In the UK the term community theatre does not mean the form of theater for which the term is used in the USA, which is usually referred to as 'amateur', where non-professional performers put on productions for fun. Instead it refers to professional theatre work, taking place in non-theatre settings within specific communities. Much of this work has tended to be issue-based.
Alongside this kind of work there is also the concept of the Community Play, pioneered by Ann Jellicoe. Here there are no auditions as such, all the people who turn up can take part in the productions, at the discretion of the director or directors. Although paid professionals may take leading roles, amateurs do too. Because of the lack of clearing with the numbers in these productions, they tend to lean towards huge productions.
Famous quotes containing the words community and/or theatre:
“As in political revolutions, so in paradigm choice—there is no standard higher than the assent of the relevant community. To discover how scientific revolutions are effected, we shall therefore have to examine not only the impact of nature and of logic, but also the techniques of persuasive argumentation effective within the quite special groups that constitute the community of scientists.”
—Thomas S. Kuhn (b. 1922)
“As in a theatre the eyes of men,
After a well-graced actor leaves the stage,
Are idly bent on him that enters next,
Thinking his prattle to be tedious,
Even so, or with much more contempt, men’s eyes
Did scowl on gentle Richard.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)