1. Theatre History Review
Until the 16th century, Western Theatre:
Performed primarily at festivals
Financed by community
Performed by community
Occurred for brief periods each year
Presented as offering to a god
Presented for enjoyment of general public
Flourished in Greece, Rome, medieval Europe

2. The Theatre of Ancient Greece
Origins of Western Theatre traced to Ancient Greece
Ancient Greek Beliefs:
Humans can make significant decisions
Not all people are equal: Greeks kept slaves and denied women any public role in society
Happiness depends upon harmony between human and supernatural forces
Numerous gods: conceived of as immortal human beings with flaws

3. The Theatre of Ancient Greece
Greek Drama:
Emphasizes attempts of humans to control own destinies
Tragedies often focus on results of attempting to escape fate
Presented exclusively at festivals honoring the god Dionysus = god of wine and fertility
Festivals:
By 5th century, Athens held 4 festivals per year in honor of Dionysus, god of fertility and wine—the ONLY Greek God for whom plays were presented

4. City Dionysia Religious and Civic celebration Tragedy Competition
3 dramatists competed
Each presents 3 tragedies and 1 satyr play
satyr play = short, comic play poking fun at a Greek
myth using a chorus of satyrs (half-man/half-goat characters)
Plays open to everyone, but primary audience - men and boys

5. All 32 plays that have survived written by 3 dramatists:
Aeschylus ( B.C.)
Sophocles ( B.C.)
Euripides ( B.C.)
Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex often considered the best

6. The Performers Actors: All performers were male
By 430 B.C., only 3 speaking actors allowed in competition
Actors played multiple roles
Each playwright was assigned a Principal Actor
Principal Actor eligible to win “Best Tragic Actor”

7. The Performers The Chorus Composed of 15 men
Playwright was assigned a choregus
choregus = wealthy citizen who paid for training and costuming; high civic honor; wealthy citizens required to take turns serving as choregus
Chorus assigned approximately 11 months prior to festival
Trained like athletes

8. The Performers Choral Conventions:
Chorus as one of the distinctive features of Greek Theatre
Usually performed in unison
Sometimes broke into 2 subgroups that responded to each other
Chorus leader sometimes had solo lines
Chorus members were all costumed and masked alike
Chorus would act as the ideal spectator—reacting the way the playwright wanted the audience to react
The chorus would sometimes threaten to intervene in the action

9. The Performers Functions of the Chorus:
Formed a collective character who expressed opinions, gave advice, and occasionally threatened to interfere in the action
Often seemed to express the author’s point of view
Served as the ideal spectator, reacting as the author wanted the audience to react
Helped to establish mood and to heighten dramatic effects
Added color, movement and spectacle through singing and dancing

10. The Performers Masks: All performers except musicians wore masks
Distinctive convention of Greek Theatre
Masks covered entire head and included hair/headdress
Function of Masks:
Facilitated rapid change of roles
Enabled male performers to embody female characters more easily
Helped actors to assume different types of roles
Assisted communication by capturing and emphasizing essential character qualities

11. Formalized Conventions of Greek Theatre
Group of performers formed chorus
One actor often played multiple roles within same play
Men played both male and female roles
Performers wore masks and character appropriate dress
Performers sang, chanted and danced much of the text
Theatre’s scale prevented small details from being seen

12. Greek Comedy
Became official part of festivals about 50 years after tragedy
Performed at 2 festivals: City Dionysia and Lenaia
5 playwrights competed annually at Lenaia, each presenting 1 play

13. Greek Comedy Conventions: Usually concerned with current issues
Sometimes used mythological material
Chorus size = 24
Not always identical in appearance
Sometimes depicted as citizens, sometimes as nonhumans
Male characters made to appear ridiculous
Costume suggested partial nakedness
Wore large phallus
Wore masks

14. Greek Comedy Plays: Only 11 Old Comedy plays have survived
All surviving plays by Aristophanes
Old Comedy plots revolve around a “happy idea”
Time and place may change frequently
Unity through idea rather than through causally related events
Characters may speak to or about the audience

15. The Roman Theatre Experience
Ludi = “games”
Religious festivals that included theatrical performances
Theatrical performances honored several gods
Theatrical performances considered diversions, like sports
Borrowed from Greek drama, but adapted it to Roman tastes
Romans preferred variety entertainments
short comic plays
dancing, singing
juggling, acrobatics
gladiatorial contests

16. The Roman Theatrical Context
Production Expenses: paid by state
Performance Spaces:
Tiered seating, capacity of several thousand
Semicircular orchestra, not used by performers
Stage enclosed by scaenae frons = façade
3 doors on back wall; 1 door at either end
Open seating, free admission
Costumes: Greek costumes and masks; color symbolism
Performers: all male

17. Roman Comedy Plays: Surviving comedies = 26
All surviving plays by Plautus and Terence
Deal with everyday domestic affairs
Plots turn on misunderstandings
Most famous character = “clever slave”
Include music; some characters sing

18. Other Roman Drama and Theatre
Roman Tragedy:
Surviving tragedies = 9
All surviving plays by Seneca
Mime:
Favorite form of entertainment
First time women were permitted to perform
No masks
Dramatic action centered on sexual encounters
Blood Sports:
Gladiatorial contests

19. The Revival of Drama in the Middle Ages
Liturgical Drama (Church Drama)
2 Types:
Performed primarily in churches or monasteries
Dramatizes Biblical episodes
Text sung in Latin
Financed by church
Religious plays performed outside of church = A.D. 1200

20. The Revival of Drama in the Middle Ages
Vernacular Drama
Religious drama independent of church = A.D. 1375
Written in vernacular language
(language of the common people)
Text spoken
Financed by community

21. Trade Guilds and the Corpus Christi Festival
Outdoor religious dramas connected to Trade Guilds
Church created new feast day in 1311: Corpus Christi
All Biblical events could be connected with this festival

22. Trade Guilds and the Corpus Christi Festival
Central feature: procession through town, like parade
= Processional Staging was most common in England
People of all ranks and professions involved
Plays dramatizing the Bible from creation to doomsday = Cycle Plays

23. Conventions of Medieval Theatre
Time:
Contrast of eternal versus earthly time
Stage:
Depicts heaven at one end and hell at the other end
Scenic structures to indicate place = mansion
Undifferentiated space = platea

24. Conventions of Medieval Theatre
Costumes:
Distinguish inhabitants of Earth, Heaven, Hell
Earthly characters = contemporary clothes
Heavenly characters = church garments
Special Effects:
Gruesome hell mouth
Realistically staged miracles

25. Other Medieval Theatre and Drama
Morality Plays:
Allegories of moral temptations
Most famous play: Everyman
Served as transition between medieval religious drama and secular drama of Shakespeare’s time
Farces:
Secular comic drama: emerged 13th century
Not encouraged officially
Emphasized ridiculous aspects or human behavior
Example: Pierre Patelin
Interludes:
Nonreligious, serious or comic; performed between parts of celebration

26. Elizabethan England, Italian Commedia dell’Arte, and Seventeenth-Century France
Renaissance: revived interest in classical theatre of Greece and Rome
English Decree of 1558: plays on religious and political subjects banned
New subjects: classical literature, historical chronicles, legend
Patronage: church and state withdraw support; theatre becomes commercial enterprise

27. Elizabethan Theatre Professional Groups: Had to perform often
Had to have a large stock of plays to sustain audience interest
Had to play in space large enough to accommodate sizeable paying audience; had to be able to control access to space
Had to control all production elements
Had to assemble company that could work full time

28. Elizabethan Theatre Professional Groups:
Acting was not considered an acceptable profession
Because acting did not fit into the guild system, actors were considered masterless men
Companies petitioned noblemen to serve as patrons
Patronage legitimized companies to an extent
Patrons provided little financial support
Companies had to be licensed and Plays approved

29. Elizabethan Theatre Companies:
Always 2 to 4 active companies in/around London (1580s-1642)
Performed 6 days per week in the afternoon
Usually changed bill every day
Average life of play = 10 performances over a season or two
Writers sold plays to companies for one-time fee

30. The Globe Theatre Used by Shakespeare’s company after 1599
3 levels of roofed galleries enclosing open space
The yard = open space enclosed by galleries
The stage = extended to middle of yard; viewed from 3 sides
Roof sheltered stage = the heavens or the shadows
Back of stage platform = multilevel façade with 2 doors

31. The Globe Theatre Theatrical Conventions:
Properties brought onto stage when needed (throne, bed)
Façade served as backdrop for all performances; location clarified by dialogue: spoken décor
Most characters were costumed in contemporary Elizabethan dress

32. The Globe Theatre Theatrical Conventions: All roles played by men
Performance style somewhat realistic
No use of masks, except as disguises
All lines spoken

33. The Globe Theatre Theatrical Conventions:
Admission fee determined viewing location
Cheapest = yard
Moderate = galleries
Expensive = boxes, “lord’s rooms”
No intermissions
Circulating vendors sold wine, beer, ale, nuts, playing cards
Atmosphere similar to modern sports event

34. English Theatre
English public theatres were closed in 1642 due to civil war, and did not reopen until 1660

35. The Theatre Experience in Renaissance Italy
The Renaissance, begun in the 14th century, revived interest in classical theatre of Greece and Rome
Early 16th century, plays imitating classical forms were written in Italian
Performed at court festivals—in honor of a king or ruler
Principles of perspective drawing (developed in 15th century) added to scenery (in 16th century)
Signaled movement away from formal, architectural stage to representational, pictorial stage
Picture painted on 3 separate scenic elements: side wings, backdrops, overhead borders
Floor of stage raked upwards towards back
Introduction of proscenium arch, which framed the painted elements
Resulted in need for mechanisms to shift scenery

36. The Theatre Experience in Renaissance Italy
Opera = combined drama, music, dance, spectacle, special effects
Originated in the 1590s
Structured from the interludes performed between the acts of regular plays
Suggested parallels between a mythological figure and the person being honored at the festival
Major features = music and dance
Elaborate special effects

37. Commedia dell’Arte Commedia dell’Arte = comedy of professional artists
Actor as most essential element of form
Adaptability: could perform in virtually any space, with or without scenery
Scenario = summary of situations, complications, outcome; functioned as script
Improvisation: distinguishing feature of commedia
Lazzi: bits of comic business

38. Commedia dell’Arte Stock Characters Masters: 3 recurred most often
Lovers:
Most realistic roles
Only characters that did not wear masks
Dressed fashionably
Masters: 3 recurred most often
Pantalone: elderly Venetian merchant
Dottore: lawyer or doctor
Capitano: braggart and coward
Servants = zanni
Minimum of 1 clever and 1 stupid
Most popular = Arlecchino (Harlequin)
Acrobat, dancer, and used slapstick
Wore black mask and hat

39. Commedia dell’Arte Troupes averaged 10-12 members
Performers were both male and female
Troupes traveled frequently
Most popular from 1575 to 1650, but continued into late 18th century
Numerous scenarios have survived

40. The French Neoclassical Ideal
Firm genre restrictions: tragedy and comedy should not mix
Tragedy must be about royalty and nobles
Comedy should deal with middle and lower classes
Characters should exhibit decorum—character “types” always behaved in certain “absolute” truthful ways
Neoclassical Unities:
Time: all play’s action should occur within 24 hour period
Place: all play’s action should occur in one location
Action: there should be only one plot
Ending of play should uphold poetic justice
Purpose of drama = to teach and to please

41. Molière and Seventeenth-Century French Theatre Practice
Unlike Elizabethan Theatre, French companies included both male and female actors
Each actor played a limited range of roles, eventually organized into lines of business
Plays were set in one place; no scene changes; generalized scenery
Plays performed indoors, using candles and oil lamps for lighting
Moliere’s plays were written in verse, with each pair of adjacent lines rhyming
Neoclassical unities of time and place are observed

42. Romanticism to Realism
Attitudes toward Neoclassicism began changing toward the end of the 18th century
Writers of the Sturm and Drang (Storm and Stress) school in Germany began writing serious plays that experimented both with bold subjects and dramatic form.
Neoclassical ideals reversed almost completely by early 19th century, resulting in the development of Romanticism

43. Romanticism
The less a thing deviates from its natural state the more truthful it is
Shakespeare’s plays became an argument for ignoring the rules of neoclassicism
Mysterious and supernatural became common occurrences
Historical accuracy in settings and costumes was favored

44. Melodrama The popular-culture manifestation of Romanticism
Melodrama = “music drama”
Action accompanied by musical score that enhanced emotional tone
Emphasized clear moral tone and suspenseful plots
Set pattern of action: Good are rewarded and Evil are punished = poetic justice
Characters were stereotypes (Good, Evil)
Elaborately staged spectacle

45. Melodrama Created variety through use of: Exotic locales
Special effects
Latest inventions
Dramatizations of popular novels and notorious crimes
Horses for “equestrian melodramas”
Water tanks for “aquatic melodramas”

46. Melodrama
With advent of electricity (1880s), electric motors were used with treadmills to stage horse or chariot races
Panoramas were rigged on spools and moved in time with the treadmills; panoramas = long cloths on which continuous scenes were painted
Efforts to make action as realistic as possible by using machinery and special effects

47. The Advent of Realism Darwin’s theories (1859)
All forms of life have developed gradually from a common ancestry
Evolution of species explained by “survival of the fittest”
Implications of Darwin’s theories
Heredity and environment as primary causes for everything humans are or do
People cannot be held fully responsible for their actions since heredity and environment cannot be fully controlled
Progress
Humans are like other animals; not separate from nature
Change, rather than fixity, as the norm

48. The Advent of Realism Freud’s theories
Basic human instincts = aggression and sexuality
Without intervention, humans would seek to satisfy own instincts without regard for others
Need for socialization: rewards and punishments teach acceptable behavior and develop a superego
Superego = an interior, subconscious censor or judge
Right and wrong are not absolute; relative to individual, family, society

49. Realism and Naturalism
Grounded in the need to understand human behavior in terms of natural cause and effect
Pursuit of truth: knowledge that can be verified through the 5 senses
The highest form of morality = truth
Playwrights wrote primarily about contemporary subjects
Introduced topics such as unsavory social conditions

50. Naturalism
Unlike Realism, Naturalism was not successful in the theatre, possibly due to its extreme demands
Naturalists believed that the dramatist should expose social ills so that their causes could be corrected
Play as a slice of life = a segment of reality transferred to the stage
Naturalism as short-lived movement that produced few plays of significance

51. The Independent Theatre Movement
Throughout most of Europe, plays had to be approved by a censor prior to performance for public audiences
Performances done by a group for its members only were considered private performances; not subject to censorship

52. The Independent Theatre Movement
By the late 1880s, a number of small independent theatres exploited this loophole
Products of the Independent Theatre Movement
Playwright George Bernard Shaw (in England
The Moscow Art Theatre (In Russia)
Playwright Anton Chekhov
Konstantin Stanislavsky and
The Stanislavsky System of acting

53. Konstantin Stanislavsky and The Stanislavsky System
The most pervasive influence on acting during the 20th century
Contains basic premises of what is necessary for effective acting:
Body and voice must be trained and flexible
Be a skilled observer of human behavior
The “Magic If”
Understand each character’s motivations and relationships
Concentrate moment by moment