ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the processes leading up to the performances and some of the social factors which the performing arts require or produce. The first and most immediate necessity to put on a theatrical performance of any kind is actors and actresses. The chapter considers how performers are chosen and trained. There are several ways of entering the acting profession. One is by excelling as an amateur. The chapter concerns the basis of the performing arts, training, performers, theatres, audiences, society, without which a cinema or drama show is impossible. Traditional theatre, especially, requires great care and long years of training before its actors can be called qualified. Moreover, once the spark and skill are interrupted they are not easy to bring back. The Chinese are also trying to revive the customs of the pre-Cultural Revolution period, such as methods of selling tickets, distribution of artistic performances and even the quyi teahouse-theatre.
