A theatrical production is any work of
theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...
, such as a staged play, musical, comedy or drama produced from a written book or script. Theatrical productions also extend to other performance designations such as Dramatic and Nondramatic theatre, as well as Dance theatre. These works are protected by common law or statuary copyright unless in the public domain.
These productions generally feature actors, costumes and sets. The
history of the theatrical production goes back to
ancient Greece
Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cu ...
.
Theatrical productions vary in many ways. They can be anything from high school as well as college productions, community theatre productions to summer stock and regional theatre productions all the way to Broadway and Kings Road productions. Today's contemporary theatres produce a variety of plays and musicals that attract very different audiences.
In full theatrical productions there are a great number of people working towards many types of shows. A
producer acquires financing, hires staff and oversees everything from the beginning to the end of each show. Theatrical staff is separated by department, which varies from theatre to theatre and production to production depending on needs.
The production will employ front of house and back of house staff. In addition to performers, stage hands,
stage manager
Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including the overseeing of the rehearsal p ...
s, lighting and
sound technician
In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid.
In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...
s, many theatres will hire ushers, concessions workers, janitorial and security in mounting a theatrical production.
Theatrical productions may also involve other types of performance exhibitions, which include improvisational, skit and parody performances which involve varying levels of involvement from off-camera staff or assistants in order to create the productions.
References
Theatre
{{Theat-stub