‘A theatre theorist is defined as someone who has developed and contributed to theatre theory. It is important that the theatre theorist selected has made a significant contribution to theatre and that the theories are documented and publicly available.’
(Subject guide p22)
A checklist to determine whether an individual could be defined as a theatre theorist would include:
- Has the person written or spoken extensively about the purpose of making theatre, as well as the processes that they use to create performances?
- Do their ideas relate to, or build on, the conceptual understandings associated with making theatre?
- Is there evidence that the individual applied their ideas in performance?
- Are their ideas accessible and publicly available to students of theatre?
If the answers to all of the above questions is ‘yes’, then the person in question is a theatre theorist.
Have a look at the pages and resources attached to the featured theorists – if you have found a brilliant person or resource not included here, please let me know!
ibtheatre 