Theater Performing Arts Chapter 4 Shrek did this PPT but He can ’ t do the oral presentation Festival Theatre: Greek, Roman, and Medieval Theatre Experience

Oedipus the King and its performance The beginning of Oedipus the King was signaled by the entrance through one of the paradoi of a group of people of all ages carrying branches, the symbol of the suppliant. Oedipus the King is structurally unusual, for he resolution scene is the longest in the play. Sophocles was not solely concerned with discovering the murderer of Laius. The principal characters – Oedipus, Creon, and Jocasta – are mature persons, but Sophocles says almost nothing about their age or appearance. Festival Theatre: Greek, Roman, and Medieval Theatre Experience

About Roman Theatrical Context The Roman theatre influenced by Greece,but it also differed in significant ways. The Romans considered Greece culture to be decadent. ( 頹廢的 ) In Greece, the expenses of theatrical production were assumed by the government. The officials probably viewed the productions before they were presented for the sake of guar-ding against unacceptable material. The Roman government also supplied the theatre in which the play were presented. Festival Theatre: Greek, Roman, and Medieval Theatre Experience

Admission to the theatre was free, seats were not reserved, and audiences were often unruly. Form The carthaginian (P.76 last paragraph), we can image how disorderly the scene was at that time. Festival Theatre: Greek, Roman, and Medieval Theatre Experience

The most popular Roman comedy The Menaechmi It served as the basis for Shakespeare ’ s Comdy of Errors and etc. This comedy ’ s outline : Twin brothers was separated when they were very young, and one, who has been looking for the other, arrives in a city – Epidamnus without knowing that this is where his twin brother now is. Because they just looked like the same, people in city always misunderstanding them. It made the people angry, Menaechmus I and Menaechmus II also felt strange. Finally,they found out that they were twin brothers. In most of Plautus ’ plays, they began with a prologue that carefully lays out the background of the action and goes over important point more than once. The Menaechmi also used this way as its start. Festival Theatre: Greek, Roman, and Medieval Theatre Experience

The Revival of Drama in the Middle Ages Historians usually divide the Middle Ages into three phases: early(A.D.900 to A.D. 1050), high(A.D to A.D.1300), and late(A.D.1300 to A.D.1500). During the first two phases, drama was performed primarily within churches or monasteries( 修道院 ) ; it ’ s usually called liturgical drama. During the third, it flourished in elaborate outdoor productions, some of which continued even after Festival Theatre: Greek, Roman, and Medieval Theatre Experience

Convention of Medieval Theatre A major convention of medieval drama involves the way time is handled. Humanity was thought to participate in two kinds of time: eternal and earthly. There were no permanent theatres, so theatrical spaces were improvised. The principal requirement was that there be sufficient open space to accommodate a large audience. There were two parts to the stage space: mansions and platea. Costumes were used to distinguish among the inhabitants of Earth, Heaven, and Hell. Festival Theatre: Greek, Roman, and Medieval Theatre Experience

Noah and His Sons The play begins with Noah praying to God and comparing God ’ s good-ness toward all creatures. There are nine roles, of which six are very minor – those of Noah ’ s sons and their wives. Characterization of the three main roles is simple; God with magisterially voices feeling of been betrayed; his benevolence is seen only in his attitu- de toward Noah and his familly; Noah, is pious and obedient. Festival Theatre: Greek, Roman, and Medieval Theatre Experience

Everyman - The most famous morality play Morality plays flourished between 1400 and 1550; it treated the spiritual trials of ordinary persons. Everyman, who has been too busy leading a carefree exist-ence to think about death, now seeks among his companions (Kindred 近親,Cousin 遠房, Knowledge, Five Wits 智慧, Beauty, Strength, and so on) for one that will accompany him on his journey, but once they know his destination, they decline his invitation. Ultimately only Good Deeds( 善行 ) goes into the grave with him. Finally, Everyman comes to understand the relationship of his earthly life to salvation. Festival Theatre: Greek, Roman, and Medieval Theatre Experience