Roman Theatre Design Theatre in Aspendos on Turkey's south coast, the best preserved Roman theatre in the world

Comedy and Tragedy Included more than dramatic plays : acrobatics gladiators jugglers athletics chariots races naumachia (sea battles) Boxing animal fights

Roman Theatre Design First permanent Roman theatre built 54 A.D. (100 years after the last surviving comedy)

Roman Theatre Design General Characteristics dressing rooms Cavea could seat up to 25, 000 Larger then Greek Theatres dressing rooms in side wings, Aditus Maximus Scaena =skene

Roman Theatre Design General Characteristics Stage raised to five feet Stages were large – 20-40 ft deep 100-300 ft long

Roman Theatre

Roman Theatre Design General Characteristics trap doors cooling system – air blowing over streams of water awning over the audience to protect them from the sun

Roman Theatre Design Scaena “stage house” joined with audience to form one architectural unit

Roman Theatre Design Scaena frons front/façade of the stage house was painted and had columns, niches, porticoes, statues

Theatre at Orange, France

Roman Theatre Design Orchestra becomes half-circle was probably used for gladiators and for the display and killing of wild animals if entertainment permitted, people were sat here

Roman Theatre Design Vomitoria corridors under the seats that lead onto the orchestra

Roman Theatre Design Pulpitum the stage Cavea the auditorium

Roman Theatre Design Other structures included: Circus Maximus Ampitheatres

Roman Theatre Design Circus Maximus Primarily for Chariot racing Permitted 12 chariots to race at once

Roman Theatre Design Ampitheatres For gladiator contests, wild animal fights, and occasionally naumachia Had space with elevators below to bvring up animals, etc.

Actors and Companies Festival under control of local official who hired acting troupes Troupes led by dominus Dominus bought plays, hired actors Actors = historiones, Mostly male – women were in mimes

Roman Actors some believe actor were slaves. “Star" performers however could achieve great fame and wealth

Roman Actors Style of Acting Mostly Greek traditions – masks, doubling of roles Six male actor, no 3 actor rule

Roman Actors Style of Acting Movements likely enlarged, large parts of the play may have been sung Actors probably specialized in one type of drama and role

Dramatic Criticism in Rome Like Roman drama, Roman dramatic criticism was based on the work of others, especially Aristotle The best-known writer of dramatic theory and criticism in the Roman world was Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) Horace © 2012, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Culver Pictures)

Horace Chorus – set high moral tone 5 acts, 3 speaking actors No gods unless necessary Drama – profit and please- entertain and instruct.