The History of Theatre I. Classic Greek Period- 500 B.C. Origins 1. Theatre had its origins in religion 2. Honored Dionysus (God of wine) in a once-a-year competition Architecture of the Greek Theatre 1. Orchestra - Actors performed in a circular space of hard packed dirt Skene was built behind the orchestra; was designed as a changing house The Proscenium was the front wall of the skene; provided scenery; painted/decorated (limited)

Orchestra was laid out at the foot of a hill; uncomfortable wooden benches were built into the side of the hill for the audience Seating could hold between 14,000-17,000 people The Athenians built the first Theatre of Dionysus; parts mentioned above=natural amphitheater

Actors- wore masks so that the audience could see them better; there were only three actors in each performance Chorus- commented on action; played minor parts; gave actors time to change between scenes Example: Oedipus Rex by Sophocles (Greek tragedy)

II. Roman Theatre- 100 B.C. Background Info. 1. Religious - worshipped Bacchus-Roman god of wine 2. 1st permanent playhouse built in 55 B.C. (Pompey’s Theater) 3. Tragedies- hero fails; Seneca (playwright) 4. Comedies- hero succeeds; rough humor with sex, swearing, insults (like an R-rated movie)

Roman Theatre Architecture Based on Greek models Huge, open-air theatres, which seated over 15,000 Actors stood on ground level or on stage, 5 feet above orchestra/ground level; orchestra = perfect ½ circle

C. Roman Theatre Amenities 1. Stage often had a roof and an awning that could be stretched over the auditorium to cover audience from sun, rain, etc. 2. Romans cooled the audience by blowing air over streams of cool water.

III. The Medieval Stage 1400 A.D. Plays in the Church Catholic Church controlled the theatre; used drama to teach Liturgical drama-plays performed in churches by clergy and choir boys for 300 years . morality- teaches lessons/morals . passion- acts out a story from the Bible

Plays outside The Church Mansion staging – actors performed inside, in front of, or on either sides of a small wooden canvas construction (resembled booths at a fair) Mansions – represented special areas such as Heaven and Hell and a number of Earthly spots in between; colorful and complex for their time Wagon stages – one-story structure with a small loft; could travel from town to town easily

One wagon was decorated as the background; action took place on the flatbed of a second wagon Audience grouped around 3 sides of the playing area (mansion, wagon, and area in front To achieve technical effects called for by increasingly difficult scripts, the wagons had a loft for some type of “flying equipment”. Wagons also had a trapdoor in the floor – trees could sprout up, fountains could gush, actors could appear and disappear

IV. Elizabethan Stage-1600 A.D. First permanent theatres in England open-1576 The Theatre (public)- built by James Burbage   Blackfriars Theatre (private)- main audience/ influence was Queen Elizabeth I and the Church  

1. 1st theatres derived their shape from the inns Architecture  1. 1st theatres derived their shape from the inns  a. stage at rear  b. raised bleachers around perimeter of yard to provide seating c. flat area in front of stage = 1 cent seating 2. Plays were performed in the afternoon (needed natural light); outside theaters with no roof 3. Thrust stage-audience on 3-4 sides of the stage

Actors and Audience Boys played all of the parts; women were not allowed on stage because acting was not respected by the Puritans.   Groundlings- people who stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the inner yard   a. 800 at a time   b. paid one penny to see the show   c. would throw rotten food at the actors if they didn’t like the show

William Shakespeare Globe Theatre: rich sat in gallery around stage, poor stood in pits a. stage represented Earth b. understage was Hell c. balcony was Heaven Wrote to make money: 14-line love poems called sonnets  37 Plays, none published while he was alive a. tragedy- Romeo and Juliet (hero fails/dies)   b. comedy- Midsummer Night’s Dream (hero   succeeds/gets married) c. history King Henry VIII (history of the English kings)  

Wrote in Modern English; we can still understand the    language today  Shakespeare’s Company = King’s Men

English Restoration – 1600s Two men to RESTORE theatre – Thomas Killigrew and William Davenant The English Royal Patent of 1662 Women were to perform female roles Theatre is “useful and instructive” Drury Lane and Convent Garden

Architecture Roofs closed in (scenery and stage mechanics) Elaborate chandeliers Orchestra moved to the front Back wall allowed for scene changed Audience level; stage raked (upstage and downstage

William Wycherly (The Country Wife) Playwrights – William Wycherly (The Country Wife) William Congreve (The Way of the World) George Farquhar (The Beaux’ Strategem) Gilbert and Sullivan – Operas The Pirates of Penzance, HMS Pinafore Oscar Wilde – Plays Importance of Being Earnest George Bernard Shaw – Plays Pygmalion Most Famous Actor – David Garrick

V. Modern Theatre The Proscenium-Arch Stage Has an invisible division between the auditorium (audience) and  stage (actors) Proscenium - area of modern theatre located between the curtain  and orchestra pit Origin is open to debate (probably somewhere around the 1800s)

1. Curtain/proscenium- action had to be placed behind the  Two ways the proscenium-arch separates the audience from the actors (the real from fantasy)   1. Curtain/proscenium- action had to be placed behind the opening; before, action took place in the midst of the audience.   2. Modern lighting- for the first time, audience in the dark, actors in  light.   3. Note: No matter how physically close the spectators might be to  the action, a psychological barrier was set up.

Emphasis on realism   1. Audience wanted a realistic spectacle;  proscenium-arch provided a practical curtain that  could be drawn to hide the changing of scenery.   2. Technology/special effects

Birth of the musical, combination of:   1. play  2. ballet  3. opera   4. First musical = Oklahoma!

VI. Things to Remember A. The play/dramatic ritual existed before special structures were built to house them. B. Playing areas (with at least some attendant scenery and props) were developed early in theatre prehistory based on content of dramas.