Theatre is art. It reflects life, selecting and focusing on part of the total picture, and this selectivity is a key principle in theatre. The impulse toward theatre is universal and has appeared wherever human society has developed. Rituals, religious ceremonies, and celebrations have certain elements of theatre, including a performance in front of an audience, costumes, scenery and storytelling.
Theatre is a transitory art that occurs through time.
A theatre performance changes from moment to moment, and a theatre event is created by cumulative sights, sounds and impressions. One special quality of theatre is its immediacy. The basic elements of theatre are the audience, the performers, the director's supervision of performances, the purpose of a theatre piece, the viewpoint of its creators, the playwright's work, and the environment in which it takes place. Before the turn of this century theatre existed as an important cultural component of most every society since the Ancient Greeks over 3000 years ago. With the invention of radio the medium of theatrical expression moved.