Creation and performance of dramatic works
The condition of being theatrical is called theatricality . The adjective theatrical , meanwhile, is used to refer to that linked to theater : the art of creating and representing dramatic works.
General characteristics and examples
Generally the idea of theatricality refers to something exaggerated or pretentious , which tries not to go unnoticed. Theatrics, in this way, are associated with a staging or a performance .
For example: “The representative's theatricality was not convincing, since his speech only garnered negative criticism,” “I am fascinated by the theatricality of religious rituals,” “The specialized press highlighted the theatricality of the concert.”
Let's take the case of a young man who forgets an agreed date with his girlfriend . After waiting more than an hour in vain, the girl calls her partner to ask for an explanation. Upon realizing his fault, the boy rehearses a justification, inventing an excuse and appealing to theatricality to convince his interlocutor: “Oh, you don't know what happened to me! It was terrible! I was going to meet you when I saw a house on fire, so I entered the burning house to rescue its occupants. I wanted to call you later, but my fingers hurt a lot as a result of the intense heat to which they were subjected, that's why I couldn't go meet you or let you know what was happening..."
Technical aspects
In the field of performing arts , theatricality is usually defined as the combination of action and words in a work. These are the sensations that are generated in a scene starting from the text and resorting to gestures, lighting and other resources.
All people involved in the presentation of a theatrical work must be responsible without exception from the beginning to the end of the undertaking. Its creation must arise in a genuine and passionate way, something that must be reflected in the script itself. Then come the directors, set designers, costume designers, lighting, musicians and actors, among other components who will give all their energy so that the work comes to life and reaches the audience.
In this sense, theatricality is not simply a phenomenon or a quality, but the result of such commitment, the essence of the final product. All the steps that lead to the staging provide an indispensable portion of energy that collaborates with that set of sensations that unfold in front of the audience and also for them, so that they receive them and take with them a unique memory.
From reading to theatricality
For actors, reading the script must be something much more intense than an act of memorization. It is a very arduous process , which the public is generally unaware of. Experts point out that this step must be done over and over again, until the text stops being a foreign product and becomes part of the interpreter's life.
Actors must transform into their characters
Let's not forget that to convince someone of something we must first firmly believe it. Well, this principle is especially applied in acting and, except in the case of improvisations, without absolute internalization of the script it is not possible to achieve good results.
The importance of questions
Both writing, reading and the creation of all the elements that are part of a theatrical presentation must start from a series of questions . We are born on a planet whose origins we do not know, which is suspended in a space whose confines we do not know: what can we know with certainty?
When imagining and representing a character, questions arise such as "who he is", "why he acts that way", "what he feels", and something similar happens with the setting and the plot . Thanks to this back-and-forth process, the work can be seen as solid, with firm foundations, and this has an impact on a level of theatricality that makes it credible regardless of the story.