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Theatre History
Classical Theatre
Where did it begin?
Ritual played an important role in the development of
drama in the days of early people.
Ritual had a religious purpose, an instructive purpose,
and an entertainment purpose.
Common elements found in ritual: music, dance, and
elaborate movement, masks and costumes.
Greece
Dionysus- Greek god of wine and fertility
1200 BC in Greece, the “Cult of Dionysus” practiced
ritual celebrations- Theatre became the centre of the
celebrations.
A key part was the dithyramb- performed by a chorus of
50 men. (this was religion)
In 500 BC, we see the beginnings of Western theatre in
Athens (2,000 years before Shakespeare!!!)
Drama competitions introduced us to Comedy and
Tragedy. The dramatic festivals at which dramas were
performed were called “The City Dionysia”- performed
in the spring and the Lenaia and Rural Dionysia in the
winter
*A Dithyramb was a lengthy hymn or choral ode in honor of Dionysus
These competitions took place in Athens.
Some plays that were given to us by the Greeks are still
performed today.
Thespis added an actor to interact with the chorus and won
the first drama competition in 534 BC. “Thespians”
Aristotle (a Greek philosopher) tells us that one of the chorus
leaders, Thespis, left the chorus, jumped onto the alter, and
assumed the role of “the god”
Thespis was the first
Playwright as well.
He won the first Greek
Tragedy contest in 534 BCE
Greek Mythology and Drama
Greek Mythology is the legends and stories
behind Greek gods. The earliest Greek
Dramas, drew their plots and characters
from these myths.
Playwrights
The following Greek playwrights were
famous for their Tragedies:
Euripides
Aeschylus- Added the second actor- creating
dialog.
Sophocles- Added a third actor.
*We have more plays by Euripides than we do of Sophocles or Aeschylus.
*Sophocles’ most important drama is Oedipus Tyrannos a.k.a. Oedipus Rex or
Oedipus the King.- It is ranked with Shakespeare’s Hamlet and King Lear
* Aeschylus is the first of the three whose work has survived. He won 13
dramatic contests. We have seven of the approximately 80 plays that he wrote,
including the only complete trilogy: Orestia (458 BCE)
Playwrights
Aristophanes and Menander wrote Comedies
Aristophanes is the only Greek comedy playwright whose work has survived
Playwrights
Each Greek playwright is significant due to
their attributes to theatre.
Aeschylus, for example, is considered the
earliest playwright and introduced the idea of
an antagonist.
Sophocles added the concept of a third actor to
the play.
Euripides and Aristophanes were known for
developing plays with more dialogue and
realism.
Greek Plays
Greek plays are written in a climactic
structural pattern meaning that the
intensity of the action increases to a point
(the climax) until there is no where else to
go but down (the falling action/resolution)
Greek Plays/Vocabulary
Each Tragic playwright would submit four plays for
competition: a *trilogy (3 plays), and *satyr.
*Only one satyr play has survived: Cyclops by Euripides
Greek Vocabulary
trilogy is a set of three short plays tied together by a
common plot line, character, or idea.
satyr was generally believed to have been a comic
treatment of the serious material that was covered in the
tragedies.
Deus ex Machina- a Latin expression that literally means
God out of the machine. It is a playwriting term used to
describe a contrived ending. It means that the dramatic
problem is not solved by playwright’s characters, that a
solution is forced upon them by the playwright.
Old and New Greek Comedy
Old (written before 400 BCE)
New (after 400 BCE)
Old comedy was political satire.
New Comedy dealt with domestic affairs
The competitions
Play competitions drew in as many as
30,000 spectators.
Because there was no electricity, the plays
had to be held during the day.
Actors wore masks- some say which helped
to amplify the voice and show characters
through exaggerated features.
No Costumes or sets- the focus was on the
chorus and later, the actors.
Only Men acted.
Fifth Century Greek Theatre
The theatre of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and
Aristophanes, was a temporary wooden structure built
for the festival (City Dionysia). It was dismantled at the
conclusion of the celebration.
The audience most likely sat on wooden benches, while the
actors and chorus performed on a dirt floored acting
area called the orchestra.
A small wooden hut or tent, called a skene, was probably
added in the middle of the fifth century.
The first permanent theatre was built under Macedonian
rule in the fourth century BCE.
Ground plan of a Greek Theatre
Theatre of Dionysus
This permanent Greek theatre was built
between 342 and 326 BCE
Greek Theatre Vocabulary
Theatron- the semi-circular seating area. Generally
(but not always) carved out of the side of a hill.
It is the source of our word: theatre. “seeing
place”
Orchestra- Circular area t the foot of the hill,
where the chorus and actors performed.
Skene- The (palace or “scene house”)- had atleast
one to three openings that could be used as
entrances.
Machina- a crane mounted on the roof of the
skene. It was used to lower gods into the action
of the play. Hence the term deus ex machina---
God out of the machine.
The Greek Actors
How many actors were used in Greek tragedies?
It was depended upon the playwright.
Women did not perform on stage.
Acting in the Greek culture was considered an acceptable profession- this will
not always be the case as we move throughout the history of theatre
through different times and cultures.
The function of the chorus:
1. They were a character in the play- usually sympathetic to the protagonist
2. They presented the writers POV
3. They were the ideal spectator.
4. They broke the drama into scenes.
The Critics
Greek drama’s major critic was Aristotle.
384-322 BCE
He wrote about 100 years after Sophocles
major tragedies were produced.
The Poetics- the sourece of six elements of
dramatic structure.