1. History of Theater

2. 2500 BC – 600 BC Shamans performed for gods
Ancient cultures had rituals to praise gods
Dance became a way to express the rhythm of life
Oral storytelling in ancient cultures set the stage for future dramas

3. 600 BC – 1500 AD Ancient Greeks sang and danced to the god Dionysus
Athenians believed theater was a civic responsibility (created Western Drama)
Romans turned theater into entertainment

4. 600 BC – 1500 AD
The Byzantine Church opposed Theater and forbid performances
Ancient Theater in India was first to guide makeup, costumes, dance, acting.

5. 550 AD – 1500 AD
Chinese Theater brought various elements of story, dance, song, and comic pantomime together in one performance
Medieval Theater grew to performances out of religious ritual

6. 550 AD – 1500 AD
Three types of Medieval Plays: mystery play, miracle play, and morality play
German nun Hroswitha became first woman to write a play 
Noh drama was created in Japan with masks and highly stylized dance

7.
Italian Renaissance set design (linear) could be used for any play produced at the time
Commedia dell'arte, professional improvisation with stock characters, became popular in Italy
Elizabeth I banned all religious plays in England so the plays became secular combined with classical ideas

8.
Shakespeare – deemed greatest playwright in English language
Japanese Kabuki combined traditional Buddhist dances with contemporary- elaborate makeup and costumes were used

9. 1500-1700 French dramatists stuck with neoclassical rules of theater
English court masques were performed by court to celebrate holidays
Moliere integrated neoclassical rules with commedia dell'arte

10. 1500-1700 Spain was at height of power and wealth and good playwrights
Restoration comedy of manners became popular in England after Restoration of monarchy

11.
Oliver Goldsmith introduced “laughing comedy” instead of “sentimental comedy”
Melodrama (cliff hangers and emotional appeals) became popular in America
German theater’s Romantic movement idolized Shakespeare and dismissed neoclassical unities.

12.
Georg Buchner reacted against Romanticism and anticipated naturalism in Germany
Peking Opera became popular in China where all actors were male and trained from a young age

13.
Norwegian playwright, Henrik Ibsen, created the modern drama (including folk tales and realism)
French naturalists wrote plays based on scientific theory and later became the Independent Theatre Movement
Sarah Bernhardt became a world renowned star with her flamboyant and exaggerated singing

14.
The first true theatre director was a German nobleman, the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
Edmond Rostand, French playwright, created comedic and romantic plays – including the famous play “Cyrano de Bergerac”

15.
Irish playwright Bernard Shaw wrote plays that explored controversial topics
Russia’s greatest dramatist, Anton Chekhov, evoked the atmosphere of a society on the edge of change
Special effects began to be used in the late 1800s

16.
Moscow Art Theatre, the most influential company in theatre history, which led to the American “Method” style of acting
The motion picture (an experimental toy by Thomas Edison and George Eastman) developed rapidly and the stage turned into movies

17.
Constructivism in Russia employed artificial and abstract stage designs
Indian poet and playwright Tagore combined classical Sanskrit drama, Bengali fold drama, and Western theatre and won a Nobel Peace Prize for his plays.
Expressionism developed in Europe – particularly Germany

18.
The Abbey Theatre was founded in Dublin to present Irish playwrights on Irish subjects
British scenic designer and director, Gordon Craig, created designs to capture the feeling of the drama rather than a realistic setting

19.
Eugene O’Neill, American playwright, created plays that revealed a variety of influences
Lillian Hellman was most significant American female playwright of the period who dealt with controversial issues and concern for social justice
Laurence Olivier, British actor, became famous for being so versatile in theatre and movie industries

20.
Two Germans, Erwin Piscator and Bertolt Brecht, created “epic theatre” that would educate audiences (specifically for Marxist social purposes)
Frenchman Antonin Artaud tried to show how nonverbal communication on stage was effective (became influential later in history)

21.
Samuel Beckett created “theatre of the absurd” by writing the first farce
Arthur Miller, American playwright, successfully combined realism and symbolic expressionism in Death of a Salesman
American musical theatre reached maturity and popularity

22.
Tennessee Williams created fully developed individuals in his Internationally successful plays
Thornton Wilder, finest playwright pre WWII, applied contemporary theatricality to simple parables on the nature of life

23.
John Osborne provided a symbol of the “angry young men” and attacked the settled smugness of British class systems
Edward Bond’s realist plays created a debate that ended British censorship

24.
Lorraine Hansberry created believable African American characters which inspired others
Edward Albee linked modern classics to contemporary theatre
Neil Simon created the sitcom with his comedies

25.
British director, Peter Brook, emphasized ritualistic elements and a strong visual quality
August Wilson committed to portraying realistic African American characters through plays that represent African American life in the 20th century

26.
Ntozake Shange depicted brutal oppression of black women by black men in her poetic play for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf
Hispanic American Theatre started with Teatro Campesino founded by Mexican American Luis Valdez
Sam Shepard incorporated lyricism and violence on New York’s Off-Broadway theatre

27.
British playwright Caryl Churchill created political theatre focused on feminist and socialist themes
Kenneth Branagh directed the most ambitious film version of Shakespeare
Women started producing some of the most significant American plays

28.
Tony Kushner started turning the treatment of homosexuality on stage around
Julie Taymor designs productions using multicultural ideas
Gomez-Pena explores intercultural issues using mixed media and experimental languages (“ethno-techno art”)
Butoh (Japanese) remains a vital form of dance around the world