Custom «The Elements of Theater» Essay Paper Sample

Theater provides a representation of human life through times, space and sound. A comparison to other forms of art indicates that theater provides the best depiction of humans' daily life. The depiction is a product of a combination of various elements best know as the elements of theater which can be group into three broad categories; literally elements, technical elements and performance elements (Elements of Drama/Theater, n.d.).

Lateral elements include the plot which is the sequence of events characterized by an initial incident that gets the story going, a preliminary event taking place just before the story but very strongly related to the story, rising action, which is a series of events that come after the initial event and lead to the climax-a tuning point at which the events can take any direction and is followed by a series of events called the falling action then a conclusion; a theme which is the basic idea being represented; language and style which depict the character and the setting of the events; and characterization which portrays the characters being depicted artistically (Campbell, 2007). Last is disposition which is mainly involved with the determination of who plays what role.

Technical elements on the other hand according to Kaluta (2003) consists of clothes and accessories collectively referred to as costumes and serves to portray the period and characters; scenery or setting consisting of theatrical equipment like platforms, curtains, backdrops and flats; props; lighting; sound; and makeup that helps to place the actors into their characters.

Last is the performance elements that include the acting where by the actors should use their voice, face and body to portray the characters, portray the character motivation or the reason behind the characters behavior and the ability to relate the characters feelings so to the aching. Speaking is also important (Sweetland, n.d.). It is the mode through which actors speak and express specific factors here include breath control, vocal expression, projection, inflection, diction and speaking style. Nonverbal expression is also important. These includes gestures, the alignment of the body, movement, facial expression and blocking of characters.

These elements are very important in making a product of are complete. Lateral elements confer provide the flow and continuity while technical and performance element help to make a piece act complete an interesting. As Kaluta (2003) asserts, the absence of any of these elements will make the acting unpleasant to the audience.