Theatremaking

Theatremaking (also written "theatre-making", "theatre making" and "theater making", etc.) not only refers to the general activity of creating a theatrical production, but is also at times used to refer to a particular philosophy about creating a theatrical work of art. It is often seen as a holistic process of devising a play as performance, and tends to be based on practice rather than a (formally) written script, thus including the whole spectrum of activities involved in the process, from writing, experimentation and improvisation, to all forms of design and direction. Individuals making plays in this way are thus referred to as Playmakers (rather than actors, designers, directors, etc.) This is also called Playmaking by some writers.

In South Africa a masters level course in Theatremaking Playmaking was first introduced by the University of Cape Town. It has now become a widely used term in the country.

See also Playmaking.

For more on the genealogy and range of meaning, see for example: Theatre-Making - Interplay Between Text and Performance in the 21st Century by Duška Radosavljevic. Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.