How does drama affect real life

We at ASC believe that the art, process and effects of live performance are incredibly important in the current world of social media, digital technology and screens.

Being fully present with a group of tangible, living, breathing people is important to the art of acting and for the human spirit. Theatre helps us to see a different perspective from our own. We as the audience get to witness the trajectory of persons other than ourselves. As artists, we put ourselves into emotional and intellectual situations that may never arise in our personal lives.

Theatre promotes us to give power to truth, to take risks and to advocate for new and diverse voices. Theatre reminds us that we are not alone. Not only are we sharing space and an experience with the artists who are performing, we are sharing the experience with fellow audience members.

Theatre is immediate, evolving and always different. Will they finally confess their undying love for one another? When you are reading a play, you may have similar questions.

Will Oedipus figure out that he was the one who caused the plague by killing his father and sleeping with his mother? For instructors in academic departments—whether their classes are about theatrical literature, theater history, performance studies, acting, or the technical aspects of a production—writing about drama often means explaining what makes the plays we watch or read so exciting.

In fact, it may not be exciting at all. Writing about drama can also involve figuring out why and how a production went wrong. A production of a play is a series of performances, each of which may have its own idiosyncratic features.

Furthermore, in a particular performance say, Tuesday night of that production, the actor playing Malvolio might get fed up with playing the role as an Alpaca herder, shout about the indignity of the whole thing, curse Shakespeare for ever writing the play, and stomp off the stage.

See how that works? Be aware that the above terms are sometimes used interchangeably—but the overlapping elements of each are often the most exciting things to talk about. For example, a series of particularly bad performances might distract from excellent production values: If the actor playing Falstaff repeatedly trips over a lance and falls off the stage, the audience may not notice the spectacular set design behind him.

In the same way, a particularly dynamic and inventive script play may so bedazzle an audience that they never notice the inept lighting scheme.

Plays have many different elements or aspects, which means that you should have lots of different options for focusing your analysis. To put it another way: the words of a play have their meanings within a larger context—the context of the production. When you watch or read a play, think about how all of the parts work or could work together.

In theatre we learn that merely "getting the show on the boards" is pure bush league and totally unacceptable. Whatever your theatrical job--tech, performing, research, management--it has to be done right.

You learn to take pride in doing things at your very best level. Of course an employer will value that trait. Motivation and Commitment Being involved in theatre productions and classes demands commitment and motivation.

These are qualities that college theatre faculty members and, in some measure, you and your fellow students, probably already possess. By example, we teach each other that success comes to those who are committed to the task at hand. Few other disciplines you study will so strongly help you develop motivation and commitment. Many theatre students learn to transfer that attribute from theatre to other activities such as classes and jobs.

For employers, that positive attitude is essential. Willingness to Work Cooperatively Your work in theatre companies teaches you how to work effectively with different types of people--often very different types!

Theatre demands that participants work together cooperatively for the production to success; there is no room for "we" versus "they" behavior; the "star" diva is a thing of the past.

Your colleagues will usually let you know when you violate the team spirit of a production. In theatre, it's important that each individual supports the others involved. Employers will be pleased to know that you understand how to be a team player. The Ability to Work Independently In theatre, you're often assigned tasks that you must complete without supervision.

Crew chiefs. Putting together this flat, finding that prop, working out characterization outside of rehearsals.

It's left up to you to figure out how best to achieve the goal. The ability to work independently is a trait employers look for in their workers. Time-budgeting Skills When you're a student, being involved in theatre forces you to learn how to budget your time. You need to schedule your days very carefully if you want to keep up your grades while you're busy with rehearsals, work calls, and the other demands that theatre makes on your time.

Good time management skills are enormously important to employers. Initiative Personnel managers call people who approach work with initiative and enterprise "self-starters," people who do what needs to be done without waiting to be asked, without needing to be told.

The complexities of a theatrical production demand individuals who are willing to voluntarily undertake any task that needs to be done in order for the production to succeed. In theatre, we're all self-starters. We learn how to take initiative, to move a project from initial concept to finality--and to do it well. Promptness and Respect for Deadlines Tardiness is never acceptable in theatre because it shows a lack of self-discipline, and more importantly, a lack of consideration for others.

Being late for a rehearsal or a work call or failing to finish an assigned task on time damages a production and adversely affects the work of many other people. Theatre demands that you learn to arrive on time and meet scheduled deadlines. That's a job-skill. Employers appreciate workers who are on time and do their work as scheduled. Acceptance of Rules In theatre you work within the structure of a set of procedures and rules that deal with everything from shop safety to behavior at auditions, rehearsals and work calls.

You learn that you must be a "good follower. For example, role playing, which sits at the centre of character-based theatrical stage and film performances, is the process by which people take on the role of a character different from themselves. Yet the concept of role play has a much broader scope that spans from everyday interactions to the performing arts. This phenomenon has developmental roots in the pretend play that commonly occurs in childhood and that contributes to the establishment of the self.

In theatre, actors often move beyond this by portraying consciously refined dramatic characters. Other forms of character portrayal in adolescence and adulthood occur in recent developments in gaming scenarios and social media, as well as in professional contexts in general e. Further, beyond fundamental issues around play and reception, the study of theatre practice presents a host of applications.

These include the uses of role playing in psychotherapy, education, entertainment e.