Desde cero magazine. year 5, 7th edition, 2018

The Oxford dictionary defines history as "the study of past events, particularly in human affairs." Throughout the ages, historians have chronicled significant events. Historians have, however, persistently ignored theater, despite theater's role as an essential means of both entertainment and free expression. The theater is a fundamental, elementary part of human history. If you are a scholar of theater history, you know that theater is not relegated to a formal or specific event in history; on the contrary, every aspect of theater continually responds to contemporary events. The theater is a mirror, reflecting the society that cultivates it.

The theater is one of humankind's oldest art forms. One of homo sapiens first plays manifested as hunters explaining to their tribe how their hunt went. Indeed, some hunters exaggerated how furious their prey was and how much bravery they put forth to acquire their sumptuous meal. This acting to express a story or sentiment developed in many aspects of ancient religion. 

The shaman or high priest would perform a ritual to manifest the glory of the gods. Although anthropologists agree that every ancient culture manifested some form of theatrical behavior in their cultural expression, historians have traditionally relegated theater to a lower level of importance- yet theater has long been used to tell humanity's stories and be an inseparable part of the story of humanity.

By studying the history of theater, formal events in history can be contextualized. When each historical epoch can be understood in its framework, then each time's motives, culture, and politics become clearer. Social forces propel formal events, and these formal events drive theater; theater pushes social forces, and thus there is a chain forged between concrete, the formal history which is ever linked with the more ephemeral topic of the human spirit and expression. Hence the study of theater and formal history are not contrary; they are complementary.  

The study of theater contributes valuable insights into the field of formal history; these include four different topics in particular:

o Social forces (politics, religions, and Psychology)

o Literature & performances 

o Technology  

o Architecture

Using these topics as a basic framework, formal history could use the history of theatre to contribute relevant information to understanding formal historical events. One of the most common questions in this debate is: Is theater history relevant? The answer should be easy. Every theatric text and script can be considered a reliable source to shed valuable information on how people of different ages think, behave, and operate in day-to-day life. 

The history of theatre can also explain how political affairs were managed and the government-run as well as the ordinary person's perception of the government. Both disciplines don't have to walk different paths; as a matter of fact, the convergence of the two provides a mutual depth of understanding. In the following articles, we will explain how every topic of the history of theatre reflects the society of every epoch.