History of the Theater

When and where did it begin? The information we do have from long ago comes from wall paintings, decorations, artifacts, and hieroglyphics that show the importance of successful hunts, seasonal changes, life cycles, and stories of the gods. Theatre emerged from myth, ritual, and ceremony. Through these rituals, leaders, or actors of sorts, emerged. These acting/leadership roles were often filled by elders and priests. Acting spaces or auditoriums developed as a result of more elaborate rituals.

The Very First Play!!! The earliest example of theatre comes from ancient Egypt. The Abydos passion play concerns the story of Osiris, the first mummy. This drama was enacted at the most sacred place in Egypt, Abydos- the burial site of Osiris. Performed annually from 2500 to 550 B.C. First of its kind ever recorded.

Greek Origins At the early Greek festivals, the actors, directors, and dramatists were all the same person. Later, only three actors could be used in each play. After some time, non- speaking roles were allowed to perform on-stage. Because of the limited number of actors allowed on-stage, the chorus evolved into a very active part of Greek theatre. The chorus was given as many as one-half the total lines of the play. Music was often played during the chorus' delivery of its lines.

 The first Roman performance occurred in Rome around 364 B.C.  Romans borrowed Greek and Etruscan methods in their own theatre.  The first permanent theatre structures in Rome were dedicated to the god Venus.  In contrast to ancient Greece, comedy was more popular in Rome than tragedy.

Middle Ages After the fall of the Roman Empire, small nomadic bands traveled around performing. They consisted of storytellers, jesters, jugglers and many other performers. Even though the Catholic Church deemed these travelers as “sinners” they revived drama with reenactments of bible stories. The church always reserved the right to approve or disapprove a script before it became a production.

Directors emerged to handle the sometimes large numbers of actors, special effects, and money that would be put into productions. A play committee would have duties such as: directing the constructing of the stage seating for the audience casting and rehearsing assigning people to take up money at the door addressing the audience at the beginning and end of the play

In Italy staging was made popular by using perspective architecture and painting. These methods gave audience members the illusion of distance and depth. Scenery and stages were raked or angled to increase the illusion and create a perspective setting. Italians also came up with new methods of shifting scenery using wings and painted canvas coverings.

The man known as the greatest dramatist of all time is William Shakespeare. He was involved in all aspects of theatre, more than any other writer of his day and is said to have written over 38 plays.

Say what?? During Shakespearean times, there were- – no women actors –little props –open auditoriums –flag colors to determine the type of play performed

18 th Century Origins The first designer broke up floor space with pieces of scenery, giving more depth and dimension to the stage. Others experimented with lighting by using candles and large chandeliers over the stage. The playwright was also the director of a play, and rehearsals from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Actors got paid on popularity, and usually played the same type of roles. Playwrights got proceeds from the third and sixth nights, but only for the original run of the show. Pantomimes would also perform before and after a play.

19 th Century American Theater Large cities had longer runs of shows, but theatres cut down on the number of shows that they would do in a year. This caused a rise in the per-pay contract, and actors were paid for one year or until the run of the show ended. A company was composed of actors, designers, and directors who came together for one year. Each person would play one role.

We’re in the MONEY!! The royalty system was developed in which a playwright was paid a fee for every performance. Developed copyright system to protect playwrights by law. By 1900, the international copyright agreement was developed to keep track of plays and their writers. Playwrighting finally became a profitable profession.