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Primitive/Ancient Dances Entertainment Sort out identities Storytelling / imitating events Religion Remnants today: hula, Native American snake, corn, sun dances Dances evolved into rituals Masked representative of gods prayed, chanted as tribe watched Often performed in front of a temple – evolved into drama with a speaking actor Explain Actions of gods or heroes Origins or elements of nature Generally handed down through wordof-mouth An important mirror of the values and beliefs of a society Probably first practitioners of definite drama Around 3000 B.C. Pyramid plays Abydos Passion Play (resurrection) The “Golden Age” of Theatre (400-500 B.C.) Origins in rites paying homage to Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility Public celebrations around stone altars at the foot of hilly vineyards Much dancing and singing; evolved into competing choral groups Eventually became a huge festival, the City Dionysia, that everyone attended. Three playwrights each had a day in which to present 3 tragedies on one theme and a satyr play (farce) that provided comic relief at the end Tragedy comes from the word tragos for “goat song” The first winner of the City Dionysia, in 534, was Thespis He introduced a chorus leader, who spoke opposite the chorus and became the first actor He also introduced the use of masks Chorus around altar Audience on benches placed on sloping hills, looking down on chorus Evolved into what became today’s amphitheatres – concentric semi-circles of stone carved into the hillside Amazing acoustics – seated up to 25,000 , no microphones Orchestra area: circular space at base of hill Skene: small building behind orchestra with 3 doors for entrances Skene became scenery – backdrops painted on boards and leaned against the skene Proskene became the proscenium arch The chorus of citizens is similar to today’s musical/opera choruses Offstage violence; bodies wheeled on stage Masks (helped audiences see and hear) Sound effects, i.e., drums for thunder And… “God from the machine” Originally a mechanical device for raising and lowering the gods Today, a deus ex machina is any device, such as a rich uncle, that unexpectedly occurs to resolve the problems in the play Rise of Rome, decline of Greece around 3rd century B.C. Theatre became more mass entertainment, very violent Competed with chariot races, circuses, staged battles scenes, etc. For many gods, not just one Very frequent performances Shows became short and usually comic – similar to today’s sitcoms Freestanding Pulpitum in front of back façade Vomitorium direct access from stage to exterior When Rome fell in 476 AD, the Christian church took over and all theatrical activity was banned Very gradual emergence of Liturgical Drama (900-1300) In churches or monasteries Chanted or sung In Latin Performed by choir boys or clergy members Short, part of the service Gradually arose in a period of stability after many years of war Trade guilds established Towns ruled by those high up in guilds Local language, spoken (not sung in Latin) Performed by laymen Mystery plays (bible stories) Miracle plays (lives of saints) Morality plays (taught right/wrong, abstract characters) Passion plays by the late middle ages No permanent stages Mansions represented locations Platea multipurpose open area around the mansion Some stationary sets Pageant wagons (the origin of today’s parade floats) – sponsored by the appropriate guild No masks except on devils Regular people in street clothes Gods, saints and angels in church clothes Fantastical costumes and special effects for devils Flourishing of visual and literary art that began in Italy Focus on the genius and beauty of humans In theatre: A shift from simultaneous to sequential settings Return to Greek classics Addition of perspective art Wandering troupes, flexible, could perform anywhere – expanded throughout Europe Stock characters: young lovers, miserly old man, old lecher, stuck up (but gullible) scholar, cowardly braggart, sassy servants All masked except lovers Outline scripts with a lot of improvisation and comic bits The servants, called zanni, acted “zany” Broad, often bawdy humor Shakespeare “Wooden O” stages that facilitated quick changes of scene Largely bare stages with balconies and traps All classes – “groundlings” to royalty Attempt to recreate the relationship between music and speech from Greek Tragedy – a failure, but a new art form was born! Lots of spectacle: drama/dance/ music/ special effects From perspective art: the proscenium becomes a picture frame, and the stage is raked to add dimension