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There are quite a lot of different forms, depending on how you divide them up. Classical dramatic theater with actors on stage is probably the most well-known, but alongside that there's also musical theater like opera and operetta, where singing takes center stage. Then there's dance theater and ballet, where movement plays the main role, and puppet cinema or puppet theater, which is especially interesting for kids.
On top of that, there are more experimental forms like performance art or street theater, where the boundaries between audience and performer blur. Cabaret and variety acts are their own thing too, because they're often very direct and humorous. Then there's regional stuff like mystery plays or traditional forms in different cultures. Some people also distinguish by size and setting - so chamber plays in smaller spaces versus big stages - or by subject matter, for example tragedies versus comedies. But the boundaries are fluid there, and many modern productions mix several forms together.
The question is actually harder to answer than it sounds - depending on whether you're distinguishing by era, performance style, or audience, the answer changes completely. 🎭 What hasn't been mentioned yet: many modern theaters also work with documentary material or everyday scenes (documentary theater, verbatim theater), where it's less about acting in the classical sense and more about authentic statements and stories told directly by real people.
You really notice how much room there is for experimentation with experimental theater - I once went to a performance where the audience itself was part of the action and walked around on stage, totally different from classical theater. Then there's musical theater, dance theater, puppet theater, street theater, and stuff like immersive theater, where the whole venue becomes the stage. Depending on whether you're looking at the performance style, the story, or the production design, different forms fit together or don't.
If you really want to understand all the forms, you need to distinguish between what's happening on stage and how the audience relates to it. Some people categorize by genres (drama, comedy, tragedy), others by the style of performance (realistic, absurd, documentary). Then there are forms like musical theatre, dance theatre, puppet theatre, or mime, where spoken language doesn't play the main role at all. Improvisation is also its own category - totally different from fully scripted productions.
What the previous answers have already hinted at, but maybe not clearly enough: the line between the forms gets really blurry. Street theatre can be experimental or traditional, the stage itself can look classical or radically new. A practical tip if you want to get your head around this - just look at what's playing in your city right now and go see it. You'll notice the differences live much better than if you read definitions. Some theatres also have program booklets that explain what they're doing and why.
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