How does the knowledge of historical periods impact overall production value?

Having at least a basic knowledge on the historical period from which the play you're witnessing was written in usually allows you to have a better understanding of the script and the meanings behind the phrases, if the original text is being used. To put it simply, it basically allows you to put everything into context, and better grasp the subtler messages and meanings woven into the very fabric of the work of art. 

The humor, choice of costume and the character's behavior will often appear clearer, with a logic that you can trace and comprehend. Therefore your knowledge of historical periods enriches your experience as a spectator, actor, or even as a director. It allows you to set your sights in the right places, and watch/ act/ set the stage with the frame of mind that the author originally intended.

A reason for practice..

“All the world's a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed.” 

― Seán O'Casey

The Stage

“The stage is not merely the meeting place of all the arts, but is also the return of art to life.” – Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) was an Irish writer and poet, particularly remembered for his epigrams and plays[1].

This quote reflects the qualities and importance of the stage – albeit built and beautiful or a couple square meters of clear earth in the center of the market place, it matters not. The stage is the center of the actors’ universe – it’s the space wherein the story is reality, the focus that draws the audience’s attention, the paper on which the message is written.

The stage can also be considered to be a melting pot of the arts – various talents collide and mingle upon it; dance, song, dramatic arts, comedy, action and romance (etc.) all clash and mix on a single platform.

But art, especially in the theatrical domain, often looses some of its ‘life’ and energy when one reads it as a play, depending on the vitality of said readers imagination, and thus their ability to mentally visualize the performance, bringing it to life.

Therefore, seeing the art performed on stage fills in the gaps that caused the play to fall flat mentally, but allows for the performance to be embellished and spring to life.

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[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Wilde

Shakespeare's wisdom

"Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind." 

- Act I, Scene I, A Midsummer's Night Dream, William Shakespeare