Amateur Theatre
[This page is currently under construction.]
This Wiki is dedicated to amateur theatre, and yet it is not always easy to define what amateur theatre is, and what is not. Very often the term ,amateur theatre’ is used in opposition to ,professional theatre’.
Aspects that can demarcate forms of theatre as amateur or professional can be the training of performers and further participants, the question of making a living out of theatre, the monetary profitability of shows, the self-image of theatre makers, the mastery of theatrical craft and the perceived artistic quality of the performance, the social structure and characteristics of the theatre company or group, the relationship with the audience, the linkage with a certain geographical location or a specific cultural tradition, and more.
There is often ambiguity in the assigning of theatre as amateur or professional because certain forms of theatre fulfill criteria that are partly more on the professional and partly more on the amateur side. At the same time, there are many theatre productions that intentionally bring together professional theatre makers and amateurs - meaning that while it might be possible in such a case to draw the line between amateur and professional contributors, the performance as a product can not easily be classified as one or the other.
The approach to the distinction of amateur and professional theatre discussed here is (so far) very much rooted in the European theatre tradition of the modern period.
Aspects of distinguishing amateur and professional theatre
See here several aspects that may help to distinguish amateur from professional theatre. Many of the aspects have overlapping facets.
Professional training
Key points:
- Professionally trained performers as a factor of professional theatre
- Professionalisation of all theatre-related work/crafts/jobs
- Understandings of professional training today and in history
- Mastery of theatrical craft
Perception of artistic quality
Key points:
- contemporary bias of perceiving amateur theatre as artistically inferior, a bias which is grounded and (arguably) justified in the predominant assumption that professional training has a positive effect on the improvement of theatrical skills.
- [maybe side note on actors who pursue acting as a profession but deliberately decided against professional training in acting, which is probably more often found in the film sector than in theatre]
- In history: not necessarily amateur=poor skills, professional=refined skills (see dilettantism)
- cite Dirk de Corte / OPENDUEK research project, including ambitions of amateur theatre groups: social vs. artistic ambition, small vs. large audience ambition.
Making a living out of theatre
Key points:
- Amateurism as freedom of the need to make money out of art
- Professionalism as a way to make it work to make a living of your art, vs. precarity not only in the independent scene; the impoverished artist as a topos and as a reality.
Monetary profitability of theatrical shows / use of profits
Key points:
- A rather weak criterion: Where professional theatre is financed or subsidized by the state or other donors, it doesn’t need to be profitable
- Huge events in amateur theatre where a lot of money is generated.
- Tradition of charity practice in amateur theatre: donate surplus money for a good cause
Self-image of theatre makers as amateur or professional
Key points:
- Theatre makers can take pride both in being an amateur artist (dilettante…) or a professional artist.
- Some amateur theatre ensembles have the ‘amateur’ in their name (Liebhabertheatergesellschaft etc.)
- Some non-professional theatre makers aspire to a status of semi-professional or similar, often claiming high artistic standard due to experience and hard work, despite the lack of professional training/education.
Social structure and characteristics of theatre ensembles
In amateur theatre, you see often that ensembles consist of participants who are additionally linked through other, personal relationships, like family, spouses or friends. Reasons may be
- that amateur theatre is a leisure time activity and people prefer to spend their leisure time with people they like,
- that when there is want of more participants, members will try to recruit people they know well and they like,
- that many amateur theatre societies or groups don’t have a tight selection procedure, so they would include friends or family of their members as new members, as long as they contribute anything or something useful to the group.
It is typical for amateur theatre groups to also gather socially outside of rehearsals and performances.
Although in professional theatre the composition of a company is most often the result of decisions that were not taken by the company members themselves, you can also often find strong bounds between company members, as their work can bring them closely together. See also the (arguably euphemistic) term ‘theatre family’. However, being dependent on making a living out of theatre, professional theatre artists sometimes stay in contracts where they don’t feel easy with their colleagues, which is less likely in the amateur field, where one aim is to spend quality time.
Professional theatre people also often spend time together after work.
[[Making theatre (likewise professional and amateur) often creates a sense of togetherness or connectedness for the people involved. They feel as a closely-linked group because they pursue something others don’t, because making theatre differs a lot from other (professional and leisure) activities [how?] and also demands a high amount of commitment. During the rehearsal process and during performances they often share emotional moments of insecurity, intimacy, joy, comicality, etc. At the same time, there can be conflicts, competition, envy and exclusive group dynamics. One difference between amateur and professional theatre can be in this context, that amateurs can more often rather easily withdraw from a group or a production they don’t feel comfortable with, while in such a case professional theatre makers face conflicting factors like being bound by a contract, or needing to continue the job for existential/self-sustaining or in view of their career development.]]
Relationship with the audience
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Linkage with a certain geographical location or a specific cultural tradition
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Purposes of doing amateur theatre
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Abiguity of the term
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