Theatre

At the beginning of the play, a group of people comprising of citizens of Thebes gather around the palace where king Oedipus resides. When the king notices this, he moves out of the palace and goes to the crowd to enquire of what is going on. He asks the priest who was in the crowd, why people were praying while crying at the same time and the priest informs him that a plague had befallen the people of Thebes and that is why they were praying to their gods to end it. He continued to explain that, the plague had made the crops to dry up hence there was no pasture to feed the animals. The women have also been affected to the point that, they could not bare children and the ones who were not yet born died in their wombs.

The priest begs the king to intervene. The king admits that he is aware of the plague and he has been feeling the pain of the people. He went further to assure the citizens of Thebes that he would do anything to end the plague. He assures them that he has already taken a step to solve the problem by sending his brother in law Creon, to Delphi for the oracle which had the solution. Later, Creon brings the Oracle but the oracle says that, Thebes is filled with filth and the only way to do away with the plague is by cleaning it. The oracle went further to say that, Thebes harbored the murderer of the previous king of Thebes King Laios. This is the filth which caused the plague. They were required to banish the murderer in order to heal the land. This prompted the king to enquire of the circumstances that led to the death of the previous king. Creon tells him that King Laios died while he had gone for a pilgrimage out of Thebes. The only survivor who had witnessed the killing said that the king had been attacked by robbers. King Oedipus wanted to know why the murder incident had not been investigated well but Creon informs him that, at the time, Thebes had so many problems and thus, they could not investigate the matter fully.

This prompts the king to swear to find the murderer. At this point in the play, we find a chorus which expresses fear of what the king might find out about the murderer. The chorus is also a kind of prayer to the gods about the plague. After the Chorus, the king leaves the palace and he asks the people to help him find the murderer. Oedipus declares the punishment that will befall the murderer and he does not exclude himself. He sends for the blind Prophet called Teiresias on the advice of Creon so that he could help. The prophet comes and tells the king that he is the cause of the plague. He tells the king that the king himself is the murderer and there is no need to look somewhere else. This makes the king very angry to the point of abusing the prophet. Since Creon is the one who advised the king to send for the prophet the king accuses Creon of conspiracy to take over the throne.

Later, lady Iocaste, Oedipus wife, tells the king of what the oracle had said about the death of king Laios. The oracle had said that, the previous king had to die in the hands of his son. The wife continues to tell him of what had happened to the son. The more the king was getting informed of the details, the more he realized that he is actually the murderer. Later, king Oedipus decides to tell his wife of what an oracle had said about him when he was a child. It was predicted that, he would kill his father and sleep with his mother. Since he did not want this to happen, he decided to run away from his home to go to the land where King Laios was killed. He also narrated how he had killed King Laios without the knowledge that he was his actual father. This was confirmed by a Corinthian who had come to inform king Oedipus that his assumed   parents had died. However the Corinthian admitted that the dead parents were not the kings actual parents. The herdsman who was given the baby Oedipus to get rid off admitted to giving the Corinthian the baby and that King Laios and Lady Iocaste were the real parents of the king.

In the end, after the king and the wife realized that he had actually fulfilled the oracle by killing his father and marrying his mother, the wife hanged herself and the king blinded himself by gorging his eyes out. He later exiled himself leaving behind his children in the hands of the brother in law Creon.

The  term  Commedia  dellarte  interprets  as  the  comedy  of  skills  which  is  an  inventive  style  of  that  commenced  in  the  sixteenth  century  Europe,  thereby,  flourishing  for  two  successful  centuries.  The  actors  which  performed  were  from  traveling  organizations,  and  performed  outdoors  in  public  squares,  making  use  of  usual  backdrops  and  prop  ups.  The  costumes  used  in  these  plays  efficiently  defined  the  personality  of  every  character.  The  interpretation  comedy  of  skills  basically  talks  about  the  skills  developed  by  professional  comic  characters.  Each  of  them  had  their  stock  of  jests,  funny  speeches,  comic  slights,  and  spectacular  acts  to  obtain  from  their  performances.  Worldwide  prominent  silent  comedians  such  as  Charlie  Chaplin  and  Harold  Lloyd  made  use  of  the  acrobatic  dynamic  comedy  of  commedia  in  their  pictures.  The  enthusiastic  humor  of  these  commedia  groups  is  analogous  to  the  work  by  other  contemporary  groups  such  as  Second  City  and  the  Groundlings  (Smith,  1912).

Even  though  the  precise  origins  of  commedia  dellarte  are  ambiguous,  it  is  believed  that  it  was  persuaded  by  ancient  Roman  and  Greek  comedy  as  well  as  the  medieval  conventions  of  carnival  entertainers  (Katritzky,  2007).  The  initial  performances  of  commedia  dellarte  as  recorded  occurred  in  Italy  in  the  16th  century.  It  is  when  that  the  society  of  Italy  swarmed  with  literary,  technical,  and  scholarly  academies  which  called  themselves  by  names  like  the  Illuminati  referring  to  the  enlightened,  Intrepidi  meaning  the  intrepid,  or  Animosi  meaning  the  animated.  Most  of  the  works  talking  about  commedia  dellarte  are  inclusive  of  lengthy  portrayals  of  its  journey  throughout  the  French  comedy,  where  it  marked  its  successful  presence  for  more  than  100  years.  All  throughout  this  time-span,  commedia  dellarte  experienced  an  enhancement  process  where  it  fragmented  itself  in  accordance  with  brief  descriptions  of  European  countries  such  as  England,  Spain,  or  Poland.  The  researches  and  analyses  which  talk  about  commedia  are  principally  associated  with  reresenting  the  commedia  dellarte  as  it  appeared  live.  For  the  reason  that  commedia  dellarte  had  not  much  influence  on  these  theatres  in  comparison  to  France  where  its  impact  was  inclined  more  in  direction  of  the  development  of  native  theaters  as  well  as  the  admiration  of  commedia  dellarte  characters  in  the  dominion  of  travesty  and  buffoonery  (Nicoll,  1963),  it  is  not  astonishing  to  see  that  there  is  not  much  research  performed  in  this  field.

Influence  of  Commedia  dellarte  on  French  Comedy  (17th-18th  Century)
Commedia  dellarte  has  been  a  popular  form  of  entertainment  throughout  the  period  of  Renaissance,  the  period  when  its  popularity  was  at  its  highest.    Throughout  Italy,  it  gained  tremendous  prosperity  and  status  in  other  European  countries,  chiefly  France.  The  influence  of  commedia  dellarte  on  French  classic  comedy  can  be  witnessed  in  Pantomimes  and  Harlequinades.  This  form  of  theatre  sustained  the  early  18th  century  just  by  means  of  its  extensive  influence  on  written  dramatic  appearances.  Commedia  dellarte  influenced  the  French  comedy  by  portraying  real  characters  as  drawn  from  remote  antiques  down  to  the  modern  days,  thus,  bringing  about  an  incessant  tradition  of  terrific  humor  which  is  quite  critical  by  spirit  or  even  low  sometimes,  and  lay  exposed  the  core  paucity  of  mankind.  The  companies  involved  in  featuring  commedia  dellarte  generally  involved  10  men,  comprising  of  7  males  and  3  females.  The  performers  played  their  roles  for  the  audience  in  two  open  squares,  with  no  scripts,  but  only  written  scenarios  that  drew  out  the  action.  It  is  making  use  of  these  sketches  that  the  actors  managed  the  dialogues  and  actions.

For  the  duration  of  16th  century  in  Italy,  the  actors  took  up  folk  forms,  thereby,  managing  masking,  dance  and  music,  and  developing  a  theatrical  genus.  According  to  Rudlin  (1994),  commedia  dellarte  being  shot  out  of  inventiveness,  this  genus  was  established  with  no  conscious  sense  of  culture  as  a  common  denominator  between  performer  and  audience.  However,  in  accordance  with  the  18th  century  critic  statements,  commedia  dellarte  involved  particular  roles  and  attributes  which  were  previously  set  as  a  type  of  attributive  delegates  of  some  specific  district  or  town  (Boston  Lyric  Opera  2010,  1-4).  The  personality  of  the  character  was  inclusive  of  a  particular  vernacular  of  the  town  represented  by  them.  Whats  more,  each  of  those  characters  has  one  costume  and  mask  which  delineates  the  role  of  their  character.  Hence,  we  can  say  that  commedia  dellarte  possesses  three  key  stock  roles,  namely,  the  servant,  the  master  and  inamorata,  and  the  characters  themselves  which  are  called  masks.

Commedia  dellarte  sustained  its  prominence  in  France  all  throughout  the  17th  century,  where  it  developed  its  established  repertoire,  thereby,  growing  into  a  number  of  configurations  across  the  entire  European  continent.  According  to  Boston  Lyric  Opera  (2010,  1-4),  as  an  example  we  can  talk  about  Pantomime  which  prospered  in  the  18th  century,  owing  its  origins  to  the  character  stereotypes  of  the  commedia,  Harlequin  in  particular.  Moreover,  the  puppet  shows  which  are  still  prominent  in  England  owe  their  prosperity  to  the  Pulcinella  mask  as  originated  in  Nepolitan  versions  of  the  form.  On  the  other  hand,  the  commedia  marks  and  plots  in  Italy  originated  into  the  opera  buffa,  along  with  various  plots  of  Rossini,  Puccini  and,  Verdi.  According  to  the  theatre  historians  and  researchers,  commedia  dellarte  has  established  itself  as  a  response  to  the  political  as  well  as  financial  emergency  of  the  cinquecento  which,  eventually,  made  it  the  first  entirely  professional  form  of  theatre,  leading  to  successful  prominence  in  French  classical  comedy.

Followed  by  its  distinct  influence  on  comedy  and  adoption  in  France,  commedia  dellarte  influenced  many  plays,  particularly  those  by  Moliere  (Rudlin,  1994).  A  comedy  play  by  Moliere  called  Tartuffe,  involved  the  classic  commedia  scenario  where  a  father  arranged  his  daughter  in  a  marriage  to  a  person  much  older  than  she  was.  However,  the  daughter  was  already  in  love  with  a  man  who  was  her  age.  Such  kinds  of  stock  characters  are  also  found  in  Molieres  plays  which  included  the  innocent  lovers,  and  wise  servant.  It  is  the  success  of  these  characters  that  they  have  been  adapted  in  other  countries  as  well.  For  example,  Punch  and  Judy  show  in  England  is  the  most  famous  adaptation  of  those  characters  (Rudlin,  1994).

The  quest  for  comic  leads  essentially  to  a  suggestion  of  the  poignant.  The  mannerisms  that  were  adopted  along  with  all  the  inventiveness  are  based  on  the  comprehension  of  emotional  propensities  that  are  propagated  during  the  seventeenth  century  (Parker,  1999).  These  propensities  are  fundamentally  evident  in  the  use  of  masks  as  a  permanent  indicator  of  character.  Still,  there  is  no  divergence  between  such  typology  and  the  characterization  of  the  role  in  some  sketches.  Where  the  mask  is  the  character  that  delineates  the  limits  within  which  the  character  is  expected  to  perform,  encouraging  inventiveness  is  based  on  the  mask  itself  (Parker,  1999).  Even  though  the  tangible  masks  are  not  suggestive  of  specific  emotions,  they,  in  any  case,  convey  the  idea  of  emotional  propensity  which  was  completely  credible  to  a  French  audience  of  the  17th  century.

Moliere  and  Commedia  dellarte
The  study  of  commedia  dellarte  is  incomplete  without  mention  of  Moliere.  The  education  pursued  by  Moliere  enabled  him  to  become  cognizant  of  the  components  of  comedy,  particularly  commedia  dellarte.  Whats  more,  not  only  does  Moliere  provide  its  audiences  with  a  view  of  his  own  life  and  education,  he  also  exemplifies  the  forms  of  Greek  and  Roman  comedy  which  are  fundamental  to  the  genre  of  commedia  dellarte.  The  genre  has  successfully  evolved  since  the  time  of  Moliere,  and  is  not  only  germane  in  todays  times,  but  also  an  influential  form  of  expression  within  the  21st  century  entertainment  (Klass  2003,  1-4).  The  Italian  style  characters  in  those  plays  such  as  the  clown,  lovers,  and  comic  father,  have  been  brought  into  use  to  add  that  comic  effect.  Another  play  by  Moliere  called  Scapin  is  believed  to  have  apparent  effect  of  commedia  dellarte  where  the  story  talks  about  two  sons  who  have  both  married  privately  in  their  fathers  absence.  Both  of  them  are  reliant  on  the  fraudulently  crafty  servant,  Scapin,  in  order  to  successfully  get  out  of  the  matter.  In  similarity  to  the  usual  Italian  comedy,  this  one  ends  somewhat  contendedly,  with  the  servant,  Scapin,  one  way  or  the  other  getting  acclaim  and  appearing  silly  (Ellis,  2003).

Ellis  (2003)  also  searched  that  probably,  the  first  play  of  Moliere  that  introduced  him  to  success  was  the  five-act  comedy  in  1662  called  The  School  from  Wives  which  involved  comic  disasters  grounded  by  a  man  called  Arnoplhe  who  was  afraid  of  betrayal,  and  thus,  requests  that  Agnes,  his  ward,  be  raised  as  simply  as  possible,  so  that  he  can  marry  her  in  the  end.  With  a  strong  craving  for  male  attention  after  spending  her  childhood  in  a  convent,  Agnes  fell  in  love  with  Horace,  a  friend  of  Arnolphe,  having  absolutely  no  idea  that  Arnolphe  wanted  her  for  himself.  With  such  a  strong  scenario,  the  play  received  absolute  attention,  with  King  Louis  XIV  bestowing  Moliere  an  annual  pension  for  his  work.  The  anatomy  of  the  plays  by  Moliere  examines  a  neo-classical  outline.  In  usual  plays,  a  new  scene  is  usually  marked  by  a  characters  entrance  or  exit.  Also,  there  is  a  principal  character  which  will  usually  feature  in  the  last  scene  of  the  act  so  as  to  represent  the  main  plot  of  the  act  more  authoritatively.  However,  on  the  other  hand,  as  a  parallel  prototype,  Moliere  featured  into  his  acts  nothing  different  from  a  contemporary  vaudeville  or  cabaret,  but  with  the  sequence  of  independent  turns  such  as  comic  routines,  dances  and  songs,  acrobatics,  or  animal  wonders.  He  was  a  wonderful  producer  to  have  provided  the  actors  with  the  strongest  opportunities,  thereby,  composing  a  number  of  solos,  duets,  quartets,  etc.  for  many  scenes  of  his  plays.  This  optional  structure  as  derived  in  part  from  commedia  dellarte,  is  similar  to  the  epic  kinds  brought  into  use  post  two  centuries  by  Bretch  and  Piscator  along  with  their  successors.  However,  even  though  it  is  concealed  in  the  formal  segregation  into  the  neo-classical  scenarios,  it  is  possible  to  recognize  its  delicate  presence  even  in  those  dramatic  poetries  of  Moliere  which  were  even  more  ambitious.

Almost  all  the  plays  of  Molieres  are  one-act  comedies  which  were  performed  with  an  intention  of  lightening  the  mood  post  a  critical  subject  matter.  These  plays  were  short  in  length  and  efficaciously  featured  commedia  dellarte  stock  characters  with  heavy  banter.  Apart  from  the  ones  discussed  above,  the  best  known  plays  of  Moliere  include  School  for  Husbands,  Sganarelle,  and  The  Pretentious  Young  Ladies.  On  the  other  hand,  in  modern  theatre,  a  couple  of  Molieres  plays  are  usually  united  so  as  to  create  an  evening  of  one-acts,  which  have  become  tremendously  popular  with  modern  theatre  audiences.  Molieres  plays  have  introduced  political  and  societal  wittiness  into  the  society  which  is  believed  to  efficiently  suit  the  modern  matters  of  concern.  Theyve  also  served  as  paramount  teaching  implements  and  are  often  brought  into  use  in  order  to  bring  in  young  artists  and  performers  to  the  world  of  French  travesty,  along  with  the  skills  that  are  required  for  rich  scale  verbal  mockeries  (Ellis,  2003).

The  achievements  of  Moliere  are  so  solid  and  justifiable  that  they  cannot  be  undermined  by  absurd  revelations.  His  acts  appear  to  be  full  of  single-minded  search  for  inventiveness,  for  that  specific  deepness  that  laughter  can  propose  to,  as  a  minimum,  those  audiences  who  are  not  too  biased  against  it,  and  particularly,  enjoy  serious  drama.  Moliere  has  attained  that  by  picking  up  and  fusing  all  of  his  source  matter  in  ways  which  make  noteworthy  and  give  it  more  significance  than  it  had  previously  when  it  was  a  segment  of  the  unknown  usual  repertoire  (Andrews  2005,  14).  In  the  same  way,  there  are  many  instances  when  he  has  just  left  his  stories  and  approaches  behind,  thereby,  making  way  into  domains  which,  in  his  time,  were  unparalleled  on  the  stag  of  commedia  dellarte.  These  are  some  of  the  particular  things  that  were  introduced  to  the  European  Comedy  which  were  acknowledgeable  even  though  they  have  not  yet  been  appropriately  set  down.  However,  Moliere  can  be  envisaged  as  the  paramount  comic  dramatist  who  was  not  created  by  the  regions  he  flourished  his  art  in.  Moliere,  in  every  sense,  captured  some  of  the  repertoire,  thereby,  rendering  his  art  the  significance  and  immortality  which  it  deserved  and  has  attained.

All  throught  its  two-century  zenith,  commedia  dellarte  has  contributed  to  the  hullabaloo  that  has  circumscribed  its  origins.  The  most  domineering  feature  of  commedia  dellarte  which  enabled  it  to  reign  over  classic  comedy  throughout  Europe  has  been  variously  recognized  as  its  commercialism,  improvisation,  professionalism,  characteristic  stock  prototypes,  introduction  of  females  as  actors,  and  the  formation  of  troupes  (Kartrizky,  2006).  After  its  total  development,  the  commedia  dellarte  became  the  product  of  teamwork  of  professional  actors  who  were  associated  with  travelling  groups,  and  provided  dialogues  for  performances  managed  around  scenes  involving  the  stock  characters.  The  best  actors  beat  their  characters  with  individuality,  freshness  and  radiance,  thereby,  adding  value  to  the  pieces  which  were  otherwise  insignificant.  Truly,  commedia  dellarte  introduced  the  professional  actor  into  classic  comedy  in  Europe.

Different theatrical genres call for different acting styles, and with the openness of todays society to various different forms these styles have come to reach mainstream consciousness. These styles are employed in order to convey the intrinsic meaning of a specific piece. At the same time, it is also helpful in relating to the audience the intentions of the directors vision, though it might veer away from the original depiction on the text. Such dynamics are prevalent in the comparison of two excellent examples of the Greek tragedy, Mark Cullingham and Richard Whiteheads production of the popular tragedy Medea (1982) for the John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts, and Sir Peter Halls production of the rarely mounted play Choephori (1983) for the National Theatre of Great Britain. These two productions, despite being of the same genre, employed two different acting styles that laid out the groundwork for the direction of the production. The earlier play employed a more contemporary or verse style (most popular with Shakespearean plays) that was better received among modern audiences. The latter, on the other hand, went back to the roots of the drama by following the principles of the truly Classical Greek tragedy as executed 2,500 years ago. These differences and their accompanying effects will be discussed further in this paper.
First of all, the Greek tragedy essentially revolves around the suffering and woes of heroes and historical figures of the Greek times. It focused on wars and the after effects that lead to the demise (or, rarely, the survival) of the characters. In Euripedes Medea we see the title character engulfed by her anger towards her husband, the hero Jason, after he replaces her with a more suitable wife. It is the story of the torment and revenge of one of classical literature most memorable women. Revenge also drives the plot in Aeschylus Choephori. We see the siblings Orestes and Electra plot their revenge against those who have killed their father, Agamemnon, and usurped his throne and kingdom in the process. It is this vicious vengefulness that drives them to murder the newly crowned king and their own mother. Both plays are highly emotional in nature and the depths of these emotions are rarely delved by any actor, and once one does, it is hailed as an extraordinary feat.

But the similarities end here when, upon the directors vision, the actors adapt a different style. As previously mentioned, the acting style in Medea is more contemporary. In the first scene, we see the character of Medeas nurse, played by Judith Anderson, an actress whose performances of Medea during her younger years have garnered her great acclaim. In the few minutes that she arrives on stage, one will immediately see the particular acting that she employs. She is found on stage in a stylized position. Crouched, she unfurls and delivers her lines in poetry. Her words are wrought by deep emotions, suggested by her pauses and breaks, and the subtle actions that she employs. It is also important to note that the translation, written by Richard Jeffers (who accordingly, wrote the role of Medea with Judith Anderson in mind), is a complete departure from the original text as it employed a more narrative form.

On the other hand, Choephori opens with the audience watching actors in masks in the style employed by the ancient Greek theatre. All the actors, whether they play female roles, are men as is the tradition in classical Greece. They wear masks that differ subtly from each other, an aspect that might seem a hindrance to their speech. But, remarkably, their language is fluid and the words are clear and strong. Unlike, the style of Medea wherein the clarity of emotions are given weight, this production prioritizes the clarity of the text and the lines. There is minimal movement and even more minimal emotions, further hindered by the masks they are wearing. Essentially, this acting style gives far more importance to the authorship of the play rather than on its performative aspect.

And, given that they have masks on, the actors have to learn to utilize these masks in order to further the minimal emotional aspect of their performance. Certain tilts of the head or raising of the chin can connote particular emotional equivalents. Based on observation, a tilt of the head to the side might mean a questioning. On the other hand, actors in Medea have the capacity to use their facial gestures to convey a more complex emotional arch. They need not adapt a strict retinue of movements to relate a particular feeling.

The latter play also uses song in their performances, as aspect that is rarely found in contemporary tragedies. This singing is utilized in order to add to the emotional quotient brought about by the text. Medea, on the other hand, doesnt use this style and basically relies mostly on the narrative to push the story.

Overall, the differences between these two plays rely on how the directors see it in todays context. Medea, because of its timeless theme of pain and revenge of a woman scorned, is found to be best mounted when capitalizing on its plot. Choephori, aside from being another great representation of Greek tragedies, is used as medium to showcase the truly Classical principles of Greek theatre. Rather than an emotional extravaganza, it is becomes a platform for the audience to appreciate how it was originally staged. At the end, these two plays, though coming from different styles, show how plays no matter similar, can vary in order to convey a grand vision.

Globe Theater was built between 1597 and 1598 by Peter Smith and his workers who was a carpenter at the time. It was built after demolition of an original theater that was known as the theater by a landlord because of disagreement between the landlord and the theater company. This occurred after a 21 year lease that they had been given by the landlord who was called Giles Allen expired and because he the landlord was not pleased with the theoretical productions that were taking place and theater in general. He raised the price for the next lease to ridiculous levels which led to the disagreement and relocation of the theater. The work of dismantling the theater and transportation to the new site where they were to construct a new one was undertaken by the acting troupe. Its through this that Globe Theater came into existence (Johnson, p. 296).

Globe Theater was built in the south side of river Thames. It was a wonderful amphitheater that was not only used for acting plays but it was also used as a gambling and brothel house. It became a big success because of its proximity to Bear Garden. This affected Bear Gardens as its profits slumped leading to its closure in 1614 by Edward Alleyn and Henslowe (Adams, p.54). He replaced it with a new theater which he named Hope Theater. Edward Alleyn attempted to attract masses from the Globe Theater by returning to stage but all was in vain. Globe Theaters plays were great they were making good money with the steady demand for fresh materials which increased competition between the two theater groups. Plays were produced as soon as they had been written with printing following productions. Rival companies used to send their actors to attend the plays after which they could reproduce copies of the plays as there were no copy rights at the time. This led to unauthorized production of Shakespeares plays. These copies were inferior and were referred to as Quarto texts. Elizabeths theater which included the globe became successful until other Elizabeths entertainments were seriously affected. Because of the growth of theater popularity, a law was passed that required closure of all theaters on Thursday so that other industries such as bull and bear fighting couldnt be abandoned (Beckerman, P.65).

Events in the Globe Theater
 Most days were exciting with surrounding grounds filled with people. There were stalls that could sell goods and refreshments to people bringing the market atmosphere. Those individuals who didnt like plays would come to the theaters and go to enjoy in holiday like mood at the market stalls. The Globe particularly appealed to young people making some of them to avoid work just to come and enjoy activities that were taking place at their theaters. A trumpet could be blown prior to the start of plays requiring people to take their designated places.

The Globe used flags to advertise itself. The flags would be erected when they were performing with some containing Hercules figure to symbolize that the first performance was about to begin. They also used colors in which black flags symbolized tragedy, white was a sign of comedy with red symbolizing history (Johnson, p. 296).

Their motto To publicize the arrival of The Globe, Lord Chamberlains men erected a flag that had an image of Hercules with the globe on his shoulders to indicate the beginning of the first play of Julius Caesar. The top of the flag contained their motto lotus mundus agit histrionem that translated to the whole world is a play ground.

Productions They were very sophisticated with the use of props like fully working canons which had to remain on stage for the entire play. There spectacular additions such as the smoke effects were amazing with firing of canons and fireworks. The stage contained trap-doors that allowed extra astounding incidents. Music also contributed to its popularity with the sight of flying Shakespeare actors making it more interesting to the audience (Beckerman, P.65).

Globe Theater actors The audience was kept alive all the time with its actors presenting more than eleven performances from different plays within a span of two weeks. The actors used to get their play lines while performing of which they were being whispered to by an individual who was located at the backstage. This type of acting came to be called cue acting and it is through it that cue scripting came into existence in which each actor was presented with his own lines. The play scene was left unexplained to the actors until the time they were performing leaving them without rehearsal time. This allowed for quick new productions with big collection of variety of roles (Johnson, p. 296).

Shakespeare
According to Timothy (p.77), Shakespeare was a stakeholder in the Globe Theater and also featured in some of the plays. The role that he played in Globe Theater is not clear although there is some documented information about him. He began his stage career quite earlier by 1592, there is documented evidence from Robert Greene Groatsworth. It thought that he had participated in a play by the name Edward I that was written by Edward Peele in 1953. It is also thought that he had taken characters in a number of his own plays. This is evident from the words of the first biographer referring to Shakespeares role in his plays as the Ghost in his own Hamlet and He was the top of his performance. Because of lack of control of the plays by the government, it was not difficult to use them to propagate propaganda. Plays were acted that were aimed at criticizing the government. The queen realized the effects that they could have on her popularity and sort to control them by regulating those players who would stroll through giving royal licenses to organized companies thus introducing justifiable groups like Earl of Leicesters Men. Plays brought about debates among people with some theaters serving as brothel, bear pits and gambling houses. (Beckerman, P.65)
Audiences became noisy and disorderly giving the government an excuse to control the industry. It became a requirement for plays that were to be published to obtain licensing from the government which gave the government an opportunity to censor some of the plays. Objection continued increasing from the government, church and prominent citizens because of the many activities that were taking place in the theaters, some which were considered to be promoting crime. Come December of 1574, the Common council of London banned the plays from being presented in both theaters and public in its statement . . . Thus from henceforth no play, comedy, tragedy, interlude, not public show shall be openly played or showed within the liberties of the City . . . and that no innkeeper, tavern keeper, nor other person whatsoever within the liberties of this City shall openly show or play . . . any interlude, comedy, tragedy, matter, or show which shall not be first perused and allowed . . . The Globe existed until 1613 when it was burnt down on June 29 of that year. The fire had been caused by the canon which was being used for special effects and contained wadding and gun powder. The theater burnt down but its not recorded if there were any injuries (Charles, p.59).

End of Globe Theater  
 According to Adams (p.54), in 1642 with the influence from the puritans, English Parliament ordered for suppression of stage plays in theaters. It also implemented strict code of behavior in which any kind of frivolous or finely behaviors were condemned. War broke out in 1642 between Puritans and Royalists and in 1644, Globe Theater was demolished. In 1648, stricter measures were put in place after which an order to pull down all play houses was given. Players were to be captured and whipped with their audience being charged five shillings each. In 1653, Cromwell became Lord Prosecutor of England and after his death in 1658, Puritans powers decreased. In 1660, the English monarchy was restored back to power under King Charles II. Theaters were finally opened but The Globe was never rebuilt.    

Theatrics activities are sometimes considered to be mere entertainment with no moral lessons or career opportunities. The participants are looked at as comedians or dramatizers out to entertain the audience and that is it. This kind of perception is ill founded since there is a lot of richness in theatrics. This study seeks to explore this valuable aspect through several tests procedures either to the teachers specializing in theatre or students taking part in such theatrics activities. These tests administered to the teachers can be used to cover certain themes. For instance, History, theory and literature of the theatre, performance, design and technical elements, production, instruction and professional knowledge and creative drama. On the other hand, the study will examine those tests that can be useful in helping the students discover career opportunities associated with theatre identification of roles, creation, performance and production of theatre evaluation of the ways in which theatre relates to other entertainment options, including other arts and disciplines and finally the identification of past and present cultures expressed through theatres. On the same note, it will discuss how theatre symbolizes trends in the society in terms of culture, beliefs, customs or convictions.
In general, even though theatre is considered to be a source of entertainment, it has got a number of fundamental benefits as well. This will be established by tests that are designed to this end.

As mentioned above the test can be administered to teachers who intend to specialize in theatre. The tests can be structured in the form of questions which will be discussed later in the subsequent chapters. Just to re-emphasize, the test can be aimed at covering six content areas namely performance design and technical elements production the history, theory, and literature of the theatre instruction and professional knowledge as well as creative drama (Educational Testing Services, 2009).

It is important to take note of the background of authors through the development of theatre-related affairs in history. This helps in understanding the situation of their times especially on how the society and culture impacted on particular works.  The impact can be assessed within a historical context, text analysis, aesthetic judgments, and structure and conventions (Education Testing Services, 2009). The test can be designed to capture different periods within Western literature, for instance, from the classical Greece to contemporary times. In addition, this takes into account the aspect of ethnic theatre together with the theatre of Africa, Japan, India, China and the Hispanic World, including traditional folk theater (Education Testing Services, 2009).

In so doing, one will be able to keep truck of the developmental stages of theatre to what it is today. In particular, it gives a historical understanding of the performance architecture, technology, the connection between theatre and society, theatre management, conventions, and vocabulary.

Performance is at the heart of every theatre activity. Interested parties should be very keen on it. It covers the role of the sensory and emotional expressions in acting. It goes further to understanding movements, improvisation, character evaluation and development. It helps to identify all those key factors that can lead to organized performance, voice, dynamics, gesturing, breathing, acting methods, techniques, just to mention a few (Education Testing Services, 2009). Furthermore, under performance, interested parties acquire relevant knowledge of directing skills, for instance, conception, script analysis, audition and casting, rehearsal planning, blocking and stage vocabulary (Education Testing Services, 2009).

Under design and technical aspects the interested parties get to acquire knowledge and application of various skills as well as techniques of theatre. This extends to the artistic and technical components, for instance, lighting, costumes, makeup, props, scenery, aesthetic judgment and sound (Education Testing Services, 2009).

Another important aspect is production. This takes into account the elements that support a good theatre management and organization. This entails the maintenance and safety of facilities and equipment and all other unproductive possibilities (Education Testing Services, 2009). In addition, product management covers box office, budgetary procedures, stage management and other issues pertaining to season planning and scheduling as well as the value of a particular play to the school or community.

It is important to acquire adequate instruction skills and professional knowledge to be able to interpret the audiences, develop the students imagination and creativity, self-concept and self-expression. In addition, it facilitates in understanding the social role of the theatre, the philosophy behind theatre programs, community resources as well as funding resources.

Creative drama involves all aspects of story telling and story dramatization, kids literature, role playing and theatre games, puppetry and masks, movements, rhythm and clowning, sensory and emotional perceptions, dramatic play and aesthetic judgments (Education Testing Services, 2009).
Having said that it is worthwhile to formulate certain test guidelines that can help to expose the teachers or other interested parties on the themes discussed above. It will be a set of twelve test questions and subsequently discuss them in the light of their preferred answers.

Test
Consider the moments when the actor is performing in a large auditorium what voice would be suitable when performing in such a context
Who is least likely to be included in the house management staff
Where can one classify the play The Way of the World by William Congreve
What aspect cannot be referred to as a type of stage
Which could be the least effective method in teaching high school students the mechanics of rehearsing a play
What would be the most essential training for an individual who is contemplating teaching theatre and drama to elementary students
After students get to watch a live performance of the play Our Town, which question would be suitable to assess their aesthetic judgments
Considering that students may later in their academic careers be able to evaluate theatrical productions as well as make informed aesthetic judgments what activities would one opt for to facilitate this goal
Consider the play Pygmalion, where several Londoners are under a canopy waiting for the rain to stop. The characters exhibit varied actions and performances that reflect their responses to the situation. Which is the best term that best describes these characters
Theatre of cruelty is linked to early twentieth-century movement. Who is that playwright that is commonly associated with it
Adolphe Appia (1862-1928) is among the greatest contributors in one of the aspects of theatre. Which one
Who is responsible for the audience control prior to a performance

Test Analysis and Discussions
This section discusses the possible solutions to the above test, including their practical applications.
Projection would be the best answer in question one. Projection is the most critical aspect to performance in a large auditorium. However, resonance, timbre and pitch play a major role in the voice management.
The best response to question two would be the stage director since he has an overall responsibility to oversee the activities that are geared towards the actual performance. On the other hand, the management staff consists of the reservationist, publicist and the box office manger.

The best response to question one would a comedy of manners. This is a type of drama that excelled in the period of Restoration. It brings out certain conventions and manners in the society in a satirical manner through witty dialogue.

Spike would be the best response to question four as one cannot talk of spike set. There are cases when the term spike and set are linked in theatre vocabulary, for instance, spike the set which implies the components like furniture. On the contrary, unit, cutaway, and box are all types of stage sets.

Publicity crew would be the best fitting answer in question five. Normally, students may be involved in the promotion and advertisement of the production, and this is an event that is way far from the rehearsal of the play.

In question six, creative dramatics best responds to the question. Normally, the process and techniques acquired in creative drama studies are very useful in the process of incorporating theatre and drama into a basic classroom.

In question seven, it is preferable to make the students make an enquiry into those elements that they liked or disliked about the performance in the play Our Town. If may be the teacher made them evaluate a character on the stage or identify the universal themes in the play, it would not motivate them to give creative judgments due to nature of the questions. In addition, it would incline the students to reflect more on the characters and the themes of the play which is rather a particularized approach than when they consider the quality of performance.

In question eight it would be preferable if such students viewed plays produced by professional theatrical groups while comparing them with local productions by a theatre group. It is indisputable that production can be from professionals or amateurs. Therefore, the preferred choice mentioned would allow the students experience these differences.

Pantomime would be the best term that best describes the characters as depicted in question nine.

Pantomime involves dramatic activities where actors rely on silent motions, gestures, facial expressions, and costumes in the expression of a story or activity.

The best answer to question ten would be Antonin Artaud. Although there are other playwrights like Beckett and Lonesco only that they are associated with theatre of the absurd. Again, Shaffer, a contemporary British playwright, is associated with realistic and absurdist drama.

In question eleven, Adolphe Appia contributed a lot in stage design. He is reported to have revolutionized stage design due to his desire for artistic unity that can only be achieved through concentration on theatrical elements, for instance, lighting and three-dimensional sets.

A house manager best suits in the audience control prior to a performance. This should be the best response to question twelve. However, the ushers can assist the audience, while the director is accountable for the actual performance, and the box manager is accountable for the reservations and ticket sales.

In Northern Ireland, as two soldiers approached a pizza delivery vehicle to pick up their orders, they were attacked by Real Irish Republican Army (RIRA) members armed with automatic fire guns. Instantly, the two soldiers as well as two pizza delivery guys were shot and injured. As the soldiers lay on the ground, bloodied and harmless, the gunmen approached and executed them.

This incident occurred not in an action movie, nor even decades ago in fact, this sudden and brutal killing happened barely a year ago on March 8 2009, at an army base in Co Antrim (Henry McDonald 2009). The seeds behind this terrorist attack started around a century ago when the British decided to split up Ireland, which led to all-out guerrilla warfare. The southern part of Ireland had become an independent state while Northern Ireland remained under Britains rule. As the result, a civil war started for the reunification of Northern and Southern Ireland. This conflict has since lasted over a century, with no immediate end in sight, originating a large number of casualties of from all sides and of both military and civilians alike.

The ongoing cruel terrorist attacks in Northern Ireland led the playwright, Martin McDonagh, to mock the political actions through his work, The Lieutenant of Inishmore. The play The Lieutenant of Inishmore is widely categorized as a blackdark comedy and as thus is full of blood and violence throughout its entire duration. The plot involves numerous instances of sudden brutal killings as well as the torturing of characters on the stage. The extreme and yet ridiculously-presented violence in the play has lead some audiences to believe that the play is only full of foolish jokes that do not imply any other meanings, never mind any political stance. However, it can be argued that the play was a literary tool with which McDonagh specifically criticized the way that the splinter groups from the Irish Republican Army (IRA) commission violence after peaceful reconciliation has been established. In order to criticize the senseless brutality as well as the parties involved in these political actions, Martin McDonagh used the symbolisms of the characters to represent the organizations, the plot of the play to show the endless cycle of violence, and the exaggerated expression of this violence to mock the acts of terrorism, overall making the play a blunt and dark satire of the entire violent situation.

In a sense, Michael McDonagh uses the play as a form of political satire. Political satire has long been a very common subversive tool among writers who are disgruntled with the political dealings in the society they are in but are hindered by either being explicitly forbidden to express these views of political dissent or by their own fears of unspoken threats of violence for these views. Thus, instead of tackling the issues head-on, plays that are written as political satires for example convey their political and societal agenda by entertaining their audiences with exaggerated situations while all the while educating them as to the harsh realities of the situation. The Lieutenant of Inishmore does this and more since it stands out by not merely using devices like slapstick but the uncommonly used element of unapologetic exaggerated brutality to get the points across. Also, unlike many other political satires that use vague symbolisms that may be mistaken for one thing or another, The Lieutenant of Inishmore actually makes mention of the specific entities involved in the real situation, but in a bizarre and roundabout way wherein it focuses on a small and seemingly insignificant incident, the killing of the cat, to represent the bigger picture.

To put the play into a clearer perspective, the historical and political contexts of its satire as well as the events that precipitated the situation must first be presented. The war to reunify the separated Ireland created a hostile atmosphere in more ways than one. Not only was Ireland separated into Southern and Northern states, but even within Northern Ireland, people formed different political groups to either support or oppose being independent from Britain. Additionally, discrimination against minor religions (and sects of Christianity), such as Catholicism, in Northern Ireland developed severely, in such a way that it began causing troubles between the Loyalists and the IRA in 1969. The Loyalists, dominantly of the Protestant religion (sect), wanted Northern Ireland to remain under British rule. On the other hand, the IRA, mostly composed of Catholics, supported the unification of Northern and Southern Ireland due to harsh religious discrimination. For example, the Catholics were treated as second-class citizens, with people from other sects refusing to employ them to such an extent that it caused the unemployment rate to increase up to 30. Moreover, the essential prosperity that composes economical growth could not be owned by Catholic people (Kathryn Gregory 2008). Since after the troubles began, almost 7000 people, militants and civilians, have been killed and immeasurable wealth have been lost. After being locked in an endless struggle for nearly thirty years, in the mid-1990s, the IRA and the British government opened peace talks to finally settle the problem. As the result, in 1997, the IRA announced a ceasefire and finally abandoned violence in favor of political strategy. However, the idea of a peaceful approach was not satisfying to some members, therefore, those who opposed the peace talk created the Real Irish Republican Army (RIRA or Real IRA), what is referred to as a splinter group, in 1997. They have threatened and attacked to stop the peace process in order to continue their war against Britain.

The Lieutenant of Inishmore takes place in the Inishmore, an island in Southern Ireland. In the beginning of the play, a black cat dies from what the audience assumes is a bicycle accident. The dead black cat turns out to be Wee Thomas, a certain Padraics precious pet. Padraic is a mad lieutenant of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA), another IRA splinter group, who loves violence. His madness and taste for violence is apparently so terrible and dangerous that even the IRA refused to accept him as a member. Therefore, he condemns the IRA as being too soft and not practicing violence enough to protest. Moreover, he dreams himself as founding his own splinter group that practices violence as much he wishes. Because of his cruelty, his dad, Donny, is afraid to tell him of the death of his beloved cat. Therefore, Donny notifies his son that the black cat is sick. Donnys plan was to replace Padraics cat with another black cat, hoping that Padraic would not recognize it. When Padraic received this news, he had been torturing a man for selling marijuana to Catholic children, and implying that the crime would have been less heinous if the dealer had sold the drugs to Protestant children a subtle commentary on how the different sects view each other. Instantly Padraic arrives home, and he recognizes that the cat has been replaced, and that his own cat is dead. After realizing the death of Wee Thoms, he decides to kill his dad and a kid, Davey, who is accused of running over the cat with his bicycle.

The black cat in the play symbolizes the anarchy in the society. Since the 1880s, the color black has been associated with anarchism, and even today black is associated with darkness and death. The death of the black cat represents the settlement between the IRA and the British government as they tried to cease the belligerent attacks. As the two opposing groups negotiate the settlement in peaceful way, the Real IRA group initiates the continuance of the war. The character of Padraic represents the Real IRA, as he criticizes the IRA for their lack of aggressiveness. In addition, once his black cat is dead, he insanely become hostile. This exaggeration, the cause of much violence and death over a cat, something that most people find would find petty, gives the audience a sense of how petty or even downright ridiculous the author, McDonagh, views the entire situation to be.

As Padraic believes the kid has killed his cat, a trio approaches and paralyzes Padraic. They confess to being INLA members and planning the trap for Padraic in order to execute him. Padraic had harmed a drug dealer that was under their protection, and the three men possess opposing beliefs from Padraic and they could not bear his selfishness and cruelty. As a result, and to serve justice in their own way, they decide to execute him by themselves.

In a similar manner, as the troubles began in Northern Ireland, the Catholics were excluded and discriminated against before the law and, as mentioned, their opportunities for livelihood were very limited just because of their religion. Justice was with the majority, the Protestants, and they served that justice by themselves. Additionally, the Loyalists also used violence to keep Northern Ireland under British rule. In the play, the three INLA men represent the Loyalists who are willing to execute violence to fulfill their beliefs and serve justice as they themselves see fit. On the stage, the majority is represented by the three men, and the minority is Padraic. And yet, there seems to be no clear protagonist or antagonist in this fight as both parties are willing to accomplish their goal via violence and senseless killing, showing in a way that all the organizations that turned to violence to further their political agenda, no matter what it is, are in the wrong.

While Padraic was on his way with the trio, he intuitively knew that he will be saved. As he expected, Mairead, who has followed Padraic with admiration, saves him from being executed by shooting the eyes of the other men. After being blinded, each member of the trio is cruelly killed by Padraic and Mairead, and Padraic takes particular pleasure in torturing the one man who confessed to killing his cat. After killing the men, Padraic asks Mairead to marry him. Mairead happily accepts Padraics proposal until she finds out that her own beloved cat, Sir Roger, was killed by Padraic. Upon learning this, despite her obvious admiration for him throughout the play and their not even minutes-old engagement, she decides to shoot and kill her new husband-to-be.

Mairead is a character that represents any another IRA splinter group. Just like the Real IRA, other splinter groups follow a violent approach in settling matters and therefore, they would initially seem to cooperate with each other. However, Martin McDonagh implies through the actions of Mairead that once these seemingly cooperating groups come upon even a minor disagreement, they can very quickly become enemies and turn on each other despite their common goals or enemies. The cat is a symbol of the beliefs of the parties that each character represents. The death of Sir Roger implies the sudden disagreement of different splinter groups that can only settle their conflicts by pursuing violence. Again, this shows an abject pettiness in the parties involved in the conflict, who resort to violence over every issue. Martin McDonagh mocks the violent chauvinism of splinter groups that can only turn to violence to resolve their problems and thus, end up not resolving any issues at all but only creating more problems and violence as the saying goes violence begets violence. This is clearly represented in the killings of Padraic of Mairead and the subsequent killing of Padraic by Mairead.

At the end of the play, Wee Thomas walks across the stage. As Davey and Donny recognize him, they realize that the dead cat was not Padraics, and that his cat was alive. The massacre was triggered by death of Wee Thomas, which in fact never even died.  So all this terror has been for absolutely nothing (p.68). After killing each other to serve what they thought was justice, nothing was accomplished. As mentioned, a black cat is a symbol of anarchy. Hence, it symbolizes the anarchy of the last scene with the corpses and blood-soaked stage. As the British government tries to settle the Northern Ireland problem, the Irish are on their way to achieve what they had been fighting for for so long, but in peaceful way. As Wee Thomas did not die in the first place, this shows that that Real IRA did not really have a cause to fight in the first place. All the violent attacks thus seem illogical and ridiculous and only deteriorate the settlement.

Through The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Martin McDonagh criticizes violence usage in attempt to solve the Trouble in Ireland. Especially, he mocks the splint group from IRA with their violent attacks on civilians and militants. The characters in the play illustrate features of splint groups and shows ridicule of their pursuit of violence. Ongoing terrorists threats in Ireland should be stopped, if their goal is to reunite the Ireland.

It started on a small town in America. In that town lived Joe and Kate Keller who owned a manufacturing plant with their neighbour and close family friend, Steve Deever with his daughter Ann and son George. The Keller had two sons, Larry who is Anns girlfriend, and Chris. When the Second World War started, both Larry and Chris were drafted along with George, their friend.

During the war around 1943, the manufacturing business of the Keller and Deever family prospered, supplying airplane parts to the United State. One day, the defective parts arrived. With the demands of the US Army to keep up with the quantities of the products, Steve Deever informed his business partner Joe to help him decide what to do. Because Joe wasnt around for work because of his sickness, he instructed Steve to patch up the substandard products and deliver it out. Nervously, Joe followed Steve and delivered the package.

Soon, Joe and Steve were arrested for the faulty parts they deliver which caused the planc crash and death of twenty-one pilots in Australia. They were convicted of the crime, but Joe manages to overturn the decision by appealing and selling out his partner Steve. This set Joe free and Steve incarcerated. The news of Joes initial conviction reached to his son Larry overseas. With the shame and grief at his shoulders, he wrote a letter to Ann in an informal way of saying his goodbye.  While on a fly mission, his plane broke out of formation and crashed he was reported missing in action.

A year after the war in 46, Larrys brother Chris was already proposing to her beau, Ann. The couple was reluctant to tell this to Kate, still believing that her son was alive. A lady who believes in superstition, she was strengthened by the fact that Larrys memorial tree was blown down. She also went to her neighbor for a horoscope, in which gave her a positive outcome. And by this time almost everyone was considering the death of Larry, except her Mother.

When the wedding of Chris and Ann was on its way, George arrived to stop it. He conversed with Ann, convincing her that her father was innocent. He points the finger at Keller who was at that time self assured of his innocence, until Kate accidentally slipped by saying that Joe had never been sick for fifteen years. This convinced George about his accusation and shattered Chris confidence to his father. With this, Chris chased his old friend George out of the house.

This news shocked Chris. With a confrontation with his family, her mother pressed that he must believe his brother is still alive. Her mother stated that if not, shed be blaming Joe to be the murderer of his son by delivering the defective airplane parts. Joe points out that if he didnt do what he did, hed be broke. Shouting later occurred between father and son. Chris was so angry at his father that he took the car and left.

Later, Ann tried to talk to Kate that Larry is indeed already dead so that Chris love for Ann will no longer be shameful. When Kate insists that her son was still alive, Ann showed her the letter that Larry wrote before his death. As Kate learned about this, her hope of Larry being alive was destroyed.

When Chris returned, he wanted to move out to Cleveland to have a new beginning, as he cannot tolerate the sight of his father being a coward and doesnt have moral integrity. Ann tried to hitch but he rejected it. Joe later entered, and both the father and son argued once again. At the heat of the argument Ann gave Larrys letter to Chris, whom Kate tried to hide but failed. Chris read the it aloud, and confirmed his brothers death. When Joe heard the news, he went inside the house to get his jacket to turn over to the police. While Joe and Kate argue about Joes voluntary surrender, a gunshot was heard inside. Joe shot his head.

Characters of the Story
Joe Keller  the father of Larry and Chris the family man who is keeping a dark history
Kate Keller  the mother who was having a hard time in accepting his sons death self-denial and martyr
Chris Keller  the only son of Kate and Joe that survived the war. Morally uptight and idealistic
Larry Keller  unseen character in the play the son who sacrificed himself for his fathers wrongdoings
Steve Deever  former neighbor and business partner of Joe Keller who is now locked in jail
Ann Deever  Larrys beau, then later got engaged with Larrys brother Chris an honest and down to earth lady
George Deever  son of Steve Deever and Anns brother he is convinced of his fathers innocence
Dr. Jim  and SueBayliss  Kellers neighborhood doctor
Frank Lubey  neighbor of the Keller family who is into astrology
Lydia Lubey  Georges ex-sweetheart who didnt wait for him to come back after the war

Theater history for female Asians could be described as colorful as well as haunting the message behind each play echoed the suppressed cries of women. Women were not permitted to be in theatrical art for such a long period of time. One particular race that experienced such hardships is the Japanese women (both playwrights and actresses). Misako Koike, a prestigious American Studies professor from Tohoku University, explained with the excerpt below.

At the very beginning of Japans theatre history, women occupied the central place--in fact, Japans oldest written document (compiled in 712 A.D.) records a performance given by a woman and dedicated to Amaterasu the Great, the Sun Goddess in Japans creation myth. Kabuki, Japans still-thriving, 300-year-old classical theatre, was originated by a woman named O-Kuni. After some years, however, women were totally excluded from Kabuki troupes womens parts are even now played by onnagata, male actors specializing in womens roles. It was not until the turn of the 20th century, with the arrival of the Shingeki (new drama) movement, modeled after European theatre, that women performers appeared onstage in public. A womens movement has ever taken place in Japan the way it has in the United States from the 1970s on, and Japan has no organized Womens Theatre--although since the late 70s, a number of women playwrights have gained limited popularity, and groups led by women have given fresh vitality to the theatre scene. None of their works, however, cut through the fundamental structure of hypocritical and aesthetic cover-ups that oppress Japanese women, Some women in the audience may have identified with sympathetic female stage characters and taken comfort others (like those drawn to the totally unrealistic and apolitical Takarazuka all-women revue company) may have found solace in gymnastically busy and lavish stage-business. But for women, that was all. The mere fact that any women captured critical and audience attention was itself phenomenal, since womens voices had been so scarce and so detached from their own reality. Not even the turbulent decade of the 1960s did much toward breaking the mold that prevailed for so long. To borrow a phrase from the drama critic Yasunari Takahashi, the 60s saw an upheaval of turbulent theatrical energy and eventually the birth of a new theatre --but when one looks closely into the works of male dramatists whose careers date from this period (writers like Shuji Terayama, Kunio Shimizu, Juro Kara or Minoru Betsuyaka), it is clear that this new theatre didnt embrace any new images of women. Suffice it to say that, with a few exceptions, women in the work of these and other modern Japanese playwrights can be grouped into three types dependent and self-sacrificing mothers and wives beautiful and dedicated prostitutes innocent and lovely virgins waiting to fall into the arms of authentic men (Koike, 1997)

The portrayal of the Japanese women in these plays rung true to the current setting and domestic reality in the country. With the turn of the 21st century, the Japanese women may b seen as liberal on the front but accompanied by men, whether by their husbands or their fathers, interdependence is mixed with womens submission. No one questioned this setting women continuously forgive and accept men who physically and mentally abused them. It was quite ironic that Kabuki, the foundation of Japanese theater, was founded first by a woman. With its popularity several years ago, men excluded women from acting in Kabuki female roles were also done by men (Koike, 1997 Martin, 2003)

The Asian portrayal in the Western Theater, on the other, seems to have a opposite result compared to the former. Asians, particularly the Asian-American actresses, provided versatility in the theater acting. Its history was described below.

While many hail Asian-American theatre merely as an ethnic subset, this artistically flourishing entity is poised to catapult itself into a new era where it hopes to bolster the vitality of theatre art as a whole, state the fields leading artistic directors. Asian-American theatres will be the next significant movement in evolving the art form that is known as American theatre, says Tim Dang, EWP artistic director. Along with several dramatists, Dang notes that Asian-American theatre, by necessity, has become more ethnically diverse. The term Asian American has been continually evolving in terms of forms, styles, countries of origin and ethnic affinities since Asian-American studies pioneer Yuji Ichioka coined the phrase in the 1960s. Dang says the label no longer means simply the Chinese, Japanese, Korean or East Asian type of experience but hapa voices half Asian Pacific Islander or polycultural voices as well as immigrant and multigenerational voicesIn the art form, we are the future, and we are the new markets. Lim says. In financial markets, you invest in future performance. If American theatre is going to survive, it is best to look at theatres of color as emerging markets. The mainstream theater market is saturated, and, in the world of business, if youre not investing in future performance and considering new markets, then your business dies. A lot of mainstream theatres dont think of this risk as a problem. They hear what theatres of color are saying, and they say, Why cant we just placate them But I believe that American theater has to support Asian-American theatre and other theatres of color based upon pure investment principles and the changing face of America. Once people are forced to connect to cultures outside of the mainstream, it will only benefit the whole. (Hasu, 2006)

The excerpt above showed that in the Western theater, the Asians portrayal, even for the females, is more progressive compared with the Japanese theater. This goes to show that with time and the diversity in varying cultures, the Japanese women may experience the joy the Asian Americans had on producing a play in their theatrical career.

Popularly referred to as The Master, Noel Pierce Coward has indeed lived and gave justice to the word. With plays such as Easy Virtue (1926), This Was a Man (1926), This Year of Grace (1928), and Waiting in the Wings, Coward showed the entire world how a true master of theater should be. His creative and witty plays marked a milestone in theater as it continues to influence and inspire contemporary director, playwrights, and actors alike.
Biography

Noel Coward was born in Teddington, England in 1899. He was the second child of Arthur Sabin Coward and Violet Agnes. Coward grew up in a family where finances were tight due to his fathers lack of determination and ambition. His mother, on the other hand, had high hopes for the young Noel. At a very young age, she immediately enrolled her son to a dance academy in London. There, he discovered his natural passion for dancing and acting. His first professional stint came when he was only seven years old. He took part in a childrens play entitled The Goldfish where he played the role of Prince Mussel (Morley 3).

In that same year, he was discovered by the actor-manager Charles Hawtrey, who eventually cast him in the play Where the Rainbow Ends. He played the part for about a year at Londons Garrick Theater. By 1912, he moved to the Savoy Theater where he participated as a ballet dancer in the play An Autumn Idyll. Apart from this, he also performed as the lead star in A Little Fowl Party at the London Coliseum, after which he appeared as one of Lost Boys in the play Peter Pan at the Liverpool Repertory Theater (Morley 3).

Cowards wide ranging experience as a child actor molded and prepared for his long and magnificent life in the stage. When he was 14, he was taken in as a protg of a society painter named Philip Streatfield. His teacher introduced him to high society where he met Mrs. Astley Cooper who later became one of his closest friends and supporter. When Streatfield died in 1915, Cooper continued to encourage the then teenage Coward to continue his career in theater (Morley 3).

The encouragement pushed Noel to continue his passion for play. Throughout the First World War, Coward, continued to partake in various plays such as the Happy Family in 1916 as well as in 1917s The Saving Grace. In one of his memoirs, Coward recalls his roles and parts. He later mentioned that his parts were logically big and that he was good in this part (Morley 22). He later stated I achieved a great deal of what I set out to achieve (Morley 22).

After three years, Coward became the star of his own play entitled Ill Leave it to You. His play was soon transferred to the New Theater in London. Cowards light yet fantastic works earned the attention of various newspapers. Editors would often comment on his plays as light, fresh, humorous, and witty. The play continued to ran for a month before Coward retuned as an actor to that works of other writers. He participated in the play The Knight of the Burning Pestle and the Better Half (Morley 23).

By 1921, Coward summoned his courage and traveled to America in the hope of interesting companies to produce his plays. The young writer however, found little luck. However, he discovered Broadway Theater interesting. He started to incorporate its smartest and pace in his work, which eventually brought him the success he was looking for. He wrote The Young Idea and opened it in London after two years. It then made a provincial tour with Coward playing as one of the lead roles. Soon enough, newspapers found themselves in love with his play exuberating and youthful (Morley 23).
Achievements and Influence

It was in 1924 when Coward experienced his first critical and financial success as a playwright when he created The Vortex. The play explored the life of a nymphomaniac socialite and her cocaine-addict son, played by Coward himself. At that time, the theme of the story came in as a shock to its audience since sexual vanity and drug abuse was something not discussed openly. The wit and the fieriness of the play attracted a huge number of audiences. It was later moved from a small suburban theater to a bigger one located in the West End. During its run, Coward also met Jack Wilson who later became his manager as well as lover (Morley 23).

The Vortex proved to be great success in London and America. This success became a catalyst for producers to demand for Cowards play. In 1925, he presented the play Fallen Angels which tackled the life of two women who were waiting for the same man. Although I experienced success, it was with Hay Fever that Coward earned a mainstream repertoire in theater. The play was about the life of an egocentric family that invited acquaintances in the country home. Critics later pointed out that this play showed resemblance to the life of his old friend and mentor Mrs. Astley Cooper. By the 1970s, the play was declared as classic.

The following years showed a great demand for his play. His works included Easy Virtue, The Marquise, Home Chat, On with the Dance, and This Year of Grace. The play Sirocco however, proved to be a flop, as theatergoers hated it (Morley 38). Despite of this failure however, Coward was still recognized as one of highest earning playwrights with a yearly income of 50,000. With this kind of earning, he continued to thrive and wrote a string of hits that ranged from grandiose spectaculars to small yet intimate plays. This includes Bitter Sweet, Design for Living, and Drury Lane. In his 1930 work Private Lives, Coward co-starred with Gertrude Lawrence and Laurence Olivier. This play became the highlight of Cowards career as it became a hit in both New York and London (Morley 47).

Apart from his success in the theater, Coward also conquered the world of music. He is particularly known to record popular tunes from his plays. This includes songs such as His Masters Voice, Ill see you Again, Mad Dogs and Englishmen and Mrs. Worthington.

With the advent of the Second World War, Coward left his career in the theater and engaged in official war work. During this period, he ran the British propaganda in Paris and even worked as a part of the British intelligence. Despite his interest, Winston Churchill advised him that he would make a better contribution as an entertainer that by doing intelligence work. Although he was disappointed, Coward heeded Churchills advice and created popular war songs such as Dont Lets Be Beastly to the Germans and London Pride. He also created plays such as the naval themed drama In Which We Serve and the black comedy Blithe Sprit (Morley 81).

Although Cowards war plays experienced success, it was not as popular and as successful as his pre-war pieces. He soon created other plays such as Relative Values, Quadrille, Pacific 1860, Sigh No More, Ace of Clubs, and South Sea Bubble. During the span of the 50s and 60s Coward continued to write plays as well as musicals. This includes hits such as After the Ball, The Girl Who Came to Supper, Waiting in the Wings, Look After Lulu, Pomp and Circumstance, and Lady Windmeres Fan. Sail Away, which premiered in 1961, was Cowards most successful musical after the war (Hoare 464). It was produced not only in London but in America and Australia as well. His final success on the stage came when he created Suite in Three Keys. He later confessed by saying that I would like to act one more before I Fold my bedraggled wings (Hoare 464).
His audience likewise, continued to love him for his unique wit and infectious flamboyance. In fact, he attracted a group of followers and fans that even copied the way he w0ould act and even dressed. His fans with often hang out in the theater balcony with their scarves or turtle neck and imitate their version of Noelism.

Apart from his contribution in the world of the stage, Coward also made waves in a number of notable films. Later in his career, his plays were adapted in the big screen. This includes Easy Virtue, Bitter Sweet, Relative Value, Brief Encounter, Design for Living, Private Lives, The Astonished Heart, and Tonight at Eight-Thirty among many others. Similarly, he also appeared in films where he took roles as an actor as well as participated as director, screenwriter, and producer. In movies such as Around the World in Eighty Days, The Italian Job, Boom, and Bunny Lake is Missing, Coward showed his years of acting experience. Consequently, he was also asked to appear to play other roles as well as write other scripts but he all turned them down (Hoare 479).

By the mid 1960s, theater enthusiasts began collating his work to celebrate his lifelong career in musicals such as Oh, Coward that was shown on Broadway and Cowardy Custard, which premiered in London. This plays revived Coward popularity as well as reputation as The Master. He was son invited to make a comeback as he was asked to direct Hay Fever at the National Theater (Hoare 479).

As the 60s began to fade, Coward suffered from arteriosclerosis and even suffered from memory loss. He died quietly on March 25, 1973 in his place in Jamaica due to heart failure. His death proved to be a great loss in the theater. He was then knighted in 1969 and received a Tony Award for his magnificent work and lifetime achievement (Morley 145).

Noel Cowards life has indeed revolved around the stage. His plays did not only entertain the audience but it resurrected and gave flair to the British theater. He was primarily noted as the person who brought the world the concept of Englishness with his one of kind flamboyance. He destroyed the idea of stiff lip of Britain and recreated a cool Britain. Time later described him as person who mastered his personal style, with a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise (Time 2).

When it comes to his plays, Coward injected speed and libido into the British drama. His music created an atmosphere of liveliness and fresh air, which eventually gave birth to the jazz dance craze in the 1920s. His colleagues in the stage would praise him for his versatility while bringing in vibe and style in theater. Apart from this, he would add glamour and humor to depict even the most trying times such as the Great Depression and World Wars. Alternatively, Coward was also praised for continually reinventing himself as well as his works. Decades after his death, Cowards style and characteristics are still being imitated in the stage and even on television and on the silver screen. This only goes to show that Coward legacy is still admired and it will continue to live even for generations to come.

Although the American Broadway was a popular place for theatre admirers during many years, only at the end of the nineteenth century Broadway introduced the use of music and dance as the entertainment staple and beginning of the famous musicals era bringing new forms of art to the audience. Musicals were gradually changed with time as long as American people faced with new historical and social events. Starting with the musical Gold Diggers in 1933 history of the American musicals experienced important changes and improvements in the performance, stage decorations and messages toward the audience (Lewis, 2002). Spoken and musical interchanges of the Broadway musicals are liberally interlaced with dancing and singing being of serious or entrainment and comical nature (Ostrow, 2010). The current paper will address several most popular and important musical plays in the history of American Broadways musicals, including Oklahoma, Cabaret, West Side Story, Hair, Zoot Suit, Moulin Rouge and Across the Universe.
Oklahoma (1943)

Despite many art critics did not have confidence in the success of the musical Oklahoma, the freshness, beauty and the magic of its premiere performance charmed the audience and brought a vociferous ovation at the end. Originally staged by Rouben Mamoulian and the music by Richard Rodgers Oklahoma created the box-office history. Full of songs such as Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin, Pore Jud, and All or Nothin and humour in song The Farmer and the Cowman the musical has a relaxing and entertainment tone based more on the personal relations between the characters rather than addressing some serious social issues. Despite the musical did not include star performers, strayed into realism of peoples life in the Indian territory, and portrayed grim tragedy when Jud dies at the end, it was the first musical in the Broadway history that leaned heavily upon American folk-ballet choreographed by Agnes De Mille (Ostrow, 2010).  
West Side Story (1957)

West Side Story produced in 1957 transformed the story of Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare into a present-day New York revealing the issue of juvenile delinquency in the constant confrontations between two gang groups  the Jets and the Sharks. The first gang group was determined to prevent any invasion of Puerto Ricans into their territory while the second one completely formed from Puerto Ricans was struggling for their increasing influence in the region. Directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins, the musical begins in a warehouse as a primary set where both gangs agreed to meet to arrange time, place and weapons to be used in their later major fight between the gangs. The first five minutes of the musicals set the tone of the whole performance when not a word is spoken, but instead spectators observe the extended dance sequence that makes the atmosphere tense and warns about the further complications between the Jets and the Sharks. Being from two different gangs Tony and Maria fall in love expressing their feelings with Maria and I Feel Pretty songs. Tonight is considered as the best ballad episode of the performance describing the scene of tenement of fire-escape followed by a dance Rumble as culmination of the musical when Tony kills Marias brother and eventually being killed himself by an avenging Shark. On the contrary to the previous musicals, West Side Story brings serious aspect to the musical by pointing to the critical social issues of that time  juvenile delinquency and confrontations between racial and ethnical groups. Moreover, the musical was dominated by the dances and moving bodies rather than still scenes and talks between the characters. The music by Leonard Bernstein only adds tension and depth of meanings into the musical, especially in Somewhere, Tonight and Rumble. Though, in America and Gee, Officer Krupke spectators can also feel the satire about the perception of America from the point of view of Puerto Rican and attempts of social workers to deal with the issue of juvenile delinquency accordingly (Mordden, 2001).  
Cabaret (1966)

Directed by Harold Prince and choreographed by Ron Field the original Broadway production of Cabaret included both inside-cabaret and outside-cabaret scenes, though the later revivals saw numerous changes in the plot, scenes and characters. Addressing the issue of the increasing power of Nazi party in 1930s Berlin, the overall tone of the musical is rather entertaining, except perhaps the last song Auf Widersehena bientot by Emcee symbolizing the harsh and violent situation in Berlin and the stronger influence of Nazi party. The scenes limited only to the cabaret and house of Fraulein Schneider are often colourful and satirical showing easy life in cabaret, nave view on life by Sally and her living with Cliff as roommates in the same room. The use of numerous songs such as Willkommen, So What, Two Ladies, Money and others make the musical entertaining and easy to perceive for spectators, though still pointing to such important issues of that time as stereotyped attitude and violent actions toward Jewish people and the increasing power of the Nazi party (Green, 2008).  
Hair (1968)

The roots of the musical Hair come from the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, which caused numerous controversial opinions of the audience concerning the depiction of illegal drugs, nude scenes, the attitude toward sexuality and changes in the American society as a whole (Wollman, 2006). Though, the main achievement of the current musical is that it brought new genre of rock musical, which is characterized by racially integrated cast and invitation of the audience to the stage for the final performing scene. The plot of musical is related to serious events experienced by a group of hippies who are fighting for sexual revolution in the country and rebelling against the war in Vietnam. Before the premiere on Broadway the musical experienced many changes with dropping some of the original songs and addition of the 13 new songs, including the uplifting ending song Let the Sun Shine In. Another achievement of Hair is that choreographers OHorgan and Julie Arenal introduced an original and organic expansion of staging style and use of nudity as a symbol of freedom and defiance against Americas involvement in Vietnam War. Making the stage completely open exposing grid and fly area to the audience without the use of curtains served as a symbol of freedom and honesty in the issue of sexual revolution and anti-Vietnam War struggles (Wollman, 2006). Moreover, objects used in the musical scenes were not specially designed and created, but those found on the streets of New York showing realistic and natural approach to the performance process. Cloths, though designed similarly to what hippies at the streets had, were enhanced with texture and additional colours to strengthen the visual effects of the performance. The most controversial part of the musical was its nude scene Where Do I Go, which lasts only twenty seconds, though usually embarrasses the audience (Block, 2009).
Zoot Suit (1979)
 
The musical Zoot Suit debuted on Broadway in 1979 became the first Chicano play addressing the issue of wrong charges of the young Mexican-Americans with murder of a rival gangster in the early 1940s. Though, young people did not commit the crime they were unfairly prosecuted and put into jail. During the whole play the majority of songs are performed by El Pachuco who acts like a conscience of the main character Henry Reyna providing comments on each scene and action in the play. The innovation in the current play was to use constantly running commentary in the form of news headlines, either commenting the musical scene or providing news about some events happened outside the stage, though related to the events viewed by the audience (Kantor and Maslon, 2010).

Moulin Rouge (2001)
With love and creative inspiration the musical Moulin Rouge became one of the most popular musical plays of the 20th century (Bloom, Vlastnik and Orbach, 2008). On the contrary to earlier musical plays, the current one does not have songs originally composed for the play, but uses songs of contemporary bands and singers, and sometimes even addressing songs of Marilyn Monroe (Murray, 2009). The emotional involvement and conversations between the characters are supported by the song lines of such modern bands as U2, Beatles, Kiss, and Wings in addition to singers Thelma Houston and Elton John. Moreover, the use of technology largely improved the scenes decorations and musical performance, including flashy costumes, quick edits, and play of lights that all together brought huge success for the musical in the United States and all over the world. The complex choreography and shooting techniques by Luhrmann created a modern variation of the classic 1930s musicals (Maslon, 2003).
Across the Universe (2007)

The same as Moulin Rouge the musical Across the Universe has numerous technological effects, play of lights and modern sound techniques in the form of the film, rather than a stage performance as with early classic musicals performed on the American Broadway. Thirty-three compositions used in the musical belong to Beatles, such as Girl, Let It Be, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Hey Jude, All You Need Is Love and others. At the same time, dance solos are accompanied by extra music, such as Come Together and Hold Me Tight (Viaga, 2009).