Renaissance Theatre

Influences Renaissance=rebirth New ideas - based on classical teachings Weakening Church influence 1465=printing press invented –Classical manuscripts –Classical plays staged at Universities and Courts –“Relearning” of Aristotle, Horace, etc.

Neoclassicism Verisimilitude - “Truth Seeming” Decorum - Characters were expected to display “normal” traits of the members of their class or suffer the consequences if they didn’t. Good is rewarded, evil punished. Purity of Genres - Comedy and tragedy were not to be mixed - NO element of 1 should be found in the other –Tragedy - characters of high station, deal with affairs of state, elevated language, unhappy endings –Comedy - lower to middle class, domestic affairs, “common” language, happy endings

Neoclassic Concept (contin) Three Unities –Time - real time or no more than 24 hrs –Place - no more than 1 room, town, country –Action - no sub/secondary/counter plots although this is least important of 3 5 Act Form - probably Horace/Seneca derived Purpose - to teach 1st and then and to please This last concept help “justify” theatre - educational as well as social.

Venues Italy had- Elongated U-shaped auditoriums. Boxes in tiers. Most theaters had no seats so people could move around. France/England - Outdoor or “public” and Indoor or “private. Both were open to anyone who could pay, but the private theatre cost more, were smaller, and had a more select audience. The Globe was considered a “public” playhouse.

Technical Theatre - Set Proscenium Arch - overhead rigging and machinery. Sometimes consisted of more than 1 Raked Stage - higher UPstage than DOWNstage. Used to increase the sense of depth. Single Point perspective scenery - calculated from the back of the house Scenery - consisted of a series of wings/flats and was kept behind the proscenium arch Periaktoi - triangluar flats for shifting scenery Chariot-and-Pole System - a system of ropes and pulleys to get a simultaneous shift in scenery with grooves in the floor Trap doors - scenes shifted with no curtain

Technical Theatre - Lighting Candles and oil lamps for lighting Chandeliers over house and stage, candles behind proscenium arch and footlights Little effective control, although “dimmers” were used

In Italy… Opera is invented - LOTS of special effects created with this medium in mind Intermezzi - courtly shows given between acts Commedia dell’Arte - “improv” with stock characters and lazzi (scenario) Pantalone - the old man (fool) Dottore - the doctor (fool) Capitano - braggart soldier (fool) Inamorati - young lovers (normal) Zanni - servants (fools/wits)

In England… Religion and Political controversies - Church of England established and Queen Elizabeth outlaws religious drama in 1558 (due to Protestant/Catholic disputes) England defeats Spain in 1588 and becomes “the” world power Acting becomes a legal profession in 1570s Directly under the control of the gov’t - companies had to have a license, requiring the patronage of a noble. Theatre was constructed around London The merchant class disliked theatre while the aristocracy liked it Until 1608 theatre buildings were illegal in the city limits of London so they were built outside the city limits

Performers In England - males only (until the reign of Charles II) The acting companies functioned on a repertory system; unlike modern productions that can run for months or years on end, the troupes of this era rarely acted the same play two days in a row. The Rose Theatre for example: between Feb. 19 and June 23 the company played six days a week, minus Good Friday and two other days. They performed 23 different plays, some only once, and their most popular play of the season, The First Part of Hieronimo, played 15 times. They never played the same play two days in a row, and rarely the same play twice in a week. The workload on the actors, especially the leading performers like Edward Alleyn, must have been tremendous. Since Elizabethan theatre did not make use of lavish scenery, instead leaving the stage largely bare with a few key props, the main visual appeal on stage was in the costumes. Costumes were often bright in color and visually entrancing. Costumes were expensive, however, so usually players wore contemporary clothing regardless of the time period of the play. Occasionally, a lead character would wear a conventionalized version of more historically accurate garb, but secondary characters would nonetheless remain in contemporary clothing.

Playwrights Other than Shakespeare the big ones are: Christopher Marlowe - Marlowe's plays were enormously successful. little is known about Marlowe. What little evidence there is can be found in legal records and other official documents. Marlowe has often been described as a spy, a brawler, a heretic and a homosexual, as well as a "magician," "duellist," "tobacco-user," "counterfeiter" and "rakehell.” Ben Jonson - Apart from two tragedies, Jonson's work for the public theatres was in comedy. The minor early plays, present somewhat looser plots and less-developed characters than those written later. He displays the keen eye for absurdity and hypocrisy that marks his best-known plays; in these early efforts, however, plot mostly takes second place to variety of incident and comic set-pieces. Playwrights were normally paid in increments during the writing process, and if their play was accepted, they would also receive the proceeds from one day's performance. However, they had no ownership of the plays they wrote. Once a play was sold to a company, the company owned it, and the playwright had no control over casting, performance, revision or publication.The profession of dramatist was challenging and far from lucrative.