In seeking to describe the origins of theater, one must rely primarily on speculation,
since there is little concrete evidence on which to draw. The most widely accepted theory,
championed by anthropologists in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, envisions
theater as emerging out of myth and ritual. The process perceived by these anthropologists
may be summarized briefly. During the early stages of its development, a society becomes
aware of forces that appear to influence or control its food supply and well-being. Having
little understanding of natural causes, it attributes both desirable and undesirable
occurrences to supernatural or magical forces, and it searches for means to win the favor
of these forces. Perceiving an apparent connection between certain actions performed by
the group and the result it desires, the group repeats, refines and formalizes those actions
into fixed ceremonies, or rituals.
Stories (myths) may then grow up around a ritual. Frequently the myths include representatives
of those supernatural forces that the rites celebrate or hope to influence. Performers may
wear costumes and masks to represent the mythical characters or supernatural forces in the
rituals or in accompanying celebrations. As a person becomes more sophisticated, its conceptions
of supernatural forces and causal relationships may change. As a result, it may abandon or
modify some rites. But the myths that have grown up around the rites may continue as part of
the group’s oral tradition and may even come to be acted out under conditions divorced from these
rites. When this occurs, the first step has been taken toward theater as an autonomous activity,
and thereafter entertainment and aesthetic values may gradually replace the former mystical and
socially efficacious concerns.
Although origin in ritual has long been the most popular, it is by no means the only theory about
how the theater came into being. Storytelling has been proposed as one alternative. Under this
theory, relating and listening to stories are seen as fundamental human pleasures. Thus, the
recalling of an event (a hunt, battle, or other feat) is elaborated through the narrator’s pantomime
and impersonation and eventually through each role being assumed by a different person.
A closely related theory sees theater as evolving out of dances that are primarily pantomimic,
rhythmical or gymnastic, or from imitations of animal noises and sounds. Admiration for the
performer’s skill, virtuosity, and grace are seen as motivation for elaborating the activities
into fully realized theatrical performances.
In addition to exploring the possible antecedents of theater, scholars have also theorized about
the motives that led people to develop theater. Why did theater develop, and why was it valued
after it ceased to fulfill the function of ritual? Most answers fall back on the theories about
the human mind and basic human needs. One, set forth by Aristotle in the fourth century B.C., sees
humans as naturally imitative—as taking pleasure in imitating persons, things, and actions and in
seeing such imitations. Another, advanced in the twentieth century, suggests that humans have a
gift for fantasy, through which they seek to reshape reality into more satisfying forms than those
encountered in daily life. Thus, fantasy or fiction (of which drama is one form) permits people to
objectify their anxieties and fears, confront them, and fulfill their hopes in fiction if not fact.
The theater, then, is one tool whereby people define and understand their world or escape from
unpleasant realities.
But neither the human imitative instinct nor a penchant for fantasy by itself leads to an
autonomous theater. Therefore, additional explanations are needed. One necessary condition seems
to be a somewhat detached view of human problems. For example, one sign of this condition is the
appearance of the comic vision, since comedy requires sufficient detachment to view some deviations
from social norms as ridiculous rather than as serious threats to the welfare of the entire group.
Another condition that contributes to the development of autonomous theater is the emergence of the
aesthetic sense. For example, some early societies ceased to consider certain rites essential to
their well-being and abandoned them, nevertheless, they retained as parts of their oral tradition
the myths that had grown up around the rites and admired them for their artistic qualities rather
than for their religious usefulness.