Community theatre refers to any theatrical performance made in relation to particular

communities A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, to ...

—its usage includes theatre made by, with, and for a community. It may refer to a production that is made entirely by a community with no outside help, or a collaboration between community members and professional theatre artists, or a performance made entirely by professionals that is addressed to a particular community. Community theatres range in size from small groups led by single individuals that perform in borrowed spaces to large permanent companies with well-equipped facilities of their own. Many community theatres are successful, non-profit businesses with a large active membership and, often, a full-time staff. Community theatre is often devised and may draw on popular theatrical forms, such as

carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival t ...

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...

, and

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of s ...

s, as well as performance modes from commercial theatre. This type of theatre is ever-changing and evolving due to the influences of the community; the artistic process can often be heavily effected by the community's socioeconomic circumstances. There is a certain obligation that community theatre is held to because of the personal and physical connection to its own community and the people within that community. Community theatre is understood to contribute to the

social capital Social capital is "the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively". It involves the effective functioning of social groups through interpersonal relationships ...

of a community, insofar as it develops the skills, community spirit, and artistic sensibilities of those who participate, whether as producers or audience members. It is used as a tool for

social development Social development can refer to: * Psychosocial development * Social change * Social development theory * Social Development (journal) * Social emotional development * Social progress or social regress The word decadence, which at first meant ...

, promoting ideas like

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

, environment, and democracy. Most of the community theatre practices have been developed based on the philosophy of education theorist

Paulo Freire Paulo Reglus Neves Freire (19 September 1921 – 2 May 1997) was a Brazilian educator and philosopher who was a leading advocate of critical pedagogy. His influential work '' Pedagogy of the Oppressed'' is generally considered one of the found ...

's approach of critical pedagogy in theatre and implementation techniques built by

Augusto Boal Augusto Boal (16 March 1931 – 2 May 2009) was a Brazilian theatre practitioner, drama theorist, and political activist. He was the founder of Theatre of the Oppressed, a theatrical form originally used in radical left popular education movemen ...

, known as

Theatre of the Oppressed The Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) describes theatrical forms that the Brazilian theatre practitioner Augusto Boal first elaborated in the 1970s, initially in Brazil and later in Europe. Boal was influenced by the work of the educator and theor ...

. Freire's approach attempted to stimulate social change by encouraging the audience to build capacities for critical thinking through participation in active dialogue. The participants would identify issues of concerns, and discuss possible solutions, with an enhanced tolerance for different perspectives with regard to the same problem. Such plays are then rarely performed in traditional playhouses but rather staged on streets, public places, traditional meeting spaces,

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes co ...

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...

s, or other institutions, inviting an alternative and often spontaneous audience to watch. Community theatre is distinct from amateur theatre which, while it may be community-based, is always non-professional whereas community theatre can be considered professional theatre.

In Latin America

Partly inspired by

Antonio Gramsci Antonio Francesco Gramsci ( , , ; 22 January 1891 – 27 April 1937) was an Italian Marxist philosopher, journalist, linguist, writer, and politician. He wrote on philosophy, political theory, sociology, history, and linguistics. He was a fo ...

's interpretation of culture, the seminal theatre practitioner

developed a series of techniques known as the

from his work developing community theatre in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...

In the United Kingdom

In Britain the term "community theatre" is sometimes used to distinguish theatre made by professional theatre artists with or for particular communities from that made entirely by non-professionals, which is usually known as " amateur theatre" or "amateur dramatics." Notable practitioners include Joan Littlewood and her Theatre Workshop, John McGrath and Elizabeth MacLennan and their 7:84 company, Welfare State International, and

Ann Jellicoe Patricia Ann Jellicoe (15 July 1927 – 31 August 2017) was an English playwright, theatre director and actress. Although her work covered many areas of theatre and film, she is best known for "pushing the envelope" of the stage play, devising ...

founder of the Colway Theatre Trust, now known as the Claque Theatre and run by UK practitioner Jon Oram.

In the Netherlands

Community theatre in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

came about after the ending of the theatre in education movement, which lasted from 1970-1985. The big theatre in the Netherlands which was created originally for theatre in education and subsequently community theatre, is th
Stut Theatre.
This theatre idea began in 1977 by Jos Bours and Marlies Hautvast, who when they first started creating plays at the Stut Theatre, realized this kind of community theatre had a completely different approach from theatre in education.

In the United States

Community theatre in the United States was an outgrowth of the Little Theatre Movement, a reform movement which began in 1912 in reaction to massive Victorian

melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exce ...

tic theatre spectacles. However, the country's oldest extant community theatre venue, Gates Hall in Pultneyville, New York, has existed since the 19th century and presented amateur performances every year since 1867. The American Association of Community Theatre represents community theaters in the U.S., its territories, and its military bases around the world.

In Canada

Theatre Passe Muraille sent ensemble casts into rural communities to record local stories, songs, accents and lifestyle. Their employment of collective creation was thus taken to an unheard of scale and spread across Canada. Passe Muraille facilitated the first production of Codco, which employed personal experiences of Newfoundland culture in their shows.
The Boardmore Playhouse
named in honor o
Elizabeth and Harry Boardmore
is a 337-seat venue which is the centre for the performing arts at

Cape Breton University , "Diligence Will Prevail" , mottoeng = Perseverance Will Triumph , established = 1951 as Xavier Junior College 1968 as NSEIT 1974 as College Of Cape Breton 1982 as University College of Cape Breton 2005 as Cape Breton ...

. The Playhouse is home to CBU Boardmore Theatre which presents an annual season of plays, including plays for young audiences, four to five full-length plays, a bi-annual Shakespeare production and a bi-annual Broadway Musical, and a one-week one act play festival with an emphasis on new play development. Throughout the school year and summer months the CBU Boardmore Playhouse is also involved with a number of community projects. The Playhouse provides practical expertise to community theatre groups in the form of workshops for young people as well as advice and leadership in summer theatre programs. Open auditions are held each September for anyone interested in getting involved in any aspect of the theatre. Auditions are held the weekend following the first week of classes.

In Australia and New Zealand

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...

, there is a substantial number of community theatre groups who have banded together to form the Independent Theatre Association. The South Canterbury Drama League is a community theatre based in Timaru, New Zealand.

References

Sources

* Banham, Martin, ed. 1998. ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre.'' Cambridge: Cambridge UP. . * Boal, Augusto. 2008. ''Theatre of the Oppressed.'' New ed. London: Pluto. . * Bradby, David, and John McCormick. 1978. ''People's Theatre.'' London: Croom Helm and Totowa, NJ: Rowman and Littlefield. . * Coult, Tony, and Baz Kershaw, eds. 1983. ''Engineers of the Imagination: The Welfare State Handbook.'' London: Methuen. . * Gooch, Steve. 1984. ''All Together Now: An Alternative View of Theatre and the Community.'' Methuen Theatrefile Ser. London: Methuen. . * Heddon, Deirdre, and Jane Milling. 2005. ''Devising Performance: A Critical History.'' Theatre & Performance Practices ser. London: Palgrave Macmillan. . * Kershaw, Baz. 1992. ''The Politics of Performance: Radical Theatre as Cultural Intervention.'' London and New York: Routledge. . * MacLennan, Elizabeth. 1990. ''The Moon Belongs to Everyone: Making Theatre with 7:84.'' London: Methuen. . * McGrath, John. 1981. ''A Good Night Out: Popular Theatre: Audience, Class and Form.'' London: Nick Hern Books, 1996. . * McGrath, John. 1990. ''The Bone Won't Break: On Theatre and Hope in Hard Times.'' London: Methuen. . * McGrath, John. 1996. ''Six-Pack: Plays for Scotland.'' Edinburgh: Polygon. . * Noe, Marcia. 2005. "The Women of Provincetown, 1915-1922/Composing Ourselves: The Little Theatre Movement and the American Audience." Review. ''American Drama'' (Winter)
Available online
* Schechter, Joel, ed. 2003. ''Popular Theatre: A Sourcebook.'' Worlds of Performance Ser. London and New York: Routledge. . * Van Erven, Eugene. 2001. ''Community Theatre: Global Perspectives.'' New York, NY: Routledge. . * Scharinger, J. 2013. ''Participatory theater, is it really? A critical examination of practices in Timor-Leste.'' ASEAS - Austrian Journal of South-East Asian Studies,6(1),102-119
Available here