Theater, 10 -BOL
There's no business like show business! Nothing quite matches the immediacy and electricity of a live dramatic performance, a fact which may help explain why the art form has persevered from its ancient origins up through the present day. During the 20th century, live theater demonstrated an unexpected tenacity in the face of tough competition from film, television, video, the Internet, and other media.
Theater Encyclopedia Articles By Title
10 Famous Clowns: From Comical to Creepy
Harmless jokers or evil lunatics? While clowns usually aim for laughs, the reaction from many—especially those......
10 Superstitions and Traditions in Theater
“Macb...”—no, do not utter that name! Did you just step onto the stage with your right foot? Oh, and that empty......
3-D
3-D, motion-picture process that gives a three-dimensional quality to film images. It is based on the fact that......
50th Anniversary of Star Trek
September 8, 2016, is the 50th anniversary of the premiere of Star Trek on NBC. The series documented the five-year......
A Brief and Cringe-Inducing History of Curb Your Enthusiasm
It’s a television show famous for its cringe-inducing scenes: the main character retrieves his golf club from a......
Abbey Theatre
Abbey Theatre, Dublin theatre, established in 1904. It grew out of the Irish Literary Theatre (founded in 1899......
Abbott, George
George Abbott was an American theatrical director, producer, playwright, actor, and motion-picture director who......
Academy Award for best actor
Academy Award for best actor, award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, located......
Academy Award for best actress
Academy Award for best actress, award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, located......
Academy Award for best director
Academy Award for best director, award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, located......
Academy Award for best supporting actor
Academy Award for best supporting actor, Each year the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honors the man......
Academy Award for best supporting actress
Academy Award for best supporting actress, annual award presented to the actress in a supporting role who delivered......
Accesi, Compagnia degli
Compagnia degli Accesi, company that performed commedia dell’arte (improvised popular Italian comedy) in the early......
Achiu, Walter
Walter Achiu was an American athlete who was the first person of Asian descent to play in the National Football......
Ackermann, Konrad Ernst
Konrad Ernst Ackermann was an actor-manager who was a leading figure in the development of German theatre. Conflicting......
acrobatics
acrobatics, (Greek: “to walk on tip-toe,” or “to climb up”), the specialized and ancient art of jumping, tumbling,......
acting
acting, the performing art in which movement, gesture, and intonation are used to realize a fictional character......
actor-manager system
actor-manager system, method of theatrical production dominant in England and the U.S. in the 19th century, consisting......
Adams, Bryan
Bryan Adams is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, photographer, and social activist whose hit albums Cuts Like......
Admiral’s Men
Admiral’s Men, a theatrical company in Elizabethan and Jacobean England. About 1576–79 they were known as Lord......
afterpiece
afterpiece, supplementary entertainment presented after full-length plays in 18th-century England. Afterpieces......
Albee, Edward Franklin
Edward Franklin Albee was a theatrical manager who, as the general manager of the Keith-Albee theatre circuit,......
alienation effect
alienation effect, idea central to the dramatic theory of the German dramatist-director Bertolt Brecht. It involves......
Allen, Byron
Byron Allen is an American comedian, television and film producer, and businessman who is the founding CEO and......
Allen, Fred
Fred Allen was an American humorist whose laconic style, dry wit, and superb timing influenced a generation of......
Allen, Gracie
Gracie Allen was an American comedian who, with her husband, George Burns, formed the comedy team Burns and Allen.......
Allen, Woody
Woody Allen is an American motion-picture director, screenwriter, actor, comedian, playwright, and author who is......
American Negro Theatre
American Negro Theatre (ANT), African American theatre company that was active in the Harlem district of New York......
Ames, Winthrop
Winthrop Ames was an American theatrical producer, manager, director, and occasional playwright known for some......
Amos ‘n’ Andy Show
Amos ‘n’ Andy Show, popular radio and television program that had its roots in a 1926 radio program called Sam......
Amphitheatre
Amphitheatre, freestanding building of round or, more often, oval shape with a central area, the arena, and seats......
Anderson, John Henry
John Henry Anderson was a Scottish conjurer and actor, the first magician to demonstrate and exploit the value......
Anderson, Pamela
Pamela Anderson is a Canadian-born American model and actor who built a career largely based on her sex appeal......
Andrews, Julie
Julie Andrews is an English motion-picture, stage, and musical star noted for her crystalline four-octave voice......
Annie Get Your Gun
Annie Get Your Gun, award-winning musical with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin and accompanying libretto by siblings......
Antoine, André
André Antoine was an actor, theatrical manager, critic, and film director, a pioneer of naturalistic drama who......
Apollo Theater
Apollo Theater, theatre established in 1913 at 253 West 125th Street in the Harlem district of New York City. It......
Applegate, Christina
Christina Applegate is an American actress who rose to fame as the airheaded teenage character Kelly Bundy on the......
Arc-en-Ciel
Arc-en-Ciel, Hungarian puppet theatre in Paris from 1929 until 1940 under the leadership of the painter and puppeteer......
Arlen, Harold
Harold Arlen was an American composer, arranger, pianist, and vocalist who contributed such popular songs as “Over......
Armisen, Fred
Fred Armisen is an American comedian and musician, best known for his many recurring characters and impersonations......
Ashwell, Lena
Lena Ashwell was a British actress and theatrical manager well known for her work in organizing entertainment for......
Astaire, Fred
Fred Astaire was an American dancer onstage and in motion pictures who was best known for a number of highly successful......
Astley, Philip
Philip Astley was an English trick rider and theatrical manager who in 1770 in London created Astley’s Amphitheatre,......
auditorium
auditorium, the part of a public building where an audience sits, as distinct from the stage, the area on which......
Aykroyd, Dan
Dan Aykroyd is a Canadian American comedian and actor best known for his deadpan, fast-talking, and antic sense......
Ayrer, Jakob
Jakob Ayrer was a dramatist who incorporated elements of Elizabethan plays (e.g., spectacular stage effects, violent......
Bahr, Hermann
Hermann Bahr was an Austrian author and playwright who championed (successively) naturalism, Romanticism, and Symbolism.......
Bailey, James A.
...
Bailey, Pearl
Pearl Bailey was an American entertainer notable for her sultry singing and mischievous humour. Bailey was the......
Baird, Bil and Cora
Bil and Cora Baird, Bil and Cora Baird were puppeteers who led the 20th-century revival of puppet theater in the......
Baker, George Pierce
George Pierce Baker was an American teacher of some of the most notable American dramatists, among them Eugene......
Baker, Josephine
Josephine Baker was an American-born French dancer and singer who symbolized the beauty and vitality of Black American......
ball culture
ball culture, an LGBTQ+ subculture in which drag performers compete in contests known as balls and are judged on......
Bancroft, Sir Squire
Sir Squire Bancroft was an English actor and manager whose espousal of careful craft in the writing and staging......
Barbican
Barbican, area in the City of London containing residential towers and Barbican Centre, a complex of theatres,......
Bareilles, Sara
Sara Bareilles is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist who first gained fame for her self-described “piano-based......
Barnum, P.T.
P.T. Barnum was an American showman who employed sensational forms of presentation and publicity to popularize......
Barr, Roseanne
Roseanne Barr is an American comedian and actress who achieved stardom with the popular and innovative television......
Bateman, H.L.
H.L. Bateman was an actor and theatrical manager who made a great success of touring the United States and England......
Bauchau, Henry
Henry Bauchau was a Belgian novelist, poet, and playwright who was also a practicing psychoanalyst. Like his contemporary......
Bautista, Dave
Dave Bautista is an American actor and former professional wrestler. Known for his imposing physique, he made a......
Bayes, Nora
Nora Bayes was an American singer in vogue in the early 1900s in musical revues, notably the Ziegfeld Follies.......
Baylis, Lilian Mary
Lilian Mary Baylis was an English theatrical manager and founder of the Old Vic as a centre of Shakespearean productions.......
Beatty, Clyde
Clyde Beatty was an American wild animal trainer known for his “fighting act,” designed to show his courage and......
Beck, Martin
Martin Beck was a Hungarian-born American theatre manager, owner, and impresario, who managed (1903–23) the dominant......
Beeston, Christopher
Christopher Beeston was an English actor and theatrical manager who was one of the most influential figures in......
Behind the Scenes: 12 Historical Figures in Wolf Hall
“Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived” is how some of us remember in order the fates of the six......
Behind the Scenes: 12 Real-Life Characters of Texas Rising
Although the History Channel’s Texas Rising miniseries is “inspired” by the true story of the Texas Revolution,......
Behind the Scenes: 7 Times Downton Abbey Stealthily Taught You History
The British historical drama program Downton Abbey has captivated audiences all over the world with its stories......
Behind the Scenes: 9 Historical Inspirations for Game of Thrones
Millions of viewers have been captivated by the fictional kingdoms depicted in HBO’s fantasy series Game of Thrones,......
Behind the Scenes: 9 Infamous Mobsters of the Real Boardwalk Empire
The acclaimed HBO series Boardwalk Empire began with the enactment of Prohibition in 1920 and followed the efforts......
Belasco, David
David Belasco was an American theatrical producer and playwright whose important innovations in the techniques......
Bellecour, Madame
Madame Bellecour was a French actress noted for her performances in works of Molière and Regnard. The daughter......
Bennett, Michael
Michael Bennett was an American dancer, choreographer, and stage musical director. Bennett studied many styles......
Bennett, Robert Russell
Robert Russell Bennett was an American composer, conductor, and Broadway orchestrator. He studied music in Berlin,......
Benny, Jack
Jack Benny was an entertainer whose unusual comedic method and expert timing made him a legendary success in U.S.......
Benson, Sir Frank
Sir Frank Benson was a British actor-manager whose touring company and acting school were important influences......
Bergen, Edgar
Edgar Bergen was an American ventriloquist and radio comedian whose career in vaudeville, radio, and motion pictures......
Berkeley, Busby
Busby Berkeley was an American motion-picture director and choreographer who was noted for the elaborate dancing-girl......
Berle, Milton
Milton Berle was an American comedian who, as a popular entertainer in the early days of television in the United......
Berlin, Irving
Irving Berlin was an American composer and songwriter who played a leading role in the evolution of the popular......
Berliner Ensemble
Berliner Ensemble, theatrical company founded in 1949 by the German playwright and poet Bertolt Brecht in East......
Bernstein, Leonard
Leonard Bernstein was an American conductor, composer, and pianist noted for his accomplishments in both classical......
Bharata natyam
Bharata natyam, the principal of the main classical dance styles of India, the others being kuchipudi, kathak,......
Bibiena, Galli da, family
Galli da Bibiena family, family of Italian scenic artists of the 17th and 18th centuries. The family took its name......
biomechanics
biomechanics, antirealistic system of dramatic production developed in the Soviet Union in the early 1920s by the......
Black theater
Black theater, in the United States, a dramatic movement encompassing plays written by, for, and about African......
Black, George
George Black was a British manager and producer of entertainments. Black originated the brilliant, long-lived “Crazy......
blackface minstrelsy
blackface minstrelsy, American theatrical form that constituted a subgenre of the minstrel show. Intended as comic......
Blackfriars Theatre
Blackfriars Theatre, either of two separate theatres, the second famed as the winter quarters (after 1608) of the......
Blackstone, Harry, Sr.
Harry Blackstone, Sr. was an American magician who entertained audiences at the turn of the 20th century and into......
Blake, Eubie
Eubie Blake was an American pianist and composer of ragtime music, popular and vaudeville tunes, and scores for......
Blondin
Blondin was a French tightrope walker and acrobat who owed his celebrity and fortune to his feat of crossing the......
Blow, John
John Blow was an organist and composer, remembered for his church music and for Venus and Adonis, which is regarded......
Boar’s Head Inn
Boar’s Head Inn, London inn, the yard of which was used to stage plays in the 16th and early 17th centuries. It......
Bock, Jerry
Jerry Bock was an American composer. He studied at the University of Wisconsin and then collaborated with Larry......
Bodel, Jehan
Jehan Bodel was a jongleur, epic poet, author of fabliaux, and dramatist, whose Le Jeu de Saint Nicolas (“Play......
Bolcom, William
William Bolcom is an American composer, pianist, and teacher whose compositions encompass many idioms, from popular......
Bolton, Guy
Guy Bolton was an American playwright and librettist perhaps best known for his witty and articulate librettos,......