"All the world's
stage"
(Zitat von William Shakespeare).
Das Zitat des Meisters inspirierte mich zu folgendem Essay.
We are all actors, aren`t we? The curtain rises
and the scenery of a hospital room is shown. A few people in
white dresses
are gathering around a woman who is crying pathetically. Beside
the woman, a man is holding her hand while trying to cheer
her up. Suddenly a cry breaks the tension. It is your first
appearance in “Life Theatre“. You are one of the
characters in this improvisation.
Improvisation means that we (the actors) haven`t got any notes
which tell us what we have to do next. The actor has to decide
how he`s going on in different situations, how he reacts to
his companions on the stage and first of all, he has to find
a direction in which the play may lead, in his opinion. Exactly
the same way as life often works. For this reason the kind
of theatre that I have mentioned is called “Life Theatre“.
You never know what you have to expect.
In a figurative sense, you can say that “Life Theatre“ has
engaged three very famous writers who also work for the successful
daily soap opera “Life“. Their names are God, Fate
and Accident.
They give several stage directions which support or in some
cases aggravate the interactions between the actors and their
dealings with certain situations.
These stage directions are a gladly applied method, God, Fate
and Accident use in their successful daily soap opera.
In the following, I want to introduce you into another type
of theatre. It differs from “Life Theatre“ because
here you have a written version which tells you the plot.
For example Shakespeare was a genius in this kind of theatre.
In opposition to God, Fate and Accident, he gave his
actors an insight into their roles. I call Shakespeare`s type
of theatre „Classical
Theatre“.
Next you will see in how far “Classical Theatre“ differs
from the daily soap opera “Life“. Moreover, I mention
some parallels you can draw between these two productions.
First of all, there are mistakes, in film language you would
say outtakes. You can`t expect that everything will be perfect
by first try. The actors in “Classical Theatre“ have
the chance to rehearse scenes again and again until they are
satisfied with the result. At the end, it doesn`t matter if
there were twenty or thirty repetitions. A Great point is
the flawless presentation.
In “Life“ you have to take the consequences of
your mistakes and you can`t rehearse. Moreover, you never
know what persons you`ll meet some time. “Life“ hasn`t
got an entire cast. You have to get along with the people that
cross your way. But here you can also see a similarity to “Life
Theatre“ and it`s improvisation parts.
Carefulness is a necessity because in “Life“ there
play very talented actors. Mostly they keep up a fasade and
you`ll never know what they feel inside. This you also find
in “Classical Theatre“ because there are very talented
actors as well but in one point the actors in “Life“ differ
from them. In “Life“ they might play tricks on
each other or try everything to cut off the opponent. They
use their acting abilities not to present a pleasant evening
in theatre but to carry through their advantages.
In “Life“ the actors are very independent. God,
Fate and Accident leave them room to act in their own
way. As
a result you can observe that the actors are the directors
as well. The interaction between the characters forces them
to act in a specific way. You also find this phenomenon in “Life
Theatre“. In “Classical Theatre“ the actors
are restrained. The written plot and the director are their
instructions.
You can see that there are parallels and differences between
the daily soap opera “Life“, the improvisation “Life
Theatre“ and the well-known “Classical Theatre“.
Theatre in what kind ever will never be the same as “Life“.
You can prove this with the following thought:
Theatre arose from “Life“. Something that arises
from another thing is similar but not a copy. So theatre is
similar to “Life“, but not exactly the same.
