10 Things About Theatre That Make It As Good As, If Not Better Than, Hollywood...

Theatre, professional or otherwise, is an unknown concept to many members of the younger generation. The movie and television industries are more accessible and widely known, however, we have complied a list of 10 amazing facts about theatre that may get you interested in choosing a live show over a screening- or maybe even partake in theatre yourself!

1. Before making their silver screen debuts, many top Hollywood actors and actresses began working in theatre

These include top stars like Natalie Portman, Hugh Jackman, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristen Bell, Lea Michelle, Arianna Grande, Andrew Garfield, and Robert Pattinson to name a few. Countless other stars go back and forth from theatre to Hollywood movies and television. Many actors and actresses chose to partake in theatre because of the challenge of performing live, rather than in front of a camera.

2. In the most resent 2015-2016 season, Broadway shows alone have grossed a total of 1.37 billion U.S dollars.

Tickets for a Broadway show range from anywhere from 20 US dollars to hundreds. Just like the movie business, the theatre is a reliable and lucrative business that many people are apart of.

3. Over 47 million American’s visited theatres in the last 12 months.

Theatre is a great place to see live story telling and the numbers show it! Studies show that many first time theatre goers attend musicals while loyal patrons usually attend plays. There is as much of a market for theatre as their is films and television!

4. The theatre gives actors and actresses opportunities to play a plethora of characters regardless or race or gender.

Unlike Hollywood, the theatre community allows for more actors and actresses of minority races to play characters who historically might not have been their race. This was seen largely in Hamilton, which has a cast almost entirely made up of people of color. This goes for characters of different genders too!

5. Casts and crew of Broadway shows average around 100 members to make the show run every day!

There are a large number of people who work both on and off the stage that allow for a theatre production to run smoothly. While movies and television sets also have large casts and crews, the theatre industry employs many hardworking experts to bring their audience high quality performances. This includes the actors/actresses, stage managers, tech crew, make-up artists, costume crew, musicians, writers, directors, and producers.

6. The Phantom of the Opera has been performed in 13 different languages!

These languages include English, French, German, Japanese, Danish, Polish, Swedish, Castilian, Hungarian, Dutch, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish. Many other shows have been translated and performed all over the world as well. This allows actors and actresses from all backgrounds to perform shows all over the world in all different versions of the show! In Hollywood, once a movie is filmed in the certain language, it can only be dubbed over or closed captioned in another language.

7. Shows are constantly having revivals and returning to Broadway!

Theatre is an ever evolving and changing art form that allows stories, plays, and musicals to be brought to life hundreds of times. Things can be changed to reinvent the story, to change how the story is told, or to make statements about contemporary society. Movies and television shows, on the other hand, are filmed once and cannot be changed once they are published to the screen.

8. Theatre is the only form of story telling where the audience plays a role!

A theatrical audience gets to give immediate feedback to the performers through both verbal and nonverbal ways. Actors and actresses not only have the ability to interact with the audience, but they can take the applause, laughter, silence, and energy of the audience to give theatre goers a tailored experience; this is an impossible task for an unchanging and finalized Hollywood film.

9. Theatre finds new ways to look at the world through the stage!

While movies can take its viewers to any location they film at, theatre technicians work hard every day to make a brand new and creative world form on the stage in front of hundreds of people's eyes using set pieces, costumes, props, perspectives, and lighting. This means the crew must come up with new and inventive ways to see the world and portray it on the stage.

10. Theatre is a more accessible form of expression.

To write a play, all you need is a blank sheet of paper and pencil, and to have it come to life you just need a few friends and a stage. Movies take budgets, time, film, and equipment many people do not have. Theatre is available to everyone and anyone who wants to explore the human experience.