MISSION #1: SPOT THE DIFFERENCES

What are the similarities and differences between theatre and cinema? Well, it is a great question to ponder about before we study further on theatre and plays. To begin with, I will start off with their similarities. Both theatre and cinema held presentation of performing arts done by a cast of actors, who follow the instructions from stage director and film director respectively. Not to mention, where there is a performance, there will be a group of audience.

Next, we shall analyse the differences between theatre and cinema. In this blog, I will distinguish theatre from cinema through observation on a few aspects, such as the types of performance, the working condition and requirement of the actors, man power vs. technology, as well as the etiquette for theatre-goers and cinema-goers.

In theatre

In cinema

First and foremost, the most obvious difference is, of course, the types of performance. Theatre’s plays are live performances, whilst cinema’s movies are pre-recorded. Thus, a play can only be held in one place at a time, but a movie can be shown in many cinemas throughout the world at the same time.

Since theatre presents live performance, it requires more effort and practices from the actors and the backstage crew, as there is no room for any mistake when performing the play. They can never undo any mistake that is already done, unless they go back to the past. They can only hope that the mistake will not be repeated in future performances. Thus, I believe that the theatrical actors must have experienced great pressure, as they have to perform in front of the audience without any mistakes allowed. Unlike theatre performance, mistakes made by actors in the process of movie-filming can be forgiven. This is because the film director can film the same scene again and again, shouting “Cut!”, followed with “Take One!”, “Take Two!”, “Take Three!” and so on. This re-filming process can be repeated continuously until the actors’ performance reaches the film director’s requirement and expectation. Hence, some people think that a play’s success depends highly on the actor’s talent, whereas a movie relies on the director’s skill.

Another difference between theatre and cinema can be represented with “man power versus technology”. In theatre, it is solely human skills and creativity from set, costume to acting. In cinema movies, the actors may not necessary be human. Due to the advancement of computer technology today, the actors in movie can be personified animals and cartoon characters. Besides that, more graphic features can be added in a movie too. Undeniably, they are fake actors, yet they look and sound so real. On the other hand, if King Kong is one of the characters in theatre, a human actor has to wear a costume that looks like the giant ape, and makes the audience believe that he is an ape.

As for setting, movie usually uses real setting. For example, if the scene takes place in London, the cast of actors and the crew will shoot the movie in London. However, such action can never be implemented in play performance, as play performance can only be held in one place, and the place is named “the stage”. Thus, the crew has to crack their brains to build the set as convincing as possible, using props, lights and paintings. Therefore, much effort from the backstage crew is required in managing the set, as compared to the crew in movie-shooting.

You can never find this in a theatre.

For those who enjoy watching theatre performance, please pay attention to this. In cinema, you can go on munching and munching on anything you like until you throw up. In theatre, a nibble will throw you out. Nonetheless, both theatre and cinema also share the same etiquettes, such as “No making phone calls”, “No smoking”, “No talking loudly”, etc.

No making phone calls.

Well, the above description is a result of a very brief observation on the difference between theatre and cinema. Perhaps, after having real experience in theatre, we can discover more about theatre.