Dramatist

Author: Qi Sa Ri Song Xin Yue Ed.
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-10-01
Features:
The concepts of "World Theatre" and "World Dramatist" can be understood in several ways. The inclusion of the word "World" can refer to these plays being performed on stages in many countries around the world. We can interpret "world-class theatre" as plays that have been performed multiple times after their creation, enduring over time and becoming part of the world's cultural heritage. Therefore, a "world-class dramatist" refers to the person who created such plays. Of course, there is another way to understand it. Theatre is a form of literature. Its existence and value need to be tested and verified in the theatre—in other words, on stage and in front of the audience. This duality gives theatre an important characteristic—action. Action, as the free decision of a theatrical character, is a purposeful, action-oriented response to specific problems in a particular situation. Thus, we can view a "world dramatist" as someone who created certain methods and approaches that influenced the development of the theatrical genre—in Czech, we call it drama. This book is dedicated to understanding the worldliness of dramatists from this perspective, rather than based on the number and frequency of their plays being performed on the world stage. Some may have different opinions on this criterion and the list of dramatists selected based on it. However, we believe that the dramatists selected in this book are representative and sufficient to showcase the development of world theatre—primarily referring to European and later Western and American cultural theatre.