Roman Theatre

Horace 65-8 BCE

• Son of freed slave• Father sent him to Athens and Rome for

education to eventually get high government post

• Supported poet, was given a farm by patron• Often called Rome’s Aristotle

• Theatre of Pompey 55 BCE• Before Theatre of Pompey, theatres were

temporary structures• Roman officials opposed theatre buildings• Pompey insisted the theatre was a religious

due to the shrine

• 8,000 to 25,000 • Freestanding• Orchestra was semicircle and used for seating• Comfort – Awnings – “air conditioning”

Stage Craft

• Plays did not require unique environments• Periaktoi, auleum (front curtain) and siparium

(painted backdrop)• Stage too big for curtains

Ars Poetica/ Art of Poetry

Horace was known to Renaissance scholars before Aristotle, so Horace was the basis of many theatre “rules”

Horace’s Rules

• 3 Actor Rule• Don’t mix comedy and tragedy• Plays should have 5 acts• Gods should not be brought in to resolve a

play unless absolutely necessary. • Drama’s purpose is to “profit and please” or

entertain and instruct.

Decorum

–Character actions and words must fit traditional ideas of behavior for the character type•Age, gender, social status, emotional state

–nothing extreme or fantastical

Horace’s Chorus

• Should be used to move the action forward• High moral tone• Give good counsul

Acting Companies

• Local government managed festivals and hired acting troupes

• Unofficial competition• Troupes managed by the dominus– lead actor, financier, bought scripts– Actors were called historiones– Actors may have been slaves– Actors could earn wealth and respect• Aesopus and Roscius

Popular Entertainment

• Colossseum• Circus Maximus