Lahore Theatre
Theatre has been a very important aspect of the indo-pak society for a very very long time,to be a bit more accurate its been around since the start of civilization in the Sub-Continent.Theatre can be traced back to the times of the vedic Aryans. In those times theatre was part of the daily life,it was the only source of entertainment.Peolpe used dress up as animals and some used to dress up as hunters and they used to act out various legends and stories from their expedition. As civilisation progressed so did theater along with it.In such a simple and crude manner did the theatre originate in India about 3500 years back in the Indo-Aryan states of Rig Vedic times.Theatre (from French "théâtre", from Greek "theatron", θέατρον, meaning "place of seeing") is the branch of the performing arts defined as simply as what "occurs when one or more human beings, isolated in time and/or space, present themselves to another or others." By this broad definition, theatre has existed since the dawn of man, as a result of human tendency for story telling. Since its inception, theatre has come to take on many forms, often utilizing elements such as speech, gesture, music, dance, and spectacle, combining the other performing arts, often as well as the visual arts, into a single artistic form. Modern Western theatre is dominated by realism, although many other forms, including classical and experimental forms, as well as Eastern forms, are frequently performed.
Theatre has been a very important aspect of the indo-pak society for a very very long time,to be a bit more accurate its been around since the start of civilization in the Sub-Continent.Theatre can be traced back to the times of the vedic Aryans. In those times theatre was part of the daily life,it was the only source of entertainment.Peolpe used dress up as animals and some used to dress up as hunters and they used to act out various legends and stories from their expedition. As civilisation progressed so did theater along with it.In such a simple and crude manner did the theatre originate in India about 3500 years back in the Indo-Aryan states of Rig Vedic times. . Read More
Theatre has been a very important aspect of the indo-pak society for a very very long time,to be a bit more accurate its been around since the start of civilization in the Sub-Continent.Theatre can be traced back to the times of the vedic Aryans. In those times theatre was part of the daily life,it was the only source of entertainment.Peolpe used dress up as animals and some used to dress up as hunters and they used to act out various legends and stories from their expedition. As civilisation progressed so did theater along with it.In such a simple and crude manner did the theatre originate in India about 3500 years back in the Indo-Aryan states of Rig Vedic times. . Read More
- Michael Chekhov, actor, director, author. (His method, largely an outside-in approach and somewhat more "metaphysical," diverged from and converged back to Stanislavski's over the course of his career.)
- Harold Clurman, director and critic.
- Jack Garfein, director, actor, former director of the Actor's Studio in Los Angeles, instructing for more than 40 years.
- Uta Hagen, actress, the author of Respect for Acting and Challenge for the Actor. (She emphasized "identity" and "substitution.")
- Lorrie Hull, former Actor's Studio senior faculty instructor under Lee Strasberg. Author of Strasberg's Method, endorsed by Susan Strasberg.
- Robert Lewis, cofounder of The Actors Studio and author of Method — or Madness?
- Sanford Meisner, actor.
- Jean Shelton, director, actress, worked with Clurman and Strasberg at Group Theatre, founder of Jean Shelton Actors Lab
- Lee Strasberg, director, actor, producer.
Lahore has pretty much been the heart of performing arts in Pakistan. Being the cultural center of Pakistan Lahore pretty much has theater flowing through its veins. Since partition most of the big play writes and the production companies have either belonged to Lahore or have come to Lahore to showcase their drama's or 'natak' as they are knwon in urdu.In the 70's and the early 80's theatre died out in the country dude to the imposition of Islamic law, the only form of theatre which survived were punjabi stage plays. During the late 90's a more reformed and a more westernised form of theatre came to the surface.There are only a couple of theatre houses in Lahore, the rest being closed during the years of Islamic law. The Two of the most prominent theater houses are as follows:
With the two above mentioned theatre house being in the public domain, there are a lot quiet a few purpose built buildings for theatre most of these are owned and operated by colleges or universties, some of the famous ones are:
- The Amphitheater at Aitchison College
- NCA(National College Of Arts)
- Kinnarid College Lahore
- GCU(Government College University)
known as the father of Indian theatrical arts. His Natya Shastra seems to be the first attempt to develop the technique or rather art, of drama in a systematic manner. The Natya Shastra tells us not only what is to be portrayed in a drama, but how the portrayal is to be done. Drama, as Bharata Muni says, is the imitation of men and their doings (loka-vritti). As men and their doings have to be respected on the stage, so drama in Sanskrit is also known by the term roopaka which means portrayal.
The Natya Shastra is incredibly wide in its scope. It consists of minutely detailed precepts for both playwrights and actors. Bharata describes ten types of drama ranging from one to ten acts. In addition, he lays down principles for stage design, makeup, costume, dance (various movements and gestures), a theory of aesthetics (rasas and bhavas), acting, directing and music, each in individual chapters.
