The Impact of Theatre on Community in the US

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Table of Contents

Community Building
Theatre: History, forms, and places
Theater in the United States
Theater in New Mexico
Theatre in Community Building
Works Cited

Community Building

Community building implies building the capacity of the community through individual involvement within the subsets of the community itself. This happens in the neighborhoods through groups that have common interests. Community building fits well in the aspects of community development that emphasize the empowerment of the community to be an all-around vibrant social entity.

Practices that enhance community cohesion are championed in community building. From family joint entities to clubs, women groups, youth groups, to massive recognizable gatherings within the community such as festivals, competitions that are meant to bring cohesion, to construction projects in the interest of community advancement, a community finds common and shared objectives that make it alive.

Forms of activism engagements further work to keep the community informed of all advances in communication, technology, and social aspects and even economic leverages that may bring development to the community. These activists champion social disintegration that guards against harmful social behaviors, increasing justice and the general personal well-being while enhancing individual engagement in the spirit of community cohesion.

The processes of community development as described by Scott (1987) enjoin individuals to practice the psychological stages of forming a united group of community members in the spirit of connection and trust. Through pseudo-community, chaos, emptiness, and community cohesion which may mean that individuals oscillate within these stages at different times, the community is maintained as opposed to setting rules and going into organizations that may be detrimental to proper cohesion (Scott, 1987, p.42).

Community building enjoys a number of contributions. All members engage in various activities that enhance their growth. Economic, social, cultural, and religious fronts are most appreciated. In this paper, the social aspects of community enhancement are discussed. Contributions of theatre to community building with special emphasis on communities in New Mexico in the United States are discussed. The history of theatre, its forms, and the development of theatre in relation to community building in the US and the theatre in New Mexico, and finally, the impacts of theatre on general community building in New Mexico are discussed.

Theatre: History, forms, and places

Theatre is an ancient Greek word meaning “the seeing place or setting” simply describing were persons, usually referred to as audience come together to watch productions or as Beckerman defines it “a place that separates one group of persons from another with both able to view each other, but one interests the other through a presentation” (1981, p.348-350). It is one of the branches of creative arts that includes performance and narration.

Theatre is as old as a man because, wherever there is a society, there is a story to tell. This tendency meant that each passing generation of human decency told a story, albeit with a different degree of creativity. The modern performances are a reflection of the earlier stories like the Osiris that was a stage play for festivals and festivals. Theatre has evolved to take many shapes with enrichments from speech, music, gesturing and other forms of bodily communication; dance, spectaculars such as acrobatics and visual art. These can be displayed in singular entities or combined to form shows that are avenues of group attraction and participation.

Contemporary forms of theatrics are drama, comedy, and music. The Roman Empire was first to develop in line with western theater from the 16^th to the 18^th century while North American colonization brought forth the three modern forms of theatre in America (Gaster, 1950). These activities are embedded in society in proportions that are not only fascinating but also educative and of great import in community cohesion. This is seen in their attribute of pulling groups together in magnitudes that entail critics and merrymakers in various magnitudes and proportions.

Theatre now refers to the act of performance and at times reverts to its original definition of place. Places of theatrical acts vary depending on the target audience. Educational theatres take place as organized events of educational institutions. Community theatres are organized as community activities with various aims. Dinner theatres are for entertainment while regional theatres play the role of regional integration, etcetera. All, depending on the audience and roles, may take place in halls, amphitheaters, stages, or just the streets as in most cases of community educational acts. All these may take the form of theatres for dances, operas, or concerts in halls.

For general and specific reasons, the theatre has developed in the United States for as long as its colonization from the 14^th century. An interesting aspect of the US theatre is in its diversity attributed to its uniqueness as a home for a variety of world heritages.

Theater in the United States

The development of the American theatre is synonymous with the development of its history. It was greatly influenced by the British colonization but major plays were by the Spanish and the French by the late sixteenth century. Professional players from England introduced new dimensions in the American theatrical scene by the eighteenth century in the south in places such as Virginia and South Carolina. The classical English theatre was thus reflected in the young days of the US theatre. Pieces of Shakespeare, Goldsmith, and Johnson were introductory to the New World. Garrick was later referred to by his contemporaries as have introduced innovations in operations of the theatre in the US.

In his book “The Making of the American Theatre”, Taubman (1910) reported that in the early 20^th century, groups of actors were close to two thousand but disappeared within a single generation. However, this period also marked the revolution in theatre which proved very startling. The commercial theatre at this time was not appealing to audiences with most productions from New York becoming like a monopoly in the market. Tours by famous artists spurred performances but this star system was not to last; the Americas wanted something else. There was a need for realism, something that resonated with the common man.

Play writers who performed during this period, however, were and are still remembered for their contributions. The theatre yearned for something communal. This was to be found in actors such as Eugene O’Neill whose actions represented the struggles of the human beings, the dreams for better lives ahead, and reflections on why they were, in the first place, where they were. This trend picked up and has been the basis for performance in either paid or non-profit theatre all over the United States.

According to the National Endowment for the Arts, the participation by Americans in theatre has increased in music, plays, and performing arts. This study also found out that most educated Americans are the greatest lovers of theater while income also plays a role in who attends these theatres. The racial factor has also played in the increased interest in theatre depicting the role of community reaction to the benefits of theatre. This is most noticeable in the African Americans who by the turn of the 20^th century had shown marked improvement in participation and attendance of theatrics. They still do to date.

A trend that is also observable in the US is an apparent deviation from the non-profit theaters. The League of American Theaters and Producers trace the reduction in commercial and touring activity productions from 23 per week in 1982 to 10 per week in 1992. This may be attributed to the higher cost of production and that of opening commercial production units but, in essence, boils down to community involvement as the producers and the audience, with the role of theatre being defined in its essentiality to community involvement and enhancement. The new non-profit productions focus on culturally specific and ethnically directed theatre and corroborate diversity that has been observed since 1982.

Responsiveness to this kind of theatre saw increased participation from the organized community shows that enabled social funding for community development. Storytelling and monologues also impacted positively in participation, especially in the young generation. The market has thus been determined by the resident characteristics, the economic costs of production and presentation, performance facility availability, and most importantly, the traditions and community history. This is the phase of innovative attributes infused in old works where communities direct what is to be produced and enjoys its uniqueness, diversity, and are worthwhile criticizing what is perceived as exploitative and anti community development enhancer.

Theater in New Mexico

In the United States, theatre development has been the response to community needs. The shift from 1982 was an indication of things to come. Essentially, the organization of the theatrical groups had to respond to the needs of the communities. In New Mexico, there exist a number of community theatres that champion the needs as have been dear in the hearts of communities. The Albuquerque Theater is one such many theatres. The theatre group is known as Once Upon a Theatre is an example of community theatre that engages in nonprofit activities. It is a New Mexico Corporation that tours with the aim of improving the status of education in children. It embraces joy, excitement and stimulates academic lives full of quality for the students. It helps teachers to maximize the experience to produce better performances in children.

Another is the “Creaciones” which is a community group of the youth at El Salvadorian. Through its activities, the group addresses issues of culture, the rights of children, immigration issues, and the environment. The group has workshops that it uses to perform plays to sensitize the post-civil war, oppression, colonization in El Salvador, Oscar Romero’s assassination, among other community cohesion themes.

Another group is the Acres. Their engagements are through enhancing leadership in the youth and other approaches that attract participation from the youth and promoting education, productive and fun outlets that affect the rural youth. It provides growth of the youth, organized response associated with the plight of the youth, lack of education, and employment opportunities.

The growth of the youth in the countryside is thus kept at a tempo that ensures that the resources in the countryside are utilized, eradication of gang-like activities, and enhancement of leadership among the youth. It promotes advocacy through needs assessment and lobbying for the fund, organizational strengthening, and recreational and commemorative activities such as the commemoration of Father Rutilio Grande’s anniversary and the organization of soccer tournaments to boost youth togetherness.

The App is another group that builds relationships among people from different ethnic and religious divides and multiethnic assemblage that works with respect, love, and skill. The group also promotes Albany Park’s importance. Through telling stories about Albany Park, the power play is well understood especially from the viewpoint of the society most of whom are refugees, the working class, the working poor, and the people of color. These people live outside the mainstream of American social life or society. The group creates real-life stories, experiences, and tours into the community. Through these engagements, the group also advocates for increased college enrollment for immigrants.

Overall, the groups provide cultural access to those within and without the community, transfer programs and services, share experiences between the rural and urban settings to promote continuity, impart economic values to the youth and audience, and even remove things that impede private development in some cases. They also engage and develop youth skills, engage youths not to clash with the law, improve the emotional behavior of the youth and the community and artistic skill development, creation of safe neighborhoods, improve social inclusion and identity and provide hope and opportunity to communities.

Through these, the capacity of members is so enhanced that they can create solutions to their problems. In the midst of these kinds of groups in theatric activities, the aspect of society response is paramount. The efforts put by them in reaction to community needs are not at all marginal. They show the true artistic impulse that is essential for fast-tracking community engagement. The theater has been made a local event that takes the specific groupings at specific places and times into consideration. Performance is focused on those present at the time and the value of the performance is immediate. This has a stimulating effect on the community.

Theatre in Community Building

Theatre unites the imaginations of communities to such extents that those that attend them are blended in images of themselves. This makes the audience to be transported to a state of wanting to sympathize with themselves; may want to break into tears or laughter. It sheds light on unimagined social mysteries and may make our ordinary lives be interpreted into mysteries that make us marvel at what, as a society, we are; what we do with the realities that exist in our daily lives.

This exposes our minds to think beyond the measurable assumption of confinement. It enables us to think abstractly and constructively to serve society better. What happens when a performer brings an action to the stage is usually a reflection of our imaginations. These are a summary of our life experiences, what we believe in and the systems of the same, and an acute understanding of what goes on within our world. The actions help in strengthening our understanding of the space we occupy in the world better since it is presented in our context.

Actions in theatrical settings enable us to claim the ownership of our cultures in terms we understand best. The audience is able to identify with what happens on stage- an identification that helps to build the perception of each one on the other and with it comes to an appreciation of one another. In this process, the group virtues are exalted. One is able to appreciate the position of the other right from what he/ she observes on stage and extend this appreciation in real realms of living and lifestyle. The apparent sensation of ownership gets acknowledged in each episode of the community-oriented act.

Through these episodes, the crowd gets to undergo a uniform transition. When a scenario finishes, the children feel that they should grow up in love, the youth feel they should marry and the adults feel they should reproduce and bequeath. There is a need for transformation that propels generation. As is seen in the development of liking for theatre by the Blacks, the Black Experience took a forward dimension. The recognition of self and the society is left in no doubt.

The community is directed into the fulfillment of the spirit. When enjoyment or sadness is shared- when a joint perception or common humanity is created- a bond is created. This not only makes the community work together but is also counteracted in the growth of theatre itself that repeats the same cycle of community cohesion. This helps to advance not only social but also economic justice.

The theater has an eye and an ear for political change, social justice, and a heart for care and concern that transcends the little barriers that capitalism may create within us. The grassroots theaters are not only best at this; they ensure a degree of belongingness that is seen in the equality of persons at the grassroots. This is not practiced in the unfortunate aspect of maintaining the status quo but works in steps that drift from how things are to how power and influence within the society can be redirected to benefit all. Through watching and narrating our stories, we promote a situation where our only power deprived of us is let out. When we speak, we direct our political, economic, and image control. This is the last public forum through which a common person will be understood by the authorities.

Through the theater, our language is preserved. Our culture within an environment that does not allow our verbal outbursts is preserved. The community is organized through the theater, their culture emerges as happened for the Hispanics; their culture came into being as an alternative culture complete with news and information characteristic of the host community. In New Mexico, it is what went on and still goes on around the plays and narrations that enable the newfound political and social contexts. What happens in the stage typifies the social and political engagements within our lives.

As if answering to the 30-year-old challenge of Zeigler (1977), the theater now is “expressly created from the realities, idiosyncrasies, character, and needs of the immediate communities”. Theater expresses political, regional, gender, class racial experience, and ethnic orientation. The body of theatre has a generation of drama that is discovering its maturity in America.

The place of theatre in community building and development is so enormously exploited to bring out the real aspects of community transformations by all in the society. Theatre in all its forms from dances, drama, and song enables society to be at peace with itself. It opens avenues for enhancing community recognition through individual participation. In conclusion, theatre remains one of the most instrumental avenues of promoting community cohesion, identity, and most of all, positive change. Through theatre, the youth especially have had better opportunities to showcase their prowess which may sometimes be ignored in society if cohesion lacks.

The arena of theatre in the United States still expands. Its relevance to societal needs is embedded in the origin and sustenance of the societies themselves. The acts staged in the theatres have the potential of not only facilitating economic growth but also spur educational enhancement of community members, strengthen ties between communities, improve knowledge of one and create avenues for realizing the community purposes. The theatres are also avenues for expressing desires to mold or change political influence and enhancing the same through advocacies and speaking out.

Works Cited

Scott, M. P. (1987) Drum: Making of a Community. NY: Simon & Schuster.

Beckerman, B. (1981). “Dynamics of Drama: Theory and Method of Analysis”. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 39, No. 3.

Gaster, T. H (1950). Myth, Drama and Ritual in the Ancient East: Thespis. New York: Henry Schuman Publishing.

Taubman, H. (1965) Making of the American Theatre. N Y: Coward McCann Inc.

Homan, M. (2008). Change Promotion: Making it Happen. Thompson: Brooks.

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