In this age of viral videos, TV commercials, and viral music videos, how do you remember what it was like to watch things? The answer is simple: the progressive era. The progressive era is one where people went back and looked at some of the greatest things ever done. It is also one of the most interesting eras in American history.
When we speak of the progressive era, what do we really mean? It’s a time where society had not yet consolidated. It is not so much defined by one ideology or belief, but rather the beliefs of the people, how they had lived their lives, how they had lived them together. This was especially true in regards to religion. Without some kind of belief system, it is almost impossible to come up with a vision for the future.
Stage management was not just about creating entertainment for the masses; it was also about presenting the art of acting to the public in order to be given a bigger stage to work with. With the invention of the first videotape, stage management and acting were given a great deal more media exposure. Video emerged as an important element in everything from movies to TV shows.
Film staged the entrance of the sound era. There were different ways that the sound was presented to the public. The first was through concerts, but even so, the advent of television came along and introduced the first form of sound: the radio. From there, the spread of the technology allowed for the mass distribution of music and the use of an instrument.
Stage work was not relegated to live performances; it was also used to present special effects for shows. The screen came into play when it came to motion pictures, which made the world of theater better than ever before. The invention of the television brought the wide exposure of these media, but it also caused a great deal of confusion for those who had not yet taken the step into the world of the modern world.
How did this entire phenomenon begin? As technology was introduced and new techniques were discovered, it began to become easier to create stage performances that were more exciting than traditional opera and ballet. Before, opera and ballet were the only two options available to stage performers, and they were both difficult to perform on stages of any size. While theater professionals were not necessarily masters of their craft, they did have to be able to deal with crowd concerns. This led to the creation of mediums such as radio and TV.
The invention of television was also what made stage performances more advanced, because there was no other way to promote them. With the invention of the camera, directors were able to make fantastic art in front of the public and create the right message for the whole country. Thanks to this, stage work was greatly improved and the innovations that came along with the camera allowed for the display of arts of every type.
The progression of the stage work was not an end, but rather a beginning. From the discovery of film, to the invention of radio, to the spread of the TV, stage work and performance techniques became more readily available to the general public. It would not be long before stage performances and acts became more popular than the opera and ballet of old. Not only did stage work became more popular, but so did the progressive era, which is sometimes referred to as the golden age of American theater.
