THET110NotesOctober 15, 2012What are the difficulties in studying theater history?- We are focusing on Western Theater- We make large generalizations about time and geographies- Theater is ephemeral- There is limited extant (in existence) materialSources of information about Greek Theater- Extant texts- Archeological remains- Visual art – in Greece primarily statues and vase paintings- Commentaries – such as AristotleShakespeare’s The Globe Theater- De witt/Van Buchell drawing of The Swan Theater 1596Origins of Western Theater- Ritual Theorieso Origins of Tragedy – Dithyrambo Choral odes to honor – Dionysuso Origin of comedy – Phallic processions- Gerald Else’s Great Man Theoryo Actor Thespis – stepped out of dithyramb chorus to enact role of god (thespians) o Playwright Aeschylus – introduced second actorAncient Greece- Political structureo Democratico City-states (Polis) Example: Athens – artistic center Sparta – military center Delphi – magic center- Religiono Polytheistico Gods interacted with humans- Cultural Valueso Competitiono Wisdom and reasonDionysus and Theater- God wine, fertility, revelryTheater Practice in Ancient Greece- Occasional and competitiveo Tragedy means “goat song”- Festivalso 534 BC – first festival specifically devoted to theatero After – each year three major festivals - Largest festival was City Dionysiao Five dayso Day 1- processionalo Days 2-4 – playwrights presented a “package” – 3 tragedies and 1 satyr playo Day 5 – comedy- Audience – whole polis (unsure about women/slaves)Theater as a Civic Duty- Choreguso Houses, feeds, and trains chorus actors- Theoric fundo Free tickets for poor AtheniansThree Types of Plays- Tragedy- Comedy- Satyr play- There were thousands of plays written but only 32 tragedies and 12 comedies survive from 4 playwrightsBased on Oedipus, what are the qualities of tragedy?- Part of a trilogy- Based on historical or mythic stories- Feature kings, queen, gods- Hero has a flaw (hamartia) that leads to his/her downfall- Teaches the audience a lesson and allows them to release their emotions (catharsis)Comedy- Everyday people- The main character faces a difficult situation and has “happy idea”- Humor comes from sex jokes, scatological (potty) jokes, and satires of famous peopleSatyr Play- Features the satyr (part man, part goat)- Parodies mythical stories- Only 1 extant satyr play – CyclopsThespis – First “actor”- Aeschylus – earliest play existing, introduced 2nd actor - Sophocles – introduces 3 actors, never have more than 3 on the stage- Euripides – wrote 90 plays, medea, 1st prize five
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