As Stella Adler explains so well, “the word theater comes from the Greeks. It means the place of vision. It’s the place where people come to see the truth about life and the social situation.” This is where people exit reality and enter reality in the same breath. Most theater isn't so far-fetched as to be unbelievable. Even what exists has common roots and themes applicable to everyday life. I will catalog three different aspects of this alter-reality. I will define, explain and develop aspects of acting, playwriting and directing. I chose these aspects because I believe they are an integral part of theater. If the other aspects play a crucial role, these three aspects seemed the most important to me. Acting is what makes the wheel turn. Without theater, there is no theater. Remove the scene; remove the scene; take away the lighting, the costumes, the seats, the tickets, and you still have actors putting on a show. An actor is defined as someone who tells a story by playing a character. One of the first actors would be Thespis. In Greek tradition, he is considered the inventor of tragedy. Very little is known about the man and his works. The day he stepped away from the chorus to become his character changed theater, and perhaps the world, forever. Before arriving on stage, the chorus recounted the actions of the characters. They would simply indicate what the character was doing or saying, without physically acting it out. More like telling a story than acting. As the story goes, one day Thespis came out of the choir and began to address the audience as a character. Thus began the art of theater. (This is also where we get the word thespian from.)...... middle of paper ......yle is through the mise en scene, or what appears on the screen. Lighting, costumes, props, camera movements, and backgrounds are all part of the mise-en-scene. There are endless ways to expand on a film based on the same storyline by changing what's on screen. The adjustment of these techniques generates meaning and presents similarities in the film. William Shakespeare once said, “All the world is a stage, and all the men and women but actors; They have their exits and their entrances, And a man in his time plays many roles. This quote illustrates what theater represents for the human condition. It helps explain who we are as people. We go to the theater to see the human condition illustrated, not to escape it. Theater is important to our history, our present and our future. Actors, playwrights and directors help shape this idea for our generation and those to come..