1. Elizabethan Theatre

2. Creating a Professional Theatre Rebirth of learning Revived interest in the Greeks and Romans Spirit of Inquiry led to Protestantism Drama flourished- classical literature, historical chronicles and legends

3. Creating a Professional Theatre Cities now grew larger than ever Theatre went from occasional and amateur to continuous, secular and professional Still not a respectable career choice-said to spread diseases and encourage immoral behavior

4. Creating a Professional Theatre To survive, professional groups had to: Be able to perform often Have a stock of plays sufficiently large and varied to keep the limited audience coming back Have a performance space large enough to accommodate a large number of paying customers Enclosed space to control access and collect entrance fees Have costumes, sets, etc. and a company of actors

5. Actors were considered vagrants because acting was not an accepted profession Creating a Professional Theatre Companies petitioned noblemen to serve as their patrons We get names like: Lord Admiral’s Men, the King’s Men, Lord Chamberlain’s Men The name gave them protection and status that helped sell tickets Patronage came with censorship By the 1600’s companies were creating the greatest theatrical era the world has ever known

6. Prominent Writers of this Era: Thomas Kyd, Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, John Fletcher, John Webster, Shakespeare 10 performances was the average life of a play Always 2-4 companies in performance Companies were in strong competition with each other because they played 6 shows a week and London was still relatively small Creating a Professional Theatre Conditions favored playwriting in this period: New Plays were always in demand They got paid for the play only once

7. Because the writers considered their work popular entertainment and not literature, they did not publish their plays Ben Jonson was the first to publish in 1616 Creating a Professional Theatre Shakespeare’s plays were not published until after his death:

8. Shakespeare (1564-1616) Considered the greatest writer in Western Theatre  Contributed 38 plays and 154 sonnets to the dramatic cannon  Writes for the masses but also for the academics: produces a new secular form by blending the old morality drama with classical theory  Examined what it meant to be human while also exploring politics, culture and society Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, Cleopatra, The Tempest, Othello

9. All that Glitters is not Gold  Break the Ice  Breathed his last Introduced more than 3000 words to the English Language and is responsible for some of our most common sayings and phrases  Refuse to Budge an Inch  What’s done is done  Sick at Heart  Snail Paced  Wear your heart on your sleeve  The world is my oyster  Too much of a good thing Accommodation, accused, addiction, amazement, assassination, bandit, bedazzled, bedroom, control, critic, dialogue, distasteful, to educate, engagement, investment, invitation, jaded, judgment day, love letter, manager, majestic, overgrowth, puking, radiance, savage, scrubbed, schoolboy, tranquil, traditional, to torture, uncomfortable, watchdog, well-read, zany Was also an actor, major shareholder of the company, and part owner of the Globe Theatre

10. The Globe Theatre Theatres had to be build outside of the city limits Used by Shakespeare’s company after 1599

11. The Globe Theatre 3 levels of roofed galleries These levels is where the upper-class audience members would sit

12. The Globe Theatre The unroofed open space-for the groundlings

13. The Globe Theatre The stage is sheltered by a roof At the back of the stage is a multilevel façade

14. The Globe Theatre On the stage level there are two doors for exits and entrances The second level was an acting space used for balconies, windows, battlements and other high places

15. The space was an adaptation of both Greek/Roman amphitheatres and the Medieval stage The Globe Theatre Most characters wore contemporary clothes, no matter what the play’s time period

16. The Acting Companies Made up of about 25 MEN Half were shareholders and made important decisions, played most of the major roles and shared any profit Hired men were paid weekly wages as actors, prompters, musicians, stagehands or wardrobe- keepers 4-6 apprentices, boys who played female roles Because of double-casting and rep. style, actors had to be responsible for a number of roles Acting was fairly realistic (although not as much as today because of the verse)

17. The Acting Companies The plays had something for everyone Shakespeare’s plays have very complex plots but were also very crude and violent The atmosphere was more like a sporting event of today-drinks, food and playing cards were sold Song and dances were a part of every performance, trumpets were used, plays ended with a jig

18. Hamlet One of the world’s greatest tragedies Opening scene: Ghost of Hamlet’s father establishes a mood of mystery Ghost tells him that Hamlet’s uncle Claudius who married his mother and is now king murdered him and that Hamlet must avenge his death

19. Hamlet But Hamlet wants confirmation of the murder to make sure that the ghost is not simply the Devil trying to tempt him He pretends he is mad, but at points we wonder if he actually is He rejects Ophelia, the woman he loves and attacks his mother Hires a company to act out a play very similar to his father’s death which establishes Claudius’ guilt

20. Hamlet Now Claudius knows that Hamlet knows and tries to have him killed Hamlet kills Polonius, Ophelia’s father, thinking he is Claudius Ophelia drowns herself Laertes, Ophelia’s brother comes to challenge Hamlet and they both die in the process (along with Claudius and Gertrude)

21. Hamlet One of the most demanding roles EVER! Hamlet must act one way with the other characters, but another with the audience Play and role has MANY different interpretations Has many of Shakespeare’s most known monologues/soliloquies “To be or not to be” “What a piece of work is man” “To thine own self be true” “The play’s the thing”

22. Hamlet To be or not to be speech-most famous speech EVER!-try to figure out what it means: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY-QL_HJBCc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7740lGif65Y http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsrOXAY1arg Here’s a clue: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07IQp9uaIWg&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07IQp9uaIWg&feature=related

23. Hamlet Write your own version of the “to be or not to be” speech