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Egyptian Theatre First to perform drama in 3000 B.C. Plays concerned topic of life after death and were performed in tombs or temples.
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Pyramid plays- written on tomb walls and included plot/characters/stage directions. Were religious,enacted by priests. Coronation plays- performed at festivals when new pharos were crowned. Medicinal plays- stories concerned goddess Isis curing/healing others. Passion plays-has a resurrection theme, life after death.
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Greek theatre ( B.C.)
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Dionysian festivals- began with singing of hymns & dancing
Dionysian festivals- began with singing of hymns & dancing. Choral groups were organized and tragedy developed. Of 4 Dionysian festivals held, the one in march, the City of Dionysia, which took place in Athens, developed into a festival with prizes being awarded for the best plays. The festivals lasted 5-6 days. Plays were performed in outdoor theatres seating as many as 20,000 people.
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Floor plan of a Greek theater
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3. Plays were rhetorical (focused on words not action) and used poetry.
4. Actors were men 5. Costumes-standard Greek attire: sleeveless (tunic) draped around right shoulder (a cloak) 6. Staging-used painted scenery which was placed against skene or triangular prisms that were painted with scenes. A few props were used. All violence took place offstage.
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Elements of Classic Greek Tragedy
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Must provide a catharsis (a purgation of sin) the audience feels pity and terror from what they see on stage. Hero must be in a high social position (king or god) Hero has a tragic flaw (a failure in character or judgment) which brings about disaster. DOES NOT KNOW Must be a change in the character involving either reversal (characters efforts boomerang)or discovery( the character moves from ignorance to knowledge)
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Plays must be written in poetry form.
Plots conform to 3 unities: Action: a series of closely related events Time: action takes place within 24 hours Place: action occurs in one location Format for play Prologue: introduces play Parados: song that brought on the chorus Epeisodion: any “episode” of dialogue that alternated with choral songs Exodus- exit of chorus and end of play
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Skene: a booth or hut sometimes painted to suggest a setting
Orchestra: the circular area where the chorus performed Deus ex machina: a winch which lowered the gods to the stage Dionysus:the greek god of wine in whose honor the festivals were held Dionysian Festivals: 3 Playwrights compete and perform 3 plays: comedy, tragedy, satire
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Tragedy: a tragic hero struggles with a problem he can not control and has no knowledge of;
Tragic Hero: Main character (protagonist) in a tragedy; Thespis: invented the monologue and dramatic masks; Aeschylus: the “father” of classical Greek drama. He added the 2nd actor thus creating dialogue, plot, and conflict Mime: combined song, verse and pantomine;
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Naumachia: forms of entertainment featuring sea
Battles. Sometimes held at the water’s edge (river/lake/sea) or in flooded theatres; Minstrels: strolling troupes of street entertainers who provided street entertainment after the fall of Rome and the end of the patronage of Rome Mystery and Miracle Plays: religious plays of the Medieval theatre. Stories involved the Bible and the lives of the saints. Usually presented in the town square or near a church during religious holidays.
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Pageant Wagons: the movable stages used by the performers of Mystery and Miracle Plays;
Tournaments: Medieval form of entertainment featuring jousting, sword fighting and archery; Serlio: an architect who designed perspective scenery of 3 types: 1. Tragic- involved societies most influential people (monarchs/princes). Stage was very ornate and featured elaborate buildings resembling a palace grounds;
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2. Comedy: involved common people and the
Stage resembled a town square; 3. Pastoral: background was a forest/woodland or other representation of the outdoors.
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COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE Stock characters of the Commedia Arlecchino- the clever servant who is in love with Columbina Columbina- the heroine of the story Pantelone- the husband miser Capitano- the father figure Lazzi- set speeches, scripts, and actions of the Commedia dell’Arte
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