Street theatre

Street Theatre

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Street theatre

Street theatre is a form of theatrical

Theatre

Performance

A performance, in performing arts, generally comprises an event in which one group of people behave in a particular way for another group of people ....
and presentation in outdoor public space

Public space

A public space refers to an area or place that is open and accessible to all citizens, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, age or socioeconomics....
s without a specific paying audience

Audience

An audience is a group of person who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature , theatre, music or academics in any Media ....
.

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Encyclopedia

Street theatre is a form of theatrical

Theatre

Performance

A performance, in performing arts, generally comprises an event in which one group of people behave in a particular way for another group of people ....
and presentation in outdoor public space

Public space

A public space refers to an area or place that is open and accessible to all citizens, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, age or socioeconomics....
s without a specific paying audience

Audience

An audience is a group of person who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature , theatre, music or academics in any Media ....
. These spaces can be anywhere, including shopping centres

Shopping mall

File:Nordstrom wing , Pentagon City Mall.jpgA shopping mall or shopping centre is a building or set of buildings which contain retail units, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit....
, car parks

Parking lot

Parking lot is a cleared area that is more or less level and is intended for parking vehicles. Usually, the term refers to a dedicated area that has been provided with a durable or semi-durable surface....
, recreational reserves and street

Street

A street is a public thoroughfare in the built environment. It is a public parcel of landform adjoining buildings in an urban area context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about....
corners. They are especially seen in outdoor spaces where there are large numbers of people. The actor

Actor

An actor or actress is a person who acting in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio programming in that capacity....
s who perform street theatre range from busker

Busking

Busking is the practice of performance in public places for tips and gratuities. People engaging in this practice are called buskers. Busking performances are widely varied, and can include acrobatics, animal tricks, balloon modeling, card tricks, clowning, comedy, contortionist & escapologist, dance, Fire eater, fortune-telling, juggl...
s to organised theatre companies or groups that want to experiment with performance spaces, or to promote

Promotion (marketing)

Promotion involves disseminating information about a product , product line, brand, or company. It is one of the four key aspects of the marketing mix....
their mainstream

Mainstream

Mainstream is, generally, the common current of thought of the majority. It is a term most often applied in the The Arts . This includes:* something that is available to the general public;...
work.

Sometimes performers are commissioned, especially for street festival

Festival

A festival is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on some unique aspect of that community.Among many religions, a feast or festival is a set of celebrations in honour of God or Polytheism....
s, children's

Child

A child is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor , otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority....
shows or parade

Parade

A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float or sometimes large balloons....
s, but more often street theatre performers are unpaid or gather some income

Income

Income, refers to consumption opportunity gained by an entity within a specified time frame, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. However, for households and individuals, "income is the sum of all the wages, salaries, profits, interests payments, rents and other forms of earnings received......
through the dropping of a coin

Coin

A coin is a piece of hard material, usually metal or a metallic material, usually in the shape of a Disk , and most often issued by a government....
in a hat

Hat

A hat is a headcovering. It may be worn for protection against the elements, for religious reasons, for safety, or as a fashion accessory. In the past, hats were an indicator of social status....
by the audience.

The logistics of doing street theatre necessitate simple costume

Costume

The term costume can refer to Wardrobe and style of dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period....
s and prop

Theatrical property

A theatrical property, commonly referred to as a prop, is any object held or used on stage by an actor for use in furthering the plot or story line of a theatrical production....
s, and generally there is little or no amplification

Electronic amplifier

An electronic amplifier is a device for increasing the Power and/or amplitude of a Signal . It does this by taking energy from a power supply and controlling the output to match the input signal shape but with a larger amplitude....
of sound

Sound

Sound is vibration transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a threshold of hearing to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations....
, with actors depending on their natural vocal

Human voice

The human voice consists of sound Voice production by a human being using the vocal folds for Speech communication, singing, Laughter, crying, screaming, etc....
and physical ability. This issue with sound has meant that physical theatre

Physical theatre

Physical theatre is a general term used to describe any mode of performance that pursues storytelling through primarily physical means. There are several quite distinct traditions of performance which all describe themselves using the term "physical theatre", which has led to a lot of confusion as to what the definition of physical theatre ac...
, including dance

Dance

Dance is an art form that generally refers to Motion of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of Emotional expression, social social interaction or presented in a spirituality or performance setting....
, mime

Mime artist

A mime artist is someone who uses mime as a theatrical medium or as a performance art, involving the acting out a story through body motions, without use of speech....
and slapstick

Slapstick

Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated extreme physical violence or activities which exceed the boundaries of common sense, such as a character being hit in the face with a heavy frying pan or running into a brick wall....
, is a very popular genre

Genre

A genre is a loose set of criteria for a category of composition; the term is often used to categorize literature and speech, but is also used for any other Art#Art forms or utterance....
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

Garden

A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials....
, where there is a discrete space set aside (or rope

Rope

A rope is a length of fibers, twisted or braided together to improve strength for pulling and connecting. It has tensile strength but is too flexible to provide compressive strength ....
d off) and a ticketed

Ticket (admission)

A ticket is a voucher to indicate that one has paid for admission to an event or establishment such as a theatre, movie theater, amusement park, zoo, museum, concert, or other attraction, or permission to travel on a vehicle such as an airliner, train, bus, or boat, typically because one has paid the fare....
audience.

In some cases, street theatre performers have to get a licence or specific permission through local

Local government

Local governments are administrative offices that are smaller than a state. The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government....
or state government

Government

Government is the body within any organization that has the authority to make and the power to enforce laws, regulations, or rules. Typically, the government refers to a civil government -- local, provincial, or national -- but commercial, academic, religious, or other formal organizations are also administered by governing bodies....
s, in order to perform.

Street theatre is arguably the oldest form of theatre

Theatre

Theatre is the branch of the performing arts defined by Bernard Beckerman as what "occurs when one or more actor, isolated in time and/or Theater , present themselves to Audience." By this broad definition, theatre has existed since the dawn of man, as a result of human tendency for story telling....
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 hall

Music hall

Music hall is a form of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to# A particular form of variety show entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and #Speciality Acts....
s and in vaudeville

Vaudeville

Vaudeville was a genre of a variety show prevalent on the theatre in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. It developed from many sources, including the concert saloon, minstrel show, freak shows, dime museums, and literary burlesque....
, now often perform professionally in the many well-known street performance areas throughout the world.

One of the most interesting points about modern street theatre is its unique sociopolitical place. People who might not have ever been to, or been able to afford to go to, the "legitimate" theatre can watch a street show. By virtue of where the shows take place, their audience is made up of anyone and everyone who wants to watch. If an audience member can't afford it, then it's free.

External links

- Street performer reference site
Online Book (preview only) Street Theatre and Other Outdoor Performance By Bim Mason Published by Routledge, 1992 ISBN 0415070503, 9780415070508
a website about streettheatre in the Netherlands and Belgium (also in English)

Street theatre

See also

External links