Theatre History

Take Notes now…because you will not be able to use them on the test at the end…

Greek and RomanTheater

“Drama…an imitation of action not the action itself.”

-Aristotle

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.

Thank you to Lycurgus who, aside from giving us that great name which I will

probably give to my first born son, also 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?

Thespis, was the earliest recorded theater practitioner. He was the first

recorded winner of the competition for the performance of tragic plays. It is unclear whether he was an actor, a

playwright, a priest, or all or some of these.

I am a “Thespian”

His name lives on in the word “Thespian,” which is the name for

someone who practices the art of the theater.

Greek Theater

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. Only if you

want…I don’t want to bother you…

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

Proskenion: a raised platform that supported a small stage.

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

large semi-circle

Eccyclema: a platform on wheels used to display the effects of violence within a play

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

The Ancient Greek Theatre Space

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

THE CHORUSa 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.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0nRJC4rPEg

The mask was designed to be oversized in order to better convey the expressed emotion to an

audience in a large theater.

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

voice.

Masks also allowed for one actor to play many different parts in the course of one play.

The Mask

What does it mean to “project” your voice?

The Tragedy: A play in which the main character(s) struggle against an outside force, and usually comes

to a disastrous conclusion. Most of the successful surviving Greek plays were in the “tragic” form.

Comedies: conventionally divided into three periods, Old Comedy, Middle Comedy, and New Comedy. Old comedy was the

favorite because it poked fun at politics.

THE TRILOGY

The Ancient Greek Plays & Playwrights

Tragedies were often presented in threes, connected by a theme or storyline, and then

followed by a comic piece called a “satyr play” The Satyr play: These plays were used to “sugar the pill” of the tragedy and would often pick up the same

story-line and poke fun at it. Sometimes these would be

indecent or base.

Sophocles (496-406 BC)The Ancient Greek Plays & Playwrights

•Introduction of the third actor•His works became more actor-lead rather than

choric-lead – “characterization by action”•Wrote 123 plays – 20 won him first prize

ONLY SEVEN TEXTS SURVIVEDTHE THEBAN LEGEND: His only remaining

trilogy consists of “Oedipus Rex,” “Oedipus at Colonus,” and “Antigone.”

What is the “Oedipus Complex?”

Oedipus Complex…

For Freud, the childhood desire to sleep with the mother and to kill the father. Freud describes the source of this complex in his Introductory Lectures (Twenty-First Lecture): "You all know the Greek legend of King Oedipus, who was destined by fate to kill his father and take his mother to wife, who did everything possible to escape the oracle's decree and punished himself by blinding when he learned that he had none the less unwittingly committed both these crimes"

Oedipus Rex

http://youtu.be/oXyek9Ddus4

Long story short…a man that becomes the king of Thebes and was always destined from birth to murder his fatherLaius and marry his

mother Jocasta…gross right?

•Late start – studied philosophy and didn’t win a festival until age 40 (next at 54)

Euripedes (480-406 BC)

**Known for Medea**

The Ancient Greek Plays & Playwrights

•Developed the Prologue•Emphasis on personal life – daily living

•Wrote over 90 plays – 5 won him first prize18 TEXTS SURVIVED

His plays often dealt with serious, controversial issues in society: roles of

women and illegitimate children. Many of his plays deal with a central female

character that was shown as very strong

Medea *The play tells the story of the revenge of a woman betrayed by her husband, who he leaves her for a young Princess…named Glauce

“Forgive what I said in anger! I will yield to the decree, and only beg one favor, that my children may stay. They shall take to the princess a costly robe and a golden crown, and pray for her protection.”

*She kills Glauce, and her father King Creon by poisioning robes…this chick is Cray ya’ll…

*To even make her more Cray she kills her son’s and cook them, feeding them to her ex-husband…

Aristophanes (445-380 BC)

The Ancient Greek Plays & Playwrights

•He used his plays to poke fun at Euripedes•Old Comedy: poked fun at period-specific

events, people, and places•Wrote over 40 comedies

11 TEXTS SURVIVEDThe Clouds (mockery of Socrates & philosophy)

The Frogs (mockery of Euripedes)Many of his plays poke fun at the poor and

democracy. It is said that he was desperately trying to fit in with “high class” people.

•Philosopher and scientist

Aristotle (384-322 BC)

The Ancient Greek Influence

•“Cathartic Effect” – it allows the viewer to watch the experience without being to involved

Aristotle Quote:

“Drama is an imitation of action not the action itself.”

ARISTOTILEAN CASE

Roman Theater

Ancient Roman Theater

ROMAN MASKS

The Roman masks were now more specific to archetypal characters:

the handsome youth, the father, the prostitute, the parasite, the miser, the mother,

the clever slave, and the braggart soldier(you do need to know these archetypes)

•A freed slave

Terence (190-159 BC)

The Ancient Roman Plays & Playwrights

•All of his plays were re-workings of Greek plays

•His works were characterized as “light and witty” with a sophisticated plot

ONLY SIX TEXTS SURVIVED

Andria, Hecyra, Heauton, Timorumenos, Eunuchus, Phormio, Adelphi

•Four of his surviving plays are carbon-copies of Meander’s Greek comedies

Beginnings of “stealing” or “borrowing” works

•Roman comic actor

Plautus (254-184 BC)

The Ancient Roman Plays & Playwrights

•Plays based on Greek works•Plays included debauchery, songs, jokes,

and topical allusions•Wrote over 130 plays - 20 TEXTS SURVIVED

Seneca (4 BC – 65 AD)•Only example of Roman tragedy to survive •His father was a famous rhetorician so he was

often referred to as “Seneca the Younger” •Became tutor to Nero (emperor of Rome) – 65 AD he was implicated in a plot to assassinate Nero and was

condemned to death but he took his own life

Words to know…Chorus – a group of performers who functioned as a commentary on and as an accompaniment to the action of the play

Choragos – the head chorus member who could enter the story as a character able to interact with the characters of a play

Comedy – one of two principal dramatic forms of theatre in ancient Greece – divided into three periods: Old Comedy, Middle Comedy, and New Comedy

Comedy and tragedy masks – used to show the emotions, switch between roles, and play characters of a different gender

Dithyramb – an emotional choric hymn or speech sung by a group of men to honor Dionysus

Dionysia – a festival in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus where a theatrical competition between 3 playwrights was the main event.

Last page I promise…Satyr Play – a genre that deals with the mythological subject matter of the tragedies, but in a purely comedic manner

Skené – changing hut (the source for the word “scene”) which eventually became the backdrop/setting

Theatron – slope – “watching place” – from which the word “theatre” was derived

Thespis – credited as the first writer of tragedy (won the first playwright contest at Dionysia) as well as the first actor (stepped out of the chorus and impersonated a character)

Thespian – a common term for “performer,” derived from “Thespis”

Tragedy – (literally "goat-song") is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure