Greece is western □We focus on western theatreWe make large generalizations about time and geographiesTheatre is ephemeralThousands of plays written in Ancient Greece, but less than 50 survived□There is limited extant (existing) materialDifficulties in studying theatre history○Theatre History-Buchnell's drawing of the Swan Theatre is what was used to determine what Shakespeare's theatre looked like○Shakespeare's "The Globe" Theatre-Texts in existence give us clues on what Greek Theatre was likeExtant texts○Theatres that were built of stone help us visualize the architechtureArchaeological remains○In Greece, it was primarily statues and vase paintingsPronomos vase (approx. 400 BC)Visual art○AristotleCommentaries○Sources of information about Greek Theatre-80 years of Poetics○Comedy: mocking men in powerTragedy: big themesSatyr plays: making fun of the tragic protagonistsGenres○Battle of Salamis --> Greeks wonPeloponnesian War --> between Athens and Sparta; Sparta wonEnd of Golden Age of Greece between Persian and Peloponnesian WarGolden Age and PericlesAristophanie's "The Frog"Time period (80 years)○Work on the subject of tragedy□Aristotle's "About Poetics"Protagonists of tragic event must be king, salesman, or heroes◊Serious, complete, and of a certain magnitudeWe only experience pity if we witness an undeserved fortune◊Pity and fearPuts him in opposition to Plato (tragedy=moral danger to the citizens)◊Catharsis--purgationTragedy means "goat song" in Greek (sung by goats? Or song with goat prize?)□Tragedy: an imitation of action that is serious, complete, and of certain magnitude, pity and fear, catharsisTragedy○Peripeteia: core of the tragic myth = sudden change of fateHamartia: failure to discern what's rightAristotle's 13th Chapter of Poetics○Greek Tragedy -Final ReviewTuesday, April 08, 20147:57 PM Final Page 1Hamartia: failure to discern what's rightGod of wine/festivals/harvest/fertilitySatyrs: Dionysus' worshippers who sang to him (these became rituals)Dionysus○Tragedy was evolved from satyric play by a transformation in which the subject matter was gradually enlarged and comic element discarded□Aristotle's 4th chapter of PoeticsSatyric play--Dithyramb○Dialogue between lyrics and verbal part/between chorus and the actor□Dionysiac cult song chanted by a chorus and its leaderThespis steps out of Dithyramb and enacts DionysusDithyramb: means 2 doors--twice the door of lifeDithyramb○Dionysus NOT a part of the Olympic circlePolitical aspect: Aristocracy-->Democracy (more about citizens)Tragedy and Dionysus○Dionysus of Lenaea-->comedyDionysus Eleutherus-->tragedyThe festivals were competitions and happened twice every yearCity Dionysiac Festival○Skini: stageDeus ex machina: balconyOrchestraEkkyklima: moving platform that allows the audience to see what's going on inside of the house/palaceChoros: chorusNo drop curtain--one act playSpace○Chorus: provides the money for the play (choregos)Weakness of action--predict (prognosis): when drama rises, lyricism dropsChorus○Number of actors in Aeschylus was 2, Sophocles was 3, Euripides was moreForm○Athenian citizensTheorika Fund: fund that came from the city of Athens to the poor people who couldn't afford ticketsAudience○Most of his tragedies take their heroes' names (human centered)He lived through the Golden EraMortals control their choices, but not their destinySophocles○Dramatic irony: when the audience knows something before the protagonistTragic conflict because he's trying to find out who killed his father, but it was himHubris: much pride/self-confidenceOedipus (430-420 BC?)○Occasional and competitiveDifferent days with different plays (tragedy, satyr, comedy)□Large festival was City DionysiaTheatre practice in Greece○Adapted from Greek TheatreActors all male and maskedComedy more popular than tragedy (more like a sit-com)Rome (240 BC - 476 AD)○Rome, Medieval, and Renaissance Theatre- Final Page 2Comedy more popular than tragedy (more like a sit-com)Performed at festivals called Ludi, along with other entertainment200 BC: 11 days of performance□27 BC: 43 days of Ludi□By the end of the Roman Empire, there were 100 days of Ludi□Mimes: men and women (unmasked)□Gladiator combat: people were captured, trained, and fought to death for entertainment□Christians were a threat and would often be chosen for thisBestiarii: gladiators fought wild animals to the death□Naumachia: coliseum where they fought to death□The church said it was taking over the BibleAnti-theatrical prejudice in Rome□Paratheatricals at the Ludi "Bread and Circuses"Roman Emperor Constantine moved Roman capital to Constantinople Fall of Rome - 476 ADPower of church, approx. 50 years without theatreAfter 10 C AD, Church uses theatre for religious teachingsQuem quaeritis: return of theatre with religious textsPageant wagon: parade route that would go around and reenact Bible storiesMedieval Period○Return to classics of Greece and RomeHumanism: free willYou wrote for the glory of God□The most common playwright was anonymousMartin Luther and the Protestant Reformation (1517) and Henry VIII (1540) and Anglican ChurchTrade and Age of ExplorationBibles printed in vernacular □Now you can read it in your own language□Gutenberg and Printing Press (1454)1588: English defeated Spanish Armada□Religious stability: secured Anglican power □Patron of the arts□Indoor, inside city limits, more expensive◊Private theatres (ex: Blackfriar)Outdoor, outside city limits, less expensive◊Public theatres (ex: The Globe)Staging practice□Elizabethan England (1558 - 1603)Bear baiting: dogs and bears would be released and fought to their death in The Bear GardenShakespeare's theatre□Built in 1599, burned in 1613□Polygon□Partial roof□The floor was called the Yard and these were the cheap seats (groundings stand here)□Many levels (held approx. 1500 people)□Thrust stage that's raisedTraps: things below the stage can come upBacked by Tiring House (façade stage serving as a set piece)Above stage are Heavens (zodiac on ceiling)Discovering spaceBare stageCharacteristics:□The Globe TheatreRenaissance (or Rebirth) (14 C to 17 C)○ Final Page
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