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Crash Course Theater
What Is Theater?
Season 1
Episode 1
We're going to ask the two classic questions about theater. 1.What is theater? And 2. Is it spelled -re or -er? Well, there's a clue to question two in the title of the video. The first question is a little trickier. We'll look at some of the historical definitions of theater, and investigate some of the ways people have thought about theater in different times and places in the world.
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12:06
19th century playwrights remade the French theater – first with Realism, then Naturalism.
13:04
19th century racism contributed to a unique and troubling performance culture in America.
12:07
How did American theater develop after the Revolutionary War?
11:34
In the 18th century, audiences were ready for some really, really dramatic theater.
11:09
After Germany was unified, we got Sturm, Drang, Weimar Classicism and Goethe.
11:37
English Sentimental Comedies weren't that funny, but they were definitely sentimental.
10:51
Let's discuss wizard theater and the rise of classical Chinese theater and Beijing Opera.
10:13
Learn about the all-night dance shows in India that culminate in killing a Demon.
11:51
Under the Shoguns, we get Kabuki and Bunraku. And Samurais get in trouble for watching it.
11:06
American theater existed before Europeans arrived, and the Spanish greatly influenced it.
11:11
Meet Renaissance France's theater greatest playwright: Molière.
12:40
The French Neoclassical revival involved a lot of rules – and some rule-breaking.