History of Theater

The word theater means a “place for seeing,” but theater is more than just a building where plays are performed. It’s the whole idea behind what happens there. Theater is where playwrights write scripts, directors supervise rehearsals, set designers and technical crew work behind-the-scenes, and the actors perform on stage. All of these people have an important role in the theater, but it is not true theater until an audience is there to experience it.

Explore the History of Theater below.

History of Theater: Intro | Kids Work!

Episode 1

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Grades: 3 4 5

Ancient Theater (600 B.C. - 410 A.D.) | Kids Work!

Episode 2

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Grades: 3 4 5

The first recorded form of European theater began in Ancient Greece around 600 B.C. with a religious festival to honor Dionysus (Di-on-i-sus), the god of wine and fertility. It has been said that a...

Medieval Theater (500 - 1200 A.D.) | Kids Work!

Episode 3

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Grades: 3 4 5

Theater buildings were not permitted throughout Europe during medieval times, but traveling players, known as minstrels, kept the theater alive along with acrobats, puppeteers, jugglers and...

Renaissance Theater (1300-1600 A.D.) | Kids Work!

Episode 4

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Grades: 3 4 5

In the Renaissance (Re-nais-sance) period, from the fourteenth to the seventeenth centuries, an interest in classical Greek and Roman art, culture and theater returned. Two major theater design...

Kabuki Theater (1600 A.D.) | Kids Work!

Episode 5

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Grades: 3 4 5

Kabuki (ka-bu-ki) is a form of theater in Japan that began in the early 1600s and is still performed today. This traditional theater uses extravagant makeup and costumes, a unique kind of music and an...

Community Theater | Kids Work!

Episode 6

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Grades: 3 4 5

In 1736, the Dock Street Theatre in Charles-Towne, South Carolina was the first building in America created solely for theatrical purposes. Nobody knows exactly what happened to the first building...