THEA 2040 1nd Edition Exam 2 Study Guide Lectures 8 15 Lecture 8 October 1 Describe the Medieval era The Medieval era was during the fall of Rome and the coming of the Renaissance It was a transitional time with crusades kingdoms and religious revelations Theatre at this time was VERY religious Theatre started with the The trope a series of liturgical elaborations added melody Quem Queritis was a trope from the Easter Mass celebration What is a playlet A playlet is a short play dramatic piece with a variation of tropes Concordia Regularis Was the first full fledged drama with exposition conflict recognition and reversal List qualities of medieval theatre Performed more stories from the bible Costumes and scenery more elaborate More people attending church to watch More actors needed other than just priests and choirboys Not in Latin any more but in vulgar languages of a region English German French Flemish etc Drama became more entertaining Began as springtime religious observance Very public and communal Based on a myth Became function of civic government A way to express religious beliefs What are the lap out of the playlets Stage right of the altar heaven Stage left of the altar hell Houses Mansions Booths each new setting for a scene All scenes were in full view for the audience Who took over the production of plays once the Pope kicked it out of the church Secular authorities and craftsmen guild took over production of plays Craftsmen were in charge of a scene depending on their skill Still Christianized theatre it was a powerful way to teach illiterate population how to act morally List attributes of medieval actors Characters were played by guild members and their friends Comedic roles played by entertainers leftover from classical world Greece and Rome List the qualities of the Mystery Passion Pageant Cycle play 1 They were a series of playlets presented in sequence 2 Inspired by stories from the bible 3 Produced by craftsmen s guilds 4 Lasted a number of days 5 Performed in around on a stage What are the two different types of stages What is a pageant wagon cart Traveling stage and stationary stage Pageant wagon cart horse drawn wagon or two story cart decorated with a set and used as a traveling stage Define mansions Mansions are elaborately crafted temporary stages set up in public squares and moved day to day List and explain two types of plays What are Everyman characters What is an allegory 1 Bible history play includes liturgical mystery cycle etc based on the church liturgy 2 English Morality play based on church sermons used for teaching morals Everyman or Mankind LEAD character has to choose between good and evil Allegory dramatic device in which an actor represents or symbolizes an idea or a moral principle What is the Castle of Perseverance A play that traces the character of mankind from birth to death as he is torn between temptations of the seven deadly sins and attraction of the seven heavenly virtues Lecture 9 October 3 Define the renaissance The renaissance was a rebirth a renewal of interest in classical civilization throughout Western Europe List the medieval influences on the renaissance 1 Disregard to the unity of time and place episodic plot structure 2 Mixture of comedy and tragedy in one scene 3 Historical and Geographical variety 4 Women s part played by men Describe the English Renaissance The English Renaissance is often called Elizabethan Age it refers to the reign of Elizabethan Drama The government rules were as follows plays could be about anything but God an actor has to be financially accounted for by a member of the highest rank in society and one was considered a criminal if you weren t belonging to some patron though actors and playwrights had a new types of intellectual freedom that hasn t existed before What is The Theatre The Theatre was the first theatre built in England in 1576 It was located on the south side of the river outside London the Bankside There were not as many rules for theater on this side of the river List and describe attributes of some Elizabethan playwrights Ben Jonson satirified comedies Thomas Kyd The Spanish Tragedy borrowed from Seneca the bloodthirsty revenge plot Christopher Marlowe manipulated iambic pentameter blank verse William Shakespeare 38 plays 154 sonnets 2 long narrative poems What is The Spanish Tragedy The Spanish Tragedy was a revenge play tragedy that established a new genre in English theater What is Iambic Pentameter Iambic Pentameter is a particular rhythm of words in verse drama and the most common meter in English Poetry List and describe the two major types of Playhouses theatres 1 Public Theater The Globe The design was based on a structure similar to the Coliseum in ancient Rome Its design and architecture was a combination of practical economy and aesthetic design 20 sided Held 1500 3000 people 2 Private Theater The Blackfriar Equipped with artificial lighting Had roofs Catered to the wealthy prices were doubled Only seated 700 What is the name of Shakespeare s Theatre Company Define shareholder Lord Chamberlain s Company was later called The King s Men Shareholder principal actors of an action company who owned a portion of the theater and its profits List and define some other public theater elements Groundlings spectators who stood in pit Raised platform stage neutral playing space Tiring house stage house with 3 levels The gallery more expensive seating for spectators Upper Stage Balcony musicians actors and spectators used this space Tower with a flag a performance is in progress Soliloquy speech addressed directly to the audience breaking the 4 th wall What are the broken rules There are 10 syllables per line rhyme the end of each line and one thought per line ending with a punctuation mark at the end Lecture 10 October 8 What kind of plot does Hamlet have Hamlet has a bloodthirsty revenge plot which was first used by ancient Roman playwright named Seneca Thomas Kyd borrowed the theme to write The Spanish Tragedy during the English Renaissance Then Shakespeare borrowed it to write Hamlet List and briefly describe the characters in Hamlet Hamlet Prince of Denmark depressed wears a lot of black Gertrude Hamlet s mother Ophelia Hamlet s lover Laertes Ophelia s brother Hamlet and him fight because Hamlet killed Polonius Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Claudius wants them to spy on Hamlet The Ghost Hamlet s father revealed the truth of his death Polonius Father of Ophelia and Laertes