1.  Greek Drama

2. Drama was born in ancient Greece!  600s B.C. - Greeks were giving choral performances of dancing and singing  Performances at festivals honoring Dionysus  Later they held drama contests to honor him

3. Thespis (534 B. C.)  First “actor”  Introduced art of acting a part on stage  dramatic impersonation of another character  Uncertain whether he was a playwright, an actor, or a priest  “ Thespian ” term comes from his name

4. Description of Greek Theater  Took place in large hillside amphitheaters  held as many as 20, 000 people!!  Players included a chorus and their leader  Lines were chanted rather than spoken  Chorus performed in an “ orchestra ”, not on a raised platform

5. Greek Theater (continued)  Masks used to represent characters  High-soled boots worn to add height  Both of these limited movement

6. Greek Theater

7. Most Important Era (400s B.C.)  Tragedies performed as part of a civic celebration called the City Dionysia  Festival lasted several days  Prizes given for best tragedy, comedy, acting, and choral singing

8. Theater of Dionysus  Located on slope below the Acropolis in Athens  Seated 14,000 +  Circular acting area called orchestra  Skene (stage house)

9. The Physical Structure of the Greek Theater

10. Greek Tragedy  Nearly all surviving tragedies are based on myth  Character ’ s struggle against hostile forces ended in defeat and ultimately in death  A series of dramatic episodes separated by choral odes (mini-songs).  Episodes performed by a few actors - never more than 3 on stage

11. Greek Drama (continued)  Wore masks to indicate the nature of the characters played.  Men played women ’ s roles  Same actor appeared in several parts.  Of the hundreds of Greek tragedies written, fewer than 35 survive.

12. Greek Tragedy The Three Greek Tragedians: 1.Aeschylus - his are the oldest surviving plays - began competing in 449 at Dionysus Theatre. Most of his plays were part of trilogies. 2. Sophocles: (496-406 B.C.) won 24 contests, never lower than 2 nd; believed to have introduced the 3 rd actor; fixed the chorus at 15 (had been 50). 3. Euripides (480-406 B.C.) very popular in later Greek times, little appreciated during his life sometimes known as "the father of melodrama".

13. Three Playwrights  Aeschylus  First Drama: The Persians  Most famous for Oresteia ( trilogy about Clytemnestra and Agamennon)  Introduced concept of second actor  Expanded possibilities for plot

14. Sophocles  Innovation of the third actor  Most famous for Oedipus Rex

15. Euripides  Created the ultimate form of drama  Far more naturalistic or human approach in his works  Showed interest in psychology through portraits of women  Medea is most famous work  Describes how a mother kills her children to gain  revenge against their father