An unusually rich variety of forms of performance linked to seasonal, religious, and rural celebrations still survive in certain Polish villages, especially in the southern region. These performances are not staged for tourists as “folk theater” but are part of an authentic, on-going peasant tradition. They survive in surprising strength. Their existence does not seem to be well known among Poland's urban populace, perhaps due in part to the centuries-old schism between peasant and non-peasant classes in Polish culture.

Two examples of such performance are the King Herod Play, a short folk piece about the fall of King Herod performed by village school boys from door to door on Christmas Eve, and the mountain “Vagabonds”—groups of miners and farmers who dress up as gypsies, goats, horses, shepherds, Jews, Death, clowns, old men, devils and so forth, and run rhythmically through their village at New Year's, pausing occasionally to engage onlookers in improvised scenes, to play pranks, and to act out pantomime scenarios of probably pre-Christian origin.

The people involved in these events do not label their activity “theatre.” Nor do they use a theatre vocabulary to describe what they do.

It is true, as Ruth Finnegan has observed, that “with a few possible exceptions, there is no tradition in Africa of artistic performances which includes all the elements which might be demanded in a strict definition of drama—or at least not with the emphases to which we are accustomed (Finnegan, 516).” Drama in the accepted sense of the term, as a situational interaction expressed in dialog between characters, is found in a number of rudimentary forms, in simple comedies, and in puppet plays. However, several African performance modes that verge upon drama may be considered as types or aspects of theatre. To be sure, a concept of theatre might well include dance and almost anything “dramatic” done before an audience. But since there is little sense in applying the term indiscriminately, as certain studies of African theatre have tended to do, it would seem best to focus on what might be called theatre only in its relationship to the concept and definition of drama.

Indian traditional theatre, like all Asian theatre, is a participative theatre, aiming at the closest possible relationship between the actor and the audience; it is this objective that determines in many ways the principles and practices of the scenography.

Most of the traditional theatre performances are open-air events, organized on the level ground, a platform stage, or as a mobile processional spectacle. They are presented in fields after the harvest, streets, open spaces outside town (often permanently designated for performances), fairs, markets, and—especially for the Ramayana and the Krishna legend shows—temple gardens, riverbanks, market squares, and courtyards. The idea of dramatic performs being an open-air street show is so basic that the very name of some of these presentation denotes this. The therrukkuthu of Tamilnadu is one such form: Terru means “street” and kultu means “play.” Another form is Veethinatakam: Veethi means “street”; natakam is “play.” The performances are social events not separated from the community activity.

The Sorrentine Peninsula juts into the Mediterranean about twenty miles below Naples. Its southern shore, although part of the same peninsula, is referred to as the Amalfi Coast. The famous Amalfi Drive winds along this shore from Positano to Vietrisul-Mare, offering travelers spectacular views of cliffs and sea. Here the scenery seems to epitomize that phenomenal blend of sea and mountain beauty so often found along the coasts of Southern Italy. The ritual life of this Sorrentine-Amalfatine peninsula is as theatrical as its landscape: processions, scenic representations, and occasional dramas blossom colorfully and prolifically during the varied seasons of the Roman Catholic liturgical year. Easter, Corpus Christi, Christmas, and the feast days of the saints and the Madonna all become occasions of special devotion, merry-making, and the organization of traditional extra-liturgical rituals of a theatrical nature.

For two weeks in late June and early July, 1974, Chicano and Latin-American theatre groups held a festival in Mexico City and at the Pyramids of Teotihuacan and Tajfn. It was unique as international festivals go, for unlike the festivals at Avignon, Nancy, Spoleto, Dubrovnik, Edinburgh, and Sao Paulo, the gathering in Mexico was not sponsored by an agency of the establishment as a tourist attraction. Instead, it was sponsored by two alternative theatre organizations having an affinity with indigenous culture on the two continents—the Chicano organization Teatro Nacional de Aztlan (TENAZ) and the Centro Libre de Experimentacion Teatral y Artistica (CLETA) of Mexico. The theme of the festival was “One Continent, One Culture, for a Free Theatre and for Liberation.” There is an assumption that the United States government has divided America and not merely by building the Panama Canal.

Among the ancient Aztecs and Mayans, the sign of the serpent was often one of rebirth and transfiguration. So it is with the Mexican and Chicano of today—heirs of those moss-covered symbols etched on stone—who are using La Serpiente to signify change. Like the serpent that sheds its old skin, The Teatro Campesino of San Juan Bautista, California, is growing into a new way of life that revolves around the spiritual and material reconquest of their Indian origins.

Luis Valdez and his gente (people) have expanded into El Centro CampesinoCultural (Farmworkers Cultural Center), which is situated on forty acres of land. The center includes, besides the Teatro, facilities for creating music, publications, paintings, videotapes, and films. It also will house the more than thirty members (ranging in age from a year to thirty-four) of the Teatro as well as sheep, cows, chickens, and horses.

Women's theatre groups are seeking new forms—forms that have not been derived from the male-oriented and male-dominated theatre that now exists. A search for new content also characterizes these groups, but their most important aspect is their relationship with their audiences. The theatre done by these groups is aimed at a specialized audience and often is performed exclusively for that audience—women. Almost all of the women's theatre groups reserve at least one of their performances for women only, and most prefer to play only for women, even when they admit men.

While women's theatre groups exist in many cities throughout the country, New York provides a base for a large number of troupes. Many of these groups maintain themselves by touring colleges, universities, and women's centers throughout the United States and Canada.