Theatrical Event

The term theatrical event refers to any any kind of public event, display and/or performance, including but not at all limited to stage plays and performances.

Besides formal stage performances, the more familiar such events include carnivals, concerts, religious and social rites and ceremonies, fairs, festivals, inaugurations of all kinds, parades, and so on.

While the term event in itself refers to , the specific term theatrical event was coined during the course of the 20th century to refer to a particular kind of approach to studying the entire complex of activities, processes, influencing factors and individuals involved in the presentation of a single public event or performance before an audience at a particular time under particular circumstances.

See further the writings of Wilmar Sauter and the series of publications by the Theatrical Event Working Group of the International Federation for Theatre Research. Compare also Richard Schechner and Victor Turner's Performance Theory and the notion of Performance Studies [1], which have a similiar premise and has been vastly influential in theatre and performance studies. See also Theatre, Theatricalization, Eventification, Festivalization, Performance, and Theatrical system.