What are the difficulties in studying theatre history?We are focusing on Western TheatreWe make large generalizations about time and geographiesTheatre is ephemeralThere is limited extant materialSources of Information about Greek Theatre?Extant textsArchaeological remainsCommentaries – Such as AristotleVisual art – in Greece primarily statues and vase paintingOrigins of Western Theatre?Ritual TheoriesOrigin of Tragedy – Dithyramb – Choral odes to honor DionysusOrigin of Comedy – Phallic processionsGerald Else’s Great Man TheoryActor Thespis – stepped out of dithyramb chorus to enact role of God (Thespians)Playwright Aeschylus – introduced second actorAncient GreecePolitical StructureDemocracyCity-states (polis)i.e. Athens – artistic center, Sparta – military, Delphi – magicReligionPolytheisticGods interact with humansFestivals534 BC First festival specifically devoted to theatreAfter – each year three major festivalsPlaywrights presented a “package” – 3 tragedies plus 1 satyr play = tetralogyAudienceWhole polis (not sure about women and slaves)Theatre as a Civic DutyChoregosHouses, feeds, & trains chorus actorsTheoric FundFree tickets for poor AtheniansThree types of playsTragedyComedySatyrBased on Oedipus, what are the qualities of a tragedy?Part of trilogyBased on historical or mythic storiesHero has a flaw (hamartia) that leads to his/her downfallTeaches the audience a lesson and allows them to release their emotions (catharsis)ComedyEveryday peopleThe main character faces a difficult situation and has “happy idea”Humor comes from sex jokes, scatological (potty) jokes, and satires of famous peopleSatyr PlayFeatures the satyr (part man, part goat)Written to accompany tragediesParodied mythical storiesOnly one extant satyr play – CyclopsOnly 32 tragedies and 12 comedies survived from 4 playwrights out of thousands of plays.Thespis: The first actorThree major playwrightsAeschylus (525-456BC)Sophocles (496-406BC)Euripides (485-406BC)Greek Theatre practiceActorsAll menMaximum of 3Exempt from militaryChorusBetween 14-50 menCharactersSource of discussion with protagonistIdeal spectatorTell audience what to think about what is going onSpectacleDancing – Strophe and AntistropheCharacteristics of the physical theatreTheatron – “seeing place”Up to 15,000 seatsOrchestra – “dancing place”Skene – building at the back. Façade StageParados – entry waysThymele – altarSpecial effectsThe EkkyklemaRevolving or rolling platform hidden behind skene doorsThe MechaneCrane standing behind the skeneUsed for appearance of gods“Dues ex machine” (god from the machine)Epochs in Pre-Modern Theatre History:Greek Theatre (625 BCE- 330 BCE)Roman Theatre (342 BCE- 553 CE)Medieval Theatre (600 CE- 1300 CE)Renaissance Theatre (1300 CE – early 1600s CE)PART 1: ROMAN THEATRE“Anything Greece can do I can do better!”Scenae Frons: ornamented building behind the stage/used as a backdrop for the play. More of a decoration than addition to the play.Vitruvius (80 BCE – 15 CE):Roman ArchitectWrote De Architectura (On Architecture), with a chapter on building theatres.Would be rediscovered in RenaissanceRoman Comic Playwrights:Plautus ( 254 BCE – 184 BCE)Widely popular comic playwrightVery influential in RenaissanceMenaechmi is source for Shakespeare’s Comedy of ErrorsTerrence (185 – 159 BCE)Wrote 6 plays, all surviveCombined multiple Greek sources into one play (which he was criticized for)Everyday language (used less complicated meter)Roman Tragic Playwright:Seneca (5 BCE – 65 CE)Most famous Roman TragedianAll are adapted from Greek originalsMay not have been publicly presentedFamous for rhetoric and aphorismViolent and sensationalThyestes has bodies of children baked and eatenIn his version of Oedipus…She slits her stomach open on stage! Versus where she hangs herself and the chorus says she died a tragic death in original.Roman Spectacle EntertainmentChariot racingHorse racing, wrestling, boxingGladiatorial contestsWild animal fightsMock sea battlesBuilt arenas (coliseum) and circuses (circus maximus)Fall of RomeRoman military was over-extendedRoman mercenaries (foreigners) revoltedRoman administration breaks down (empire too big to control)Raiding “barbarians” attacked infrastructure (like water supply)The Church was left to pick up the piecesDecline of Empire/Rise of ChristendomInitially it was “illegal” to be Christian in RomeChristians were among persecuted groups(Tertullian: “To the lions”!)311 CE- Constantine made it legal to be Christian380 CE- Theodosius I made Christianity the official religion of the Roman EmpireRome was first sacked in 410 CE, last emperor deposed in 476 CE.Pope Gregory I picks up the pieces in 590 CE.PART 2: MEDIEVAL THEATRETrends in Anti-Theatricalism:Plato’s Republic: Theatre (like mythology) is lying and distracts us from what is True.Tertullian: Theatre (like gladiatorial games) is a mob enjoying violent spectacle.Renaissance critics: Theatre (like dance or prostitution) is the body on display for sale.English and American critics: Theatre (like gambling and gaming) is a waste of time and money because it won’t last! Don’t waste time.Church Theatre?The Medieval Church is opposed to theatre.Very little survives about secular theatreEventually the Church starts to use performance in its business.Medieval Theatre: Mystery PlaysTell stories from the Bible or lives of the saintsPart of festivalsGuilds fund and performUse festivals to promote work/have funInside Church or outside on “floats”Major type is: “Passion Play”Has to do with last week of Jesus’s life (arrest, trial, execution, resurrection). Passion meant suffering.Medieval Theatre: Morality PlaysStories about virtue and how to liveAllegorical (symbolic)Main character: “Everyman” or “Mankind”Virtue Characters: Prudence, Charity, Justice, Hope, TemperanceVice Characters: Pride, Lust, Envy, DeathPART 3: THE RENAISSANCERenaissance (from French) or Rinascimento (Italian) mean “rebirth”Begins in 1300 in Italy and slowly spreads through Europe (different countries had “Renaissance” at different times)Greek and Roman ideas are rediscovered (in libraries or through archaeology)Printing Press (1440) and travel spread ideasRediscovering Theatrical LiteratureRe-learning Greek (Ottoman Empire)Finding extant Greek plays: Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and AristophanesLatin as lingua franca (something in common)Finding
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