2.  Drama was born out of the dance ceremonies of primitive people.  Dances taught tribes customs to boys approaching manhood, war dances, story dances, and religious dances to pacify the unseen spirits the tribes believed controlled the world.  The shaman (witch doctor) prayed, chanted, and danced in an attempt to drive away evil spirits.

3.  Egyptians were the first people whose rituals took a form similar to out idea of a play.  Dramas were written in hieroglyphics on the walls of the pyramids.  Plays were written for important events such as the coronation of a new pharaoh.  Plays were enacted by priests.

4.  Two biblical books read as dramatic literature: ◦ The Song of Solomon ◦ The Book of Job

5.  Originated in ritual rites that paid homage to Dionysus, god of wine, fertility, and theatre.  Dithyrambs were sung in honor of Dionysus by choral groups  Tragedy (goat song) was developed out of these dithyrambic rituals  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQOPFxuia WQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQOPFxuia WQ

6.  A festival of tragedies held in March  Prizes were awarded for the best series of plays  Both men and women attended, although acting was restricted to men  Lasted 5-6 days  Final 3 days were reserved for the play contests  Each day a different dramatist presented 3 tragedies and a satire.

7.  Performed outdoors  Amphitheater style theatres seated up to 20,000, with the first row reserved for dignitaries.  Orchestra – acting area  Skene – backstage area  Parados – passageway used as an enterance for the chorus  Proskenion - platform in front of the skene  Paraskenia – wings on the side of the proskenion

10.  Drama was rhetorical, containing more speech than action.  Actors wore masks that denoted character and projected the voice  Mantle – a cloak worn as part of costume  Deus ex machina – god in the machine – mechanical crane used for raising and lowering gods

11.  First playwright to win City Dionysia  Introduced the chorus leader, who became the first actor.  First to use masks  It is from his name that thespian is derrived

12.  525-456 B.C  The Father of Tragedy  Won first prize in City Dionysia 13 times  Invented the trilogy  Added a second actor  Reduced the chorus from 50 to 12  Loved spectacle  Wrote 90 plays, but only 7 survive  Oresteia trilogy is the most enduring

13.  496-406 B.C.  Treasurer of Athens  Wrote more than 100 scripts, 7 survived  Won 18 Dionysia festivals  Introduced the third actor  Changed the chorus to 15  his plays are considered the essence of great Greek drama  Best known plays: Electra, Oedipus Rex, and Antigone

14.  480-406 B.C.  Plays emphasize psychological motivations and social consciousness, emphasizing the plight of women and the problem of the outsider  First to humanize drama with household details and events that appealed to the emotions  Best known plays: Medea and Alcestis

15.  448-380 B.C.  Considered the finest comic writer of ancient Greece  Wrote about public life  Pest known plays: The Birds, The Frogs, and The CloudsMenander  342-291 B.C.  Comedic writer  Wrote about private life  Plays were copied extensively by Romans

16.  When Rome invaded Greece, they took great interest in Greek literature and art, adapting Greek plays  Audiences were lower class, so comedies and slapsticks were more popular.  Playhouses were portable wooden platforms until Roman leaders Pompey and Caesar built playhouses  Claque – a person/group hired to applaud at a performance

17.  Seneca ◦ 4 B.C. – 65 A.D. ◦ Plays are bombastic and gory closet dramas (more suited to reading than performance)  Plautus ◦ 254-184 B.C. ◦ Plays served as a pattern for later writers including Shakespeare and Moliere  Plays were eventually overshadowed by spectacle events.  When Rome fell in 475 A.D. the Christian church banned all theatrical activity.

18.  2000 B.C.  Interpretive dance dramatized ancestor worship and military celebrations  Blossomed in 8 th and 9 th centuries A.D.  Emperor Ming Huang founded a school for actors  Drama was highly formal until the Mongols invaded.  Mongolian influenced drama became traditional theatre until the communists took over China in World War II

19.  Acting done by men  Uses movements and poses based on symbolism  White paper falling from red umbrella – snow  Actor with a whip – on horseback  Actor with a flag – army  Costumes and makeup colors represent character ◦ Red – faithfulness ◦ White – evil ◦ Blue - cruelty

20.  Similar to Chinese drama  Unchanged and still performed today  Short, serious philosophical studies that combine poetry with dance and music

21.  Japanese dramatic tragedy performed with poetry, dance, and music  Stages are 18 ft wooden squares with audience on 3 sides  Background music is chanting by chorus of 6 to 8 men  Scenery is tapestry on wall  Only essential props are used  Kyogen are comedies performed before or after the drama

22.  Japanese puppet theatre  4 ft tall, full body wooden marionettes  3 attendants dressed in black wearing masks move the dolls  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV938f46Wpg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV938f46Wpg

23.  More melodramatic and sensational than Noh drama  Heavy, tension filled historical tragedies  Portray scenes of suicide, murder, torture, love triangles  Colorful, extravagant costumes and scenery  Flowerway – ramp that extends through the audience from the back of the auditorium to the stage  Acting is passed on through generations  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67-bgSFJiKc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67-bgSFJiKc

24.  Originated in India  Written in Sanskrit, the language of the aristocrats  Originated the concept of the greenroom  Very intimate, delicate, and restrained  Performed strictly for entertainment, always a happy ending  First to permit women on stage