Introduction.

1. Discuss the French Royal Theatre.

2. Discuss the rise of Realism and Naturalism.

3. Discuss the history of threatre in America.

4. Discuss the history of the American Musical Theatre.

5. Discuss the Current Theatre.

Bibliography

Conclusion.

We have traced the development of theatre from the early 1600s to the current era, examining its emerging diversity and expansion in an equally diversifying and expanding world. We have seen how theatre has reflected society as a looking glass, and that that reflection has come to show the true reflections and issues as we have moved forward in history - as it is said, if you want to look for faults, use a mirror. Not only did the "straight theatre" taken up the role of reflecting social issues and conflicts, but the musical theatre did likewise. In our current era, theatre is the most diverse that it has ever been; theatre is the most extensive it has ever been, and it can only be expected to increase in its ability to represent and tackle the issues and problems in the next millennium.

If we limit ourselves to the stage as the only theatre, we sorely limit ourselves from the diverse magnificent arena in which theatre can, does, and will exist. The movie theatre has been a competitive rival since the 1920s, and of late, has been developing in forms of interactive movie theatre. This is a production with hundreds of scenarios and outcomes that are all selected by the participation of the audience. Television, likewise has been a competitive rival since the 1940s, and will in the future offer a much wider range of selections for entertainment if not a form of interactive. Both the movies and the television have for the most part dominated their markets with special effect thrill adventures - much like the machine era of the stage theatre. They have only lately begun to represent and tackle controversial and social issues. The migration of material and successful productions between the three has increased over the years: popular theatre plays have often made migrations to the big screen before arriving on the little screen, and popular television shows have made profitable Hollywood movies. We must not forget the contribution of the early Radio Theater, which still exists in obscure corners. Radio theatre brought many an adventure into the household in the early days before those same stories made movie. Such sound detailed adventures of "The Lone Ranger," "Only the Shadow Knows," and "The War of the Worlds" are classic historical marks in the infant days of broadcasting. Still this tradition lives on in other forms of media. Detailed sound theatre on playback media (tapes, records, and CDs) have provided imaginative entertainment for years and have even included such diversities as musicals. The Firesign Theater provides farcical productions that can only be described through experience, and H. G. Wells's War of the Worlds still lives on in books, recordings of the original broadcast, sundrious movie interpretations, and a recorded narrated musical adaptation. Lastly, the Internet is yet another source of competition, one of which is just beginning to itch.

Against all it competitors, the stage theatre will remain a unique experience and vehicle of presentation that cannot be matched. The experience of "out on the town" and the power in the presentation of a live production will remain the hallmark of the stage theatre. There has always existed a theatre and no doubt that there shall always exists a theatre. The further diversity and expansion that it will take are yet unknown; the off-shoots that it will spawn are yet unrealized; the social issues it will reflect are still oppressed; and the revolutions it will force are unexpected. Theatre is steaming down the tracks making marks for the history books, and if we should misjudge it momentum, we may find ourselves as a casualty rather than a participant or spectator.

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