AKA Athenian theater and the festival of Dionysus! BC! Greek theatre AKA Athenian theater and the festival of Dionysus! BC!

Before the Greeks Storytelling—oral tradition The Griot (storyteller) Usually the story centered around a significant event in the life of the people Storytellers were closely aligned with Shamans/religious leaders.

The Greeks Ancient Greece (c. 650-700 BC) was divided into regions and not one unified country. Each region was called a POLIS-- the town and surrounding countryside, approximately 20,000-30,000 individuals Major POLIS: Sparta, Thebes, Athens—all Greek, but speak different dialects. Ruled by a King

Around 700 BC THE TYRANNTS lobbied the people to rebel against the king. TYRANNY COMES FROM DISSATISFACTION FROM THE POPULATION Revolution is successful, change is immediate, but then things slowly go back to the way they were. Tyranny is the step between MONARCHY and DEMOCRACY because there must be a system to prevent everyone who wants to be in charge from fighting!

The PUBLIC SPHERE develops. The PUBLIC SPHERE is the idea of public meeting places where opinions and ideas are shared (like the barbershop or coffee house— POPPY’S) This is were the idea of Athenian Democracy comes from (circa 508 BC) Public opinion prevents tyranny. Rational Critical Debate needs to occur before we act. A functioning democracy must have this!

SO! The philosophers: Socrates taught Plato who taught Aristotle Aristotle (384-322 BC) wrote “The Poetics” as a critical response to theatre. His key elements of a play are: Spectacle (the visible part of the play), Sound (the audible part of the play); Diction (language); Reasoning (the way speech is used to present all aspects of the play); and Plot (the action and events of the play) I could talk for a week on Aristotle and the poetics, btw.

Acting Awareness of FORM is important---it allows us to enjoy plays as plays. Remind our selves that what we are watching is a REPRESENTATION OF LIFE. Acting is PURGATIVE. Acting is a CARTHARSIS THESPIS stepped out of the chorus to create a dialogical relationship with the chorus and forever changed drama. He invented the idea of a person playing someone else

This is MEMESIS-the imitation or representation of something else. Aristotle’s reality is that everything is in a constant state of becoming what they are supposed to be This is called TELOS—everything has an inner purpose or goal. Your TELOS is irresistible; all humans are striving towards self-knowledge. The unexamined life is not worth living.

This moment of self-knowing or knowing the truth of your self is called “GNOTHI SEAUTON” (no see onton) This is the ultimate catharsis.

The festivals Everything is connected to religious festivals, which are connected to nature. No concept of week—you would work for several months then you would have a full week off for a festival Festivals were Humanist—like a state fair Festivals were Religious—associated with one or more of the Greek gods Then there is another two days worth of info that I don’t’ have time to talk about! 

Dionysus Greek God of a bunch of stuff including Theatre, Wine, and Fertility. At the deepest level, he is the god of INTOXICATION, which is the state of being somehow mentally different from who you are Common thread with acting! City Dionysia was in late March/early April (planting season) The festival evolves over time to include plays commemorating the feats of the gods.

534 BC First tragedy competition and Thespis wins. Whole bunch of stuff to lead up to the contest. 5 days of actual festival 2 days of DITHYRAMBS-collective odes-combo of storytelling, music, and prayer. 10 chorus’s in competition—one from each major tribe of Athens. 3 days of tragedies

Each playwright gets one day The plays presented are a trilogy and a satyr play (brief comedic piece making fun of something) Comedies added in 487 BC 5 days added to festival.

The performance There is another two days of lecture here, so here are highlights: Outdoor festival Audience of 20,000-30,000 people EVERYONE came! You stayed from dawn until dusk! It was the only thing to do in town! Violence occurred off stage! A messenger came on and told what happened! This is because violence cannot be a part of THE RATIONAL DEBATE AND ONCE AGAIN—I HAVE 7 MORE PAGES OF REALLY GOOD NOTES! 

PLAYWRIGHTS AESCHYLUS (ca. 524-456 BCE)--Agamemnon SOPHOCLES (ca. 496-406 BCE)—Oedipus Rex and Antigone EURIPIDES (ca. 480-406 BCE)--Medea ARISTOPHONES (ca 450-385 BCE- called the Father of Greek Comedy. He wrote The Birds –Utopia in the sky. Also wrote The Frogs and Lysistrata

Most Common subjects of Greek Comedy were POLITICAL AND SOCIAL SATIRE The weakness or error in judgment which brings about the hero’s downfall is called the HAMARTIA Every Greek and Roman Tragedy also see the protagonist suffer from HUBRIS