Greek Theater

Historical Context

The Greek Theater• 5th Century B. C.• Golden Age of Greek Drama• Dramatic festivals were popular• People witnessed tragic and comic plays

The role of “drama” in the ancient Greek culture was a

specific one: it played a significant part in the religious

rites of the period.

GREEK THEATRE• Religious festival in honor of the

God DIONYSUS; the God of Wine and Fertility

• Held in Athens• The festival was thought to have

lasted anywhere from 7 to 15 days

• Playwrights would enter plays into a contest; the winner won money and a ivy wreath as a symbol of victory

• Greek plays were performed during religious ceremonies held in honor of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and revelry (altars generally on stage)

• Banks would shut down for days, people would travel from all around to see the drama competitions—even prisoners were temporarily released to see the plays

• Tragedy means “goat song” (relates to Dionysian rituals)

The Myths – Why they were written

1. Explained the unexplainable2. Justified religious practices3. Gave credibility to leaders4. Gave hope5. Polytheistic (more than one

god)6. Centered around the twelve

Olympians (primary Greek gods)

Lycurgus established a library in 330BC, which was the only way in which we have any record of any of these early Greek works.

While the Greeks were great at writing plays, they were not so great at keeping them for future reading, most of the early great works were lost.

How do we know about the Greeks?

Literary Elements

GREEK THEATRE• COMEDY: main character achieves his goals• TRAGEDY: main character suffers and does

not achieve his goals• SATYR (satire): made fun of Greek legends• All of these play types were written and

performed during this time period… although the interpretation of these art forms has evolved they are still the general dramatic forms still written and performed at present

GREEK PLAYWRIGHTS• SOPHOCLES: wrote tragedies; Oedipus Rex• AESCHYLUS: wrote tragedies• EURIPIDES: wrote tragedies• ARISTOPHANES: wrote comedies• MENANDER: wrote comedies

Sophocles

•A performer Sophocles (496-406 BC)

The Ancient Greek Plays & Playwrights

•Introduction of the third actor•His works became more actor-lead rather than chorus-lead•Wrote over 100 plays – 20 won him first prize

ONLY SEVEN TEXTS SURVIVED

Ajax, The Trachiniae, Philoctetes, Electra

THE THEBAN LEGEND: His only remaining trilogy consists of “Oedipus Rex,” “Oedipus at Colonus,” and “Antigone.”

GREEK THEATRE• Greek philosopher ARISTOTLE wrote

the work The Poetics about important topics of theatre such as…

• PLOT (what happens)• THEME (the ideas and messages)• CHARACTER, MUSIC, DICTION

(speech)• SPECTACLE (what is seen) were

discussed… these topics are still the primary focus of theatre actors and directors in modern theatre

The Storyline

Main Character is of the Elite Class

Main Character suffers a Downfall

– He loses everything

Main Character is Neither all good

nor all bad

Downfall is the result of a Fatal Flaw – a character flaw

(pride/ambition/greed, etc.)

Misfortunes involve characters who are related or who are

friends

Tragic actions take place offstage

Main Character has a moment of

recognition – understanding what

he’s done wrong

Audience experiences pity

and fear

Pity and Fear leads to a catharsis

Technical Elements

The Greek Stage

Dionysus Theater in Athens

Orchestra: a circular area with an altar in the center where the performances took place

Skene: A building behind everything in which the actors changed costumes

The Ancient Greek Theatre Space

Audience: Usually the theatre spaces were built into hillsides and the seating was arranged in a large semi-circle

Periaktos: Triangle prisms which could be pivoted to reveal three different backgrounds

Deus ex Machina: (god from the machine) a crane-like machine that was used to lower an actor, playing the part of god, onto the stage in order to fix the problems at hand

DIAGRAM OF AN ANCIENT GREEK THEATER SPACE

You might wish to copy this down, this looks strikingly similar to the diagram that you will be drawing and labeling on the test.

The Stage

Modern Theater designed to look like one in Ancient Greece

Masks

Masks of Greek Theater

Masks of Greek Theater

Modern-day replicas

Hero-King

Comedy (Servant or Herald )

Tragedy (Weeping Chorus)

The masks were worn for many reason including:

1. Visibility--The mask was designed to be oversized in order to better convey the expressed emotion to an audience in a large theater.

2. Sound -- Some masks were designed with a megaphone-like mouth-piece in order to help the actor “project” his voice.

3. Few Actors, Many Roles --Masks also allowed for one actor to play many different parts in the course of one play.

4. Characterization Video

Some general categories of masks

1. OLD MEN --Smooth-Faced, White, Grizzled, Black-Haired, Flaxen and More Flaxen

2. YOUNG MEN--Common, Curled, More Curled, Graceful, Horrid, Pale and Less Pale

3. SLAVES--Leathern, Peaked-Beard, Flat Nose

4. WOMEN--Freed Old Woman, Old Domestic, Middle Aged, Leathern, Pale-Disheveled, Pale Middle Aged, Whorish-Disheveled, Virgin, Girl

5. SPECIALIST MASKS--Some made for specific characters, others for: Mourning, Blindness, Deceit, Drunkenness...etc. (The comic masks, those especially of old comedy, were as like as possible to true persons they represented, or made to appear more ridiculous)

Performance Elements

THE CHORUS

a group of actors onstage who often spoke in unison to prepare the audience for what is about to happen or what has just taken place

Greek Theatre and the Chorus

Origins• Greek theatre

evolved from ritual and dance with a strong choral focus, to greater emphasis upon dramatic action.

Dionysus• The choric

dithyrambs (choral songs) were originally about the death and resurrection of Dionysus (the god of wine and fertility).

Narration• The first function of the chorus was as

narrator (telling stories, providing information).

• The purpose of the chorus was to bridge the gap between the audience and the players and to intensify the emotion.

Function• The functions of the chorus:

    · Maintain a sense of ceremony and ritual     · Establish a lyric mood through rhythmic chanting and dance     · Reinforce the passions of the dramatic action     · Connect the audience and the actors by making responses and asking questions     · Unite music, dance, and speech and connect dramatic episodes

Music and Song• The chorus could

punctuate the action of a play with bursts of song and dance, which enlarged the dramatic action and relieved tension.

• Instruments used to accompany choric songs and dances included flutes, lyres, horns, drums, and bells.

Chorus in-role• When the first actor stepped out of the

chorus and assumed a role, the chorus was then able to assume a role as well (i.e. If the actor was playing a god, the chorus could become his worshippers).

Objective vs. Subjective

• The chorus could work within the limits of the action as characters, or from outside the action as impartial commentators.

Guide for the Audience• The chorus was the ideal spectator. It

provided commentary and questions, gave opinions and warnings, and clarified experiences and feelings of characters in everyday terms. The chorus sympathized with victims, reinforced facts, separated episodes, and often served as spokespeople for the conservative members of the community.

Rehearsal• Choruses probably did not rehearse in the

theatres in which they later performed. Not wanting spectators to see the play before the festivals, they probably rehearsed in a closed rehearsal room.

• Early dramatists (Aeschylus and probably Sophocles and Euripides) taught their own choruses.

Size of the Chorus• As the number of

actors increased from one to three, the size of the chorus, which originally numbered 50, was reduced.

• The ‘Parados’ (chorus entrance) marks the beginning of the play, and the exodus (its exit) the ending.

Civic Responsibility• Members of the

chorus were chosen from the general population.

• Chorus members were unpaid volunteers doing their civic duty.

• The rehearsal period for a chorus was likely four months or more.

Supported by Community

• The chorus was trained and costumed at state expense through a choregos (a wealthy citizen) who chose this job as his way of paying taxes and raising his standing in the community.

GREEK THEATRE• THESPIS is credited as the first actor;

stepped away from the chorus and delivered lines independently from the chorus (International Thespian Society is named in his honor); actors are generally referred to as thespians

Gender

• Male actors performed all the roles• Actors switched masks to play a number of roles – both female and male

One last Video