Theatremaking

Theatremaking (also written "theatre-making", "theatre making" and "theater making", etc.) is not only used as a general (collective) term to refer to the various activities involved in creating a theatrical production, but is also at times used more specifically to refer to a particular philosophy about creating a theatrical work of art. In this sense it is 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.

It has now become a widely used term in South Africa as elsewhere and some publishers, such as Bloomsbury Publishers, actually list what were formerly called "drama" books under the new heading "Theatre Making" in their online catalogue[1].

A number of Universities and other training institutions now offer training from this perspective. For example, the University of Surrey offers a MA degree in Contemporary Theatre Making[2], Coventry University an MA in Collaborative Theatre Making[3], while a masters level course in Theatremaking was first introduced to South Africa by the University of Cape Town. Called an MA in Theatre and Performance (Theatre Making)[4].

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.

http://exeuntmagazine.com/features/ten-traits-of-theatre-making-in-the-21st-century/