A cafe theater is a place where you can have drinks while short stage performances related to the theatrical genre are represented. In the history of the theater, they can be seen as heirs of similar spaces in inns, trattorias, taverns and picnic areas.
Within the model of rooms for variety of shows, café theater falls within the complete typology of coffee-lyrical, the singing coffee, the cafe-concert and cabaret. In all, it proliferates a larger audience popular than the traditional serious public theater, participating in an ever casual, even family atmosphere, in front of their modest performances place, that throughout its history served as a quarry, shelter and, in many cases, asylum for both actors as the authors.
Defined by its own name as coffee + theater, it is that space where you can eat and they offer modest catering service while attending the representation, usually a casual and participatory way, good plays short or any other show within the broad parameters of the theatrical and staging performances.
It should be noted that the performance space where the presentation takes place, in most cases, it has appealing backdrops or racks breaking the traditional common idea of the phenomenon known as fourth wall. It should also be noted essentially perhaps as characteristic lack of etiquette and ceremonial inherent in the classic theater space; on the contrary, the public café theater does not work for the function, neither take input because the widespread use is to be included in consumption as a charge in the price of it, or it occupies default or numbered locations.
The audience of a café theater shares drinking and stage performance in the same social act. It is the stripped theatrical phenomenon of all officialdom, yet theorists identify it with the art theater for rehearsals. As a result, the space of the café theater hosts forms , genres and types of shows with simple or no props, as in the case of the magicians, jugglers, comedians, mimes and storytellers.
- The café theater, by space constraints, is based on the interpretation, often comic profile.
- The pieces, works or dramatic texts are usually brief, one hour maximum, and satirical genre, and sometimes poetic.
- In the staging, effects and props are necessarily replaced by the skills of the actors.
- Usually they put on stage productions unpublished, coming to adapt to commercial theater if successful.
- Cafes theaters have been favored by the crisis of commercial theater and unemployment of its professionals, but without creating a new own drama.
You can learn more here about staging concepts and equipment needed for a good performance.
When you watch a performance on a stage, you see it flawless and there are not disturbing elements while the actors make their performances without any troubles. In fact, in a theater, there are a lot of things involved and particular places are reserved for particular purposes, so that everything can go smoothly on the stage. Here we will see what those areas and activities are which you do not see as a viewer of the stage performance.
Rehearsal Room
If the size of the building permits, the test phase of the stage show takes place in a room to use located within the same theater. It is a large open room in which you can install a simplified structure (pre-set design) that simulates the final performance which will be implemented on the stage.
Dressing rooms
There are private rooms for actors where they dress and prepare before going on the stage. There are individual for 2, 3 or 4 people and groups, as intended for protagonists, sharing or small roles. In small theaters, the actors comb and makeup in the dressing rooms, while most major theaters are equipped with rooms where they attend technical staff of the theater, namely makeup artists and hairdressers.
Workshops and technical sections
The technical sections of large-machinery theaters, electricity, audiovisual, sound, props, tailoring, makeup and hairdresser have rooms where they develop their craft and store their tools and material. When the sets, props and costumes are manufactured in the same theater, these sections have fully equipped workshops and are sufficiently soundproofed so that the noises do not reach to other parts of the theater.
Offices
A theater needs to have offices for various departments in charge of its management. These departments are basically of administration and management, communication and marketing, and locker room, production, technical coordination and artistic direction. The departments responsible for activities aimed at the training of actors and theater staff, or educational and cultural activities aimed at public may also exist.
Store
A store is very necessary area since all the stage equipment is required to be kept safely where no other person can enter without need. The stage equipment must be in workable position and should not suffer from any damages or else there will be a great hindrance in preparing for the next stage performance.