1. History of Drama Chapter Seven Stage and School Textbook

2. B.CU.1 Analyze theatre in terms of the social, historical, and cultural contexts in which it was created. B.CU.1.1 Use theatre arts to explore concepts in world history and relate them to significant events, ideas, and movements from a global context B.CU.1.2 Exemplify history, culture, geography, economics, civics, and government from a global perspective through the creation of theatrical works. B.CU.2 Understand the traditions, roles, and conventions of theatre as an art form. B.CU.2.1 Illustrate appropriate theatre etiquette as a member of an audience, as a performer, and as a technician B.CU.2.2 Use acting conventions, such as stage presence, subtext, style, and ensemble work, to perform formal or informal works. Essential Standards

3. The history of drama is closely related to the history of humanity. When the first hunters recounted their adventures using pantomime, when the first storytellers told their tales in rhythmic chants, and when the first organized groups of people found expression in the pantomime of war and fertility dance, the dramatic impulse demonstrated itself. Later, primitive actors used masks to portray gods or animals. Ancient Beginnings

4. Western Drama – The Greeks 6th century BCE – was worship of the Greek god Dionysus Dionysus – God of wine (pleasure god) Had two sides to him good and bad (comedy and tragedy) Chorus – group of chanters – danced around an altar to commemorate his death Song they sang was called the goat-song or tragos (the Greek word for tragedy) These performances evolved into dramatic contests Lasted 5-6 days. Last three days four plays were performed 3 tragedies (trilogy) and a comedy (satyr)

5. Thespis (the first actor) won the first competition by stepping out from the chorus and engaging in dialogue Thespian – the name given to actors ever since The First Actor

6. The Greek Amphitheater Amphitheater – In the beginning the ancient Greeks used natural sloping hillsides surrounding a circular area where the performances were held. Later wooden seats were added, then stone. Some of these theaters could seat more than 17,000 people.

7. Orchestra: ( "dancing space") was a flat circular area between the audience and the actors. This space was normally occupied by the chorus. Our use of the term now to describe a group of musicians had its origins in the place in a theater where those musicians played. Theatron: - ("viewing-place") is where the audience sat. The theatron was typically on a hillside above the orchestra, rather than being built up. This gives us the word "theater.". Skene: ( "tent") was the building directly behind the stage. Early on, these were actually tents (hence the name). The side of the skene facing the audience was usually decorated to look like a temple or palace. Actors would often emerge from the doors of the skene and could even play from its roof. Our word "scene" comes from this building. Parodos: - The parodoi were paths by which the chorus & some actors (made their entrances and exits. In particular, the entrance of the chorus was an important part of the play (which was called the Parados). These paths were also the means of exit for the audience.

8. The Role of the Chorus ▪ Explains the situation of the play. ▪ Bring the audience up-to-date on things that happens. ▪ Make a commentary on the action of the play. ▪ Engage in dialogue with the actors. Eventually role diminished as actors’ roles expanded. The chorus is still used to increase realism of scenes and to engage in scenes with the main characters.

9. Authors of Greek Drama Aeschylus Expanded number of actors, reduced the size of the chorus. Only surviving trilogy – the Oresteia Sophocles Ranked with Shakespeare as one of the best playwrights of all time. Refined plot structure to create unified works Author of Oedipus and Antigone

10. Authors of Greek Drama Euripides oEmphasized human relationships oMaster of pathos – human sorrow and compassion oAuthor of The Trojan Women and Medea Aristophanes oAuthor of Greek comedy oConsidered nothing sacred oSkilled satirist and observer of humanity oAuthor of The Frogs, The Clouds, and Lysistrata

11. Roman Drama Most were just copies of Greek Drama Andronicus – first “Roman” playwright, an author from a Greek colony First Roman tragedy was a translation from a Greek play Major Roman playwright – Seneca, a writer of pretentious tragedies or closet dramas – his plays were meant to be read rather than performed.

12. Medieval Dramas Little is known about the theatre between 600-1000 A.D. - There are references to actors, jugglers, rope dances in nomadic tribes, remnants of Roman mimes, popular pagan festivals and rites. - Teutonic minstrels or troubadours became the primary preserver of tribal histories, but the Teutonic tribes converted to Christianity after the 7 th or 8 th century, and the scops were denounced, branded as bad as mimes. - But there was little written drama; none that survives, and almost no other surviving references to it.

13. Performed on platforms called mansions. Three mansions represented Heaven, Hell and the Sea of Galilee Medieval craft guilds took over the presentation of drama Pageant wagons – stages on wheels Divided into two levels (upper = stage, lower = dressing area) Performance Spaces

14. Types of Medieval Drama ▪ Liturgical drama – question-answer song performed by monks on Easter ▪ Saint plays – based on legends of saints ▪ Mystery plays – based on biblical history ▪ Passion plays – address the last week of Christ’s life ▪ Morality plays – taught the difference between right and wrong ▪ Moral Interludes – shorter then Morality Plays, but with more humor ▪ Folk Drama – secular drama (non-religious)  Discouraged by the church - Took place around planting and harvest time and presented outdoors -Most pagan religions gave thanks to an earth goddess, hence celebration around planting and harvest.

15. Drama in the Renaissance Italy

16. ▪ Weak imitations of classical plays ▪ Opera – an attempt to revive Greek Drama ▪ Commedia Dell’arte – “comedy of the profession” – Professional improvised comedy – Plot outlines posted before performance or scenarios – No scripts – Stock characters which represented two classes

17. Arlecchino – The mischievous servant

18. Drama in the Renaissance England

19. Queen Elizabeth and the Theater Queen Elizabeth supported the arts more than any other ruler of the time Threats of closing the theatre due to the plague were often stopped because of her Financially assisted some troupes and theaters

20. Christopher Marlowe Introduced important use of blank verse Shakespeare’s main competition Author of Doctor Faustus (story of a man who sells his soul)

21. William Shakespeare The characters form the center of interest in Shakespeare’s plays. Iambic pentameter/blank verse Author of Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and 35 others! Also wrote 154 sonnets!! Shakespeare used soliloquy or a speech delivered by an actor alone onstage to reveal a character’s innermost thoughts.

22. The Elizabethan Playhouse The Globe and The Rose two most famous theaters Platform (thrust) stage with courtyard around on three sides Three tiers of seating – the higher the tier the more expensive the seat (opposite of today’s theatre) Open air – if it rained, the groundlings got wet Groundlings- members of the audience that paid a penny to stand directly in front of the stage or (pit)

23. The original Globe theater opened in 1599 but burned in 1613. It was rebuilt built & operated until 1642. Today the third version of the historic Globe Theater is on the original’s location and has be in operation since 1997.

24. Parts of the Playhouse ▪ Tiring House – A room that functioned as the actor’s dressing room. ▪ The center rear of the stage behind a curtain is called either the study or inner below. ▪ The tarras is located on the second center balcony, behind curtains called the arras. The arras was often hung to conceal another recess called the chamber. ▪ The heavens is a roof supported by two ornate columns directly above the stage. The sun, moon, stars, clouds, and signs of the zodiac were painted on the underside of the roof. ▪ The scenery hut is located directly above the heavens.

25. Restoration Drama ▪ English Royal Patent of 1662 – “all women’s parts should be performed by women” and that plays and acting should be considered “not only harmless delights but useful and instructive representations of human life.” ▪ Raked stages – sloped upward away from the viewers, so the audience could see the performance. This is where our terms such as moving upstage and downstage come from.

26. Drama later across Europe ▪ Czechoslovakia – The Capek brothers achieved fame in the 1920s – 1930s with expressionistic plays the dealt with social issues. ▪ Germany – In the 1890s, Gerhart Hauptmann began the new era of realism, called naturalism. A style of theater that assumes humans have little self –determination but act in response in response to forces of nature and society that are out of their control. ▪ France – Moliere, Voltaire, Victor Hugo, and Alexandre Dumas in the 17 th -19 th were important to drama in France.

27. Bernard Shaw - Ireland Irish-born Shaw (1856-1950) ranks as the greatest playwright next to Shakespeare. Shaw stresses two concepts in his plays. “The Life Force” – the belief that humanity will improve and strengthen in spite of itself. “The Thinking Person’s Society” – Shaw believed that of every group of 1, 000 people, there are 700 who don't think, 299 idealists, and 1 thinking person. Shaw hoped to turn the idealists into thinkers through engagement with his dramas.

28. Italy – Playwright, Luigi Pirandello, of the early 1900’s, held the conviction that people are not what they appear. Norway – Henrik Ibsen, the father of modern drama & the father of realism, his chief theme was that society must Protect and develop the individual rights of each person. Russia - two major playwrights Anton Chekhov an early realist, wrote The Sea Gull, The Three Sisters, Uncle Vanya, and The Cherry Orchard. Konstantin Stanislavski – developed Method acting – Method actors tap into their emotions and channel them to enhance their characters. Spain – Jose Echegaray used verse and the imagery of the romantics, but his plays usually dealt with controversial social issues.

29. Drama in Asia China ▪ Dates to 200 AD ▪ Rituals that combined song, dance, gestures & costumes ▪ Peking Opera  Developed in the 19th century (still performed today)  Five main types of drama in China  Historical, Spoken, Song, Dance, Ballet

30. Japanese Theatre - NO ▪ Suitable for the Japanese nobility ▪ Fourteenth century ▪ Used classical Japanese literature ▪ Combines words, dance and music

31. Japanese Theater – Bunraku ▪ “Doll theater” ▪ Combination of puppets, chanting and music ▪ Four-foot tall marionettes ▪ Three puppeteers dressed in black hold the puppet close to their bodies as they move around the stage. ▪ The Broadway musical, Avenue Q – is an Americanized version of Bunraku.

32. Japanese Theater – Kabuki  Seventeenth century  Meant for the general population  Only male performers  Combines aspects of many Japanese drama styles

33. Drama in the US The American Company ▪ The first professional company to produce plays in the colonies ▪ Managed by David Douglass ▪ The Prince of Parthia – performed April 24, 1767 in Philadelphia ▪ American theater eventually became more innovative and experimental ▪ Topics often controversial in society are easily covered in theatre

34. American Actors ▪ Edwin Booth (1833-1893) one of the greatest American romantic actors of his time. Although he promptly retired after his brother, John Wilkes Booth, assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. ▪ Barrymores link early American stage with the modern (Drew Barrymore)

35. American Playwrights ▪ Eugene O’Neill  Issues range from interpersonal relationships to faith  Long Day’s Journey into Night ▪ Clifford Odets  Social protest in 1930s  Waiting for Lefty ▪ Arthur Miller  Moral and political tragedies  The Crucible and Death of a Salesman ▪ Thorton Wilder  Life in a small town  Our Town

36. Questions to Answer Copy questions and turn in 1.How did drama originate? 2.What is the essence of the No theater? 3.Describe some of the characters from commedia dell’arte. 4.What was the purpose of the Greek chorus? 5.Identify the following playwrights: Shaw, O’Neill, Ibsen, Marlowe, Miller. 6.Name three Greek playwrights and list their contribution to theater. 7.How did the Saint & Mystery plays change drama?

37. Questions to Answer Copy questions and turn in 8. Who were the great Elizabethan dramatists? 9. What is the Renaissance? How did it affect drama? 10. How has American drama developed? 11. Draw a diagram of a traditional Greek amphitheater, label all the parts. 12. How did drama change between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance? 13. Explain the Greek trilogy. 14.Which famous American actor is related to the man who assassinated Abraham Lincoln?