Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book aims to develop a 360-degree understanding of certain key elements, attempting to uncover the common grammatical glue that holds our ostensibly normative Western theatrical language together. It shows that Picasso becomes Picasso, or Schoenberg becomes Schoenberg, because they understood the fundamentals of their respective mediums. It attempts to understand the elements that make up the grammar of normative Western theatre. Theatre possesses its own unique grammar, rules that govern how its elements can be arranged to forge meaning. Every theatre practitioner understands “action” but often from the rather restricted view of their distinct discipline. In the theatre, the world is more a verb than a noun, actively shaping the minds and bodies of its characters whose very comportment can conjure an entire world without a stitch of scenery.