03 03 2014 14 54 00 non cumulative 3 11 13 Theatre History Theatre of Ancient Greece Challenges in Theatre History What are the difficulties in studying theatre history No dates Focus on Western Theatre Theatre is ephemeral Making large generalizations about time and geographies There is limited extant actual evidence existing material The Swan Theatre looks like the Shakespeare Globe Theatre De Witt was a traveller who made a sketch of the Swan theatre and wrote the description about it Sources of information Extant texts texts that are in existence There were thousands of plays written but only 32 tragedies and 12 comedies are in existence from 4 playwrights Archeological remains Visual art in Greece Primarily statues and vase painting Commentaries such as Aristotle Origin of tragedy dithyramb Choral odes to honor Dionysus Origins of Western Theatre Ritual theories Dionysus God of Wine Fertility Revelry Theatre Origin of Comedy Phallic processions Gerald Else s Great Man Theory Actor Thespis stepped out of dithyramb chorus to enact role of God Thespians And Playwright Aeschylus introduced second actor Ancient Greece Political Structure Democratic City states polis ie Athens artistic center Sparta militant Dephi Magic Religion Polytheistic multiple gods that explain different phenomenon s and the gods interact closely with humans Cultural Values Competition Wisdom and Reason Rhetoric and oratory Theatre practice in Ancient Greece Occasional and Competitive o Tragedy means goat song Festivals o 534BC first festival specifically devoted to theatre o After each three major festivals Largest festival was in City Dionysia o Five days o Day 1 processional o Day 2 4 3 playwrights presented a package 3 tragedies plus 1 satyr play o Day 5 Comedy Audience Theatre as a Civic Duty o Whole polis not sure about women and slaves Choregos funds the playwright moved with military precision o Houses feeds trains chorus actors Theoric Fund o Free tickets for poor Athenians Three types of play Comedies Tragedies Satyr Based on Oedipus What are the qualities of a tragedy Part of a trilogy Based on historical or mythic stories Feature kings queens and 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 a happy idea plan to fix the situation Humor comes from sex jokes scatological potty jokes and satires of famous people Lysistrata in Translation different words but same general idea Satyr play Features of satyr part man part goat Parodied mythical stories Only one extant satyr play Cyclops Thespis the first actor Stepped out of the dithyramb to play the role of God Aeschylus earliest introduced the second actor shrank the chorus Sophocles introduced 3rd actor focus on hubris Euripides plays were more sensational more violent plots 3 13 13 03 03 2014 14 54 00 Comic Playwright Aristophanes Only examples of ancient comedy Wrote 44 plays 11 extant The Frogs The Birds Lysistrata Greek theatre Practice actors All men Maximum of 3 Exempt from military seeing Between 50 14 men o Characters The Chorus Tell the audience what to think about what they are o Source of discussion with protagonist o Ideal spectator o Spectacle Dancing Strophe and Antistrophe Characteristics of the physical theatre Greece Theatron seeing place o Up to 15000 seats Orchestra dancing place o Parados Wings entrance exit Skene building at the back o Fa ade stage changing place to change costumes and come out as a different character The Ekkyklema revolving or rolling platform hidden behind skene Special Effects doors The Mechane o Crane standing behind the skene o Used for appearance of gods o Deus ex machine god from the machine Music flute Costumes o Tragedy Robes and accessories to show character o Comedy Satyr Padded body suits Phallus o Chorus All costumes alike May be human or mythical animal Masks and shoes o Masks Actors could play multiple characters Had emblems to communicate gender race job Later developed built in megaphone o Shoes Platform shoes high heel shoes Theatre in Rome Adapted from Greek drama Actors all male and masked similar with Greece Comedy more popular than tragedy stories in tragedies are similar to Greece adapted from the same text for greece theatre was civic discussion Rome it was entertainment o Different style of comedy than in Greece More like a sit com More and more festivals Ludi to distract the population as situation Theatre setup was similar to Greece theatron seating area etc got worse 3 25 13 200BC 11 days of performance 27BC 43 days of festival By the end of the Roman empire there were 100 days of Ludi Mimes Men and Women unmasked Usually in private small events Gladiatorial combats War had been converted into a game a drama repeatedly replayed of cruelty violence blood and death Bestiarii beast fights battles Naumachia Naval battles Flooded the coliseum and recreated Anti Theatrical Prejudices in Rome religious opposition in theatre The Medieval Period Roman emperor Constantine moved the Roman capital to Constantinople 330AD Fall of Rome 476AD Approx 500 years without theatre Middle Ages or Medieval Period Power of Church After 10C AD church uses theatre for church teachings Most work attributed to Anonymous since it was about glory of God rather than individual Quem Quaeritis reemergence of theatre The Renaissance or Rebirth Return from Middle Ages Return to Classics of Greece and Rome Humanism free will Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation and Henry VIII and Anglican Church Trade and Age of Exploration Gutenberg and Printing Press o Bibles printed in vernacular everyday language previously it was in Latin which most people couldn t read Stage Craft in the Italian Renaissance Elizabethan England 1588 English defeated the Spanish Armada Religious stability secured Anglican power Patron of the Arts Elizabethan Theatre Staging Practice Public theatre Private theatre Blackfriars Theatre private Shakespeare s plays year round Locations of theatres outside the city number of different theatre Characteristics of the Theatre Polygon Partial Roof Many level auditorium held approx 2500 Yard groundlings where the commoners stood Characteristics of the Stage Raised Thrust Stage Traps Backed by Tiring House fa ade stage like a skene house Heavens Discovery space Bare stage 3 27 Scenery Elsinore A Platform before the castle For
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