1. Greek Theatre for IB Theatre Theatre Class, 2011-2012

3. Greek Theatre TimeLine 600 BCEThe Beginning of the dithyramb 555 BCEThe development of the first actor. 534 BCE The beginning of play contests in Athens. 487 BCE Introduction of Comedy 468 BCE The third actor beginnings 350 BCE Professional Actors replace Amateur Actors 250 BCE Beginning of Roman Theatre

4. Background on Early Greece  Greece was made up of city-states at the beginning of the fifth century B.C.E  Athens was the birth place of democracy.  Democracy was for all free men. They did have slavery and woman were subservient.  They helped form our understanding of geometry.  The Physician’s Oath  They believed in multiple gods.

5. The Start of Theatre  Greek Theatre started with religious ceremonies honoring the gods.  They honored Dionysus. The god of wine, fertility and revelry  The dithyramb was a long hymn, sung and danced by a group of fifty men.  Later used for detailing heroic stories.

6. Thespis  Credited with being the first actor.  Stepped out of the Dithyramb and gave a prologue  Also credited with being the first Tragedy writer  The reason we have the word Thespian, a synonym for actor  The Ancient Greek word for actor is hypokrite literally means “ answerer ”

7. Religion and Theater  Greeks did not believe that gods were all powerful,  but, they believed the gods would protect them and help them see the future.  Theatre was a central part of religious festivals  so they where both religious events and entertainment  That is why all social classes attended them.

8. The Festivals at the City of Dionysia  This festival honored Dionysus  held towards the end of March when spring arrived!  lasted for several days  would have parades to bring in support for the shows!

9. The Festivals at the City of Dionysia  First two days where for dithyrambic chorus : One day for Men and one day for boys  Three days for tragedies and satyr plays. Usually one playwright would present three plays and one satyr  These four plays would be called tetralogy

11. Where did play ideas come from?  from Greek myths  for the action characters and setting  myth is a story or legend  sometimes invented or sometimes loosely based on truth.  they were an attempt to explain natural and human events.

12. Greek Tragedy Most of the early tragedy writing(6th Century B.C.E.) did not survive. A couple writers of this time were Arion and Thespis It was the 5th Century B.C.E. that we know more about!

13. Aeschylus 525-456 B.C.E. He was born to a noble family Also know as a solider and prominent citizen He added the second actor. This gave us true dialogue. He is know to be founder of Greek Theatre He reduced the chorus from 50 to 12 Believed to have written ninety plays. Only seven plays still exist.

14. Sophocles 496-406 B.C.E.  The son of a wealthy Athenian  Known for his superb plot construction.  Increased the chorus from 12 to 15  Introduced the third actor - enlarged the possibilities for conflict and interaction.  Three plays still exist today and sometimes are done as a trilogy, but they are not. They are just about the same families fate. The plays are King Oedipus, Antigone, and Oedipus at Colonus  Thought to have written over 120 plays, only 7 complete tragedies have survived and only fragments of his satyr plays also survive

15. Euripides 480-406 B.C.E.  Born wealthy, but was not part Greek life. Rather watch the world around him, he was moody and reclusive.  Was considered the most “modern” because  his sympathetic portrayal of women,  the greater realism of his plays, i.e. characters behaved like people did in everyday life.  his mixture of tragedy with melodrama and comedy  his skeptical treatment of the gods  18 plays by Euripides still exist.

16. Aristotle and the Tragic Form Plot - the arrangement of dramatic incidents Character - the people represented in the play Thought or Theme- the ideas explored Language - the dialogue and poetry Music Spectacle - Scenery and other visual elements

17. Satyr Plays Satyr play was a comical play involving a chorus of satyrs, mythological creatures who are half-man and half-goat. These plays poked fun at Greek traditions, for example myths, religion, and heroes. They usually were very vulgar. The only complete satyr play is “The Cyclops” by Euripides

18. Old Comedies The only old comedies that survived were written by Aristophanes. They do not follow the pattern of climactic drama : –they do not take place in a short span of time –are not restricted to one locale –have a large cast of characters. They always make fun of society, politics, or culture Characters are frequently recognizable contemporary personalities.

19. Aristophanes 448-380 B.C.E.  Best know comedy playwright  Complained everyone was stealing his plots and ideas.  Son of a Wealthy citizen, part of the conservative Athenian Middle Class.  He wrote forty plays, eleven plays survived.  He usually turned his plays over for other people to direct them.

20. The Theatre Building  Held from 15,000 to 17,000 people  Used natural lighting, i.e. if a show needed a sunset, it would be the last show of the day  Theatron = viewing place  Orchestra = playing area  Skene = Scene building  Parados = one of two gangways on which chorus & actors made their entrances from either side into the orchestra.

21. TThe Theatron was built into the hillside and started out with wooden benches and then moved into stone IIt was believed that different Greek Tribes were segregated and then men and woman (if woman where allowed) The Orchestra was 66 feet in diameter paved in stone. This staging was similar to the thrust stage of today.

22. The Skene had dressing rooms and was used for prop storage It is believed to be the basic setting for all plays after 458 B.C.E Text

23.  Invented the use of periaktoi, a three sided flat that would rotate and have a different piece of scenery on each side.  The two major special effect features where:  Deus ex machina or god from a machine  Ekkyklema = a rolling wagon that would bring out the dead. Scenery and Special Effects

24. There is NEVER Violence on Stage!

25. Costumes and Masks They wore masks all the time. During tragedies the chorus had all the same mask, but during comedies they would vary Masks were used to show expressions and help people understand which character was which. Costumes - they wore very ornate tunics or cloaks.

26. The Performance Project You will put together a 10 to 15 minute piece from one of the plays we will read. This will be memorized and blocked to the fullest. You will be graded on your interpretation of the piece and what you took away from the lecture. This will be worth 200 points

27. Essay Quiz for Today What do you know about Greek Theatre? How should Mrs. Blair grade “time usage in class”? Have you signed up to test this year?

28. Vocabulary Test - Lighting 1. What is shin lighting? 2. Why do they use colored lights on stage? 3. What is a backlight? 4. How can light be used as punctuation on stage? 5. How is Mood used in stage lighting?