple costumes and props, and often there is little or no amplification of sound, with actors depending on their natural vocal and physical ability. This issue with sound has meant that physical theatre, including dance, mime and slapstick, is a very popular genre in an outdoor setting. The performances need to be highly visible, loud and simple to follow in order to attract a crowd.

Street theatre should be distinguished from other more formal outdoor theatrical performances, such as performances in a park or garden, where there is a discrete space set aside (or roped off) and a ticketed audience.

In some cases, street theatre performers have to get a licence or specific permission through local or state governments in order to perform. Many performers travel internationally [1] to certain locations of note.

Street theatre is arguably the oldest form of theatre in existence: most mainstream entertainment mediums can be traced back to origins in street performing, including religious passion plays and many other forms. More recently performers who, a hundred years ago, would have made their living working in variety theatres, music halls and in vaudeville, now often perform professionally in the many well-known street performance areas throughout the world. Notable performers that began their careers as street theatre performers include Robin Williams, [2] David Bowie, Jewel and Harry Anderson.

Street theatre is a way to make traditional theatre accessible for those who may not be able to otherwise attend or afford tickets. The audience typically consists of anyone and everyone who wants to watch and for most performances is free public entertainment.

Reasons for staging work on the street

Performance artists with an interest in social activism may choose to stage their work on the street as a means of directly confronting or engaging the public. For example, multimedia artist Caeser Pink and his group of performers known as The Imperial Orgy staged a piece titled Our Daily Bread [3] that brought performers onto the streets of the New York's financial district to ceremoniously lay loaves of Wonder Bread along the sidewalks, each with an advertisement from Satan offering to buy people's souls in exchange for material possessions. The performance caused an uproar when police were called out and bomb-sniffing dogs were brought in to inspect the loaves of bread for explosives.

Other artists consider a paying, theatre-going public to be unrepresentative of the public to whom they are trying to communicate, and performing to 'the man on the street' may be considered a more democratic form of dissemination.

Some contemporary street theatre practitioners have extensively studied pre-existing street and popular theatre traditions, such as Carnival, commedia dell'arte etc. and wish to present them in a situation close to their original context.

Whatever the reason for choosing the street, the street is a place with a different set of possibilities than the conventional theatre space. Sue Gill of Welfare State International argues that a street theatre performance is not a lesser form than an indoor performance, nor is it simply taking what you do on stage and placing it outdoors, but a form with an energy and an integrity of its own. [4]

A street play (nukkad natak) in Dharavi slums in Mumbai PSI India street play.jpg
A street play (nukkad natak) in Dharavi slums in Mumbai

Many companies are politically motivated and use street theatre to combine performance with protest. This has occurred through the guerrilla theatre of San Francisco Mime Troupe, [5] The Living Theatre, the carnivalesque parades of Bread and Puppet Theatre, and the work of Ashesh Malla and the Sarwanam Theatre Group of Nepal.

A character-based street theatre which developed in the 1960s and 1970s was developed by groups like Lumiere and Son, John Bull Puncture Repair Kit, Exploded Eye and Natural Theatre Company. The performances were unannounced and featured characters who acted out a pre-arranged scenario, looking beautiful or surreal or simply just involving passers by in conversation. They did not seek to trick in a Candid Camera way, but rather invited the audience to pretend along with them. No amount of planning or rehearsal could dictate what would happen.

Another example would be Natural Theatre's Pink Suitcase scenario. A number of smartly dressed people carrying bright pink suitcases enter a set of streets or buildings. They search for and miss their companions. In their search they get on buses, hail cabs, end up in shop windows, etc. By the time they meet up at a pre-arranged spot with the help of passers-by, perceptions of the area have changed and shopping has ceased for at least a few moments. The humour is universal and this piece has been seen in nearly seventy countries. It is usually performed by four or five actors, but has been done with twenty-five.

Interactive street theatre

Interactive street theatre is a combination of two separate art forms, street theatre and interactive art.

Unlike other interactive art, the presentation of interactive street theatre is outside in a public place and most of the time at festivals. The audience of interactive street theatre consists of passers-by who stop to participate on a voluntary basis. The nature of this type of performance is temporary, generally lasting only a few hours, and is considered much more accessible and easier to participate in than in a gallery or a museum, as those who might not have ever been to a theatre or museum can participate in interactive street theatre.

Some interactive art installations allow visitors to walk in, on, and around them, or allow them to play with the object of the installations. Another way interactive theatre is done is that spectators themselves become part of the artwork. There are also types of interactive street theatre where that spectator becomes an active part of the show and works together with the artist to create a magnificent collective art piece.

Peru

In Peru, interactive street theatre was used to raise awareness of the many misconceptions of family planning and use of contraceptives. The play "Ms. Rumors" was performed as a means of promoting a much greater understanding of information regarding contraceptives and planned parenthood. [6] The play told the audience the truth about contraceptives through the character of a pharmacist, which in turn contradicted the false claims that the character Ms.Rumors suggested. [6] The play lasted around four months and was around twenty minutes long. The performance was followed by a forum to discuss any questions the audience had about parent planning, which worked better than private counselling since people would have the support of their peers, and the answers would educate the entire group. The play "Ms. Rumors" focused on the information that is usually misrepresented regarding birth control pills or "the pill". One of the rumours about birth control pills is that they can cause side effects such as cancer, which is false. [6] The public play was placed in the city plazas and also outside of hospitals and clinics where people are possibly going to receive information regarding parent planning and contraceptives. The significance of this play was that it promoted safe sex information that protects against unwanted pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases that can be caused by unprotected sex. It educated the public on misinformation such as condoms being uncomfortable, contraceptives causing abortions, and many other misconceptions that were made up due to lack of knowledge on contraceptives and family planning. [6]

South Africa

In South Africa, interactive street theater was used to raise awareness to health causes such as AIDS or HIV and how certain behaviours promote the increase of the virus. [7] Puppet shows were performed in the streets to educate the public of how deadly contracting aids or HIV virus is. The show consisted of the main character having aids and transmitting the disease to others, which ultimately led to the death of the character and the transmission of it to other people as well. [7] Having these performances played in public will raise awareness to the deadly virus, that many people may not have had knowledge of. It educated the audience about risks, and how to avoid them with safer behaviours they could do to prevent contracting the virus. It also educated the viewers on different, and much safer behaviours to use in order to stop transmitting the virus to others. [8] This awareness could work to increase the knowledge of the virus, and educate the public on methods to decrease the transmutation of the disease.

See also

Notes

  1. International list of performers
  2. Robin Williams began his career on the streets of San Francisco as a street performer: https://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800013042/bio
  3. Archive Video
  4. Coult, Tony; Kershaw, Baz, eds. (1983). Engineers of the Imagination: The Welfare State Handbook. Methuen. ISBN   0-413-52800-6.
  5. Doyle, Michael William (2001). Imagine Nation: The American Counterculture of the '60s and '70s . Routeledge. ISBN   0-415-93040-5.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Valente, T. W., Poppe, P. R., Alva, M. E., Vera de BricenÄo, R., & Cases, D. (1995). Street theater as a tool to reduce family planning misinformation. International Quarterly of Community Health Education, 15, 279±290.
  7. 1 2 Skinner, D., Metcalf, C. A., Seager, J. R., DeSwardt, J. S., & Laubscher, J. A. (1991). An evaluation of an education programme on HIV infection using puppetry and street theatre. AIDS Care, 3(3), 317±329
  8. Valente, T. W., Poppe, P. R., Alva, M. E., Vera de BricenÄo, R., & Cases, D. (1995). Street theater as a tool to reduce family planning misinformation. International Quarterly of Community Health Education, 15, 279±290.

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Entertainment</span> Activity that holds attention or gives pleasure

Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousands of years specifically for the purpose of keeping an audience's attention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Improvisational theatre</span> Theatrical genre featuring unscripted performance

Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted, created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, action, story, and characters are created collaboratively by the players as the improvisation unfolds in present time, without use of an already prepared, written script.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Performing arts</span> Art forms in which the body is used to convey artistic expression

The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Performing arts include a range of disciplines which are performed in front of a live audience, including theatre, music, and dance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of theatre</span> Overview of and topical guide to theatre

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to theatre:

A happening is a performance, event, or situation art, usually as performance art. The term was first used by Allan Kaprow during the 1950s to describe a range of art-related events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noh</span> Classical Japanese dance-drama theatre

Noh is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and nōgaku are sometimes used interchangeably, nōgaku encompasses both Noh and kyōgen. Traditionally, a full nōgaku program included several Noh plays with comedic kyōgen plays in between; an abbreviated program of two Noh plays with one kyōgen piece has become common today. Optionally, the ritual performance Okina may be presented in the very beginning of nōgaku presentation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peking opera</span> Chinese opera style

Peking opera, or Beijing opera, is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. The form was extremely popular in the Qing court and has come to be regarded as one of the cultural treasures of China. Major performance troupes are based in Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai. The art form is also preserved in Taiwan, where it is also known as Guójù. It has also spread to other regions such as the United States and Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Experimental theatre</span> Genre of theater

Experimental theatre, inspired largely by Wagner's concept of Gesamtkunstwerk, began in Western theatre in the late 19th century with Alfred Jarry and his Ubu plays as a rejection of both the age in particular and, in general, the dominant ways of writing and producing plays. The term has shifted over time as the mainstream theatre world has adopted many forms that were once considered radical.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theater (structure)</span> Performing arts venue (building)

A theater, theatre or playhouse, is a structure where theatrical works, performing arts and musical concerts are presented. The theater building serves to define the performance and audience spaces. The facility usually is organized to provide support areas for performers, the technical crew and the audience members, as well as the stage where the performance takes place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music venue</span> Any location used for a concert or musical performance

A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from a small coffeehouse for folk music shows, an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Typically, different types of venues host different genres of music. Opera houses, bandshells, and concert halls host classical music performances, whereas public houses ("pubs"), nightclubs, and discothèques offer music in contemporary genres, such as rock, dance, country, and pop.

Theatre for development (TfD) is a type of community-based or interactive theatre practice that aims to promote civic dialogue and engagement.

Stephen Robert Dixon is a British actor and academic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theatre of ancient Rome</span> Theatrical genre

The architectural form of theatre in Rome has been linked to later, more well-known examples from the 1st century BC to the 3rd Century AD. The theatre of ancient Rome referred to as a period of time in which theatrical practice and performance took place in Rome has been linked back even further to the 4th century BC, following the state’s transition from monarchy to republic. Theatre during this era is generally separated into genres of tragedy and comedy, which are represented by a particular style of architecture and stage play, and conveyed to an audience purely as a form of entertainment and control. When it came to the audience, Romans favored entertainment and performance over tragedy and drama, displaying a more modern form of theatre that is still used in contemporary times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ranga Shankara</span>

Ranga Shankara is one of Bangalore's well known theatres. It is located in the south Bangalore area of J.P Nagar and is run by the Sanket Trust. The auditorium, which opened in 2004, was envisioned by Arundathi Nag, in remembrance of her late husband, Shankar Nag, who was a renowned actor in the Kannada film industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museum theatre</span>

Museum theatre is the use of theatre and theatrical techniques by a museum for educational, informative, and entertainment purposes. It can also be used in a zoo, an aquarium, an art gallery, and at historic sites. It is generally performed by professional actors. Varieties of museum theatre include historical characters, puppetry, movement and music.

Digital Performance refers to the use of computers as an interface between a creator, and consumer of images, and sounds in a wide range of artistic applications. It is performance that incorporates and integrates computer technologies and techniques. Performers can incorporate multimedia into any type of production whether it is live on a theatre stage, or in the street. Anything as small as video recordings or a visual image classifies the production as multimedia. When the key role in a performance is the technologies, it is considered a digital performance. This can be as little as projections on a screen in front of a live audience to creating and devising a performance in an online environment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brighton Open Air Theatre</span>

Brighton Open Air Theatre, also known as B•O•A•T, is a British theatre built in Dyke Road Park, Brighton, which opened on 9 May 2015. It has been paid for not by corporate funding or public grants, but by private donations. The theatre is the legacy of the Brighton showman and construction manager, Adrian Bunting, who died of pancreatic cancer, aged 47, in May 2013.

Beakerhead is a multi-day festival held every September in Calgary, Alberta, Canada that combines the arts/culture sectors with the science/technology sectors to encourage collaboration, innovation, and science education through interactive art exhibits, engineered installations, entertainment, and workshops – drawing international presenters and attendees. Beakerhead also includes a year-round education and outreach initiative.

Immersive theater differentiates itself from traditional theater by removing the stage and immersing audiences within the performance itself. Often, this is accomplished by using a specific location (site-specific), allowing audiences to converse with the actors and interact with their surroundings (interactive), thereby breaking the fourth wall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puppets Against AIDS</span>

In the late 1980s, the African Research and Educational Puppetry Program (AREPP) founded "Puppets Against AIDS", a traveling puppet show that visited African villages and cities to encourage audience members to use condoms to prevent HIV/AIDS transmission.