Download Theatre History - Harrisonville Schools

THEATRE HISTORY
• Theatre has existed since the dawn of man due to man’s tendency for story-telling.
• The first recorded formal theatrical event was in ancient Egypt around 2500 BC
where they performed the sacred plays of the myth of Osiris and Isis.
• Every portion of the world has it’s own theatre history (which you will study later for
your projects).
GREEK THEATRE
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Places:
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People:
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Orestia, Agamemnon, Euminides (Aeschylus)
Oedipus, Antigone, Electra (Sophocles)
Trojan Women, Medea, Hippolytus, Cyclops (Euripides)
Birds, Clouds, Frogs (Aristophanes)
Tech:
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Sophocles- playwright. Wrote about the relationship between the gods & man
Euripides- wrote about psychology in women
Thespis- winner of one of the playwriting competitions. First actor stepped away from the Greek chorus.
Aeschylus (es-kil-us) wrote 90 plays. Often called “Father of Tragedy”
Aristophanes- wrote comedies. Made fun of leaders of Athens & the gods
Plays: all religious and about the Greek gods
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Athens was the center location for competitions.
Theatre of Dionysius was an open air theatre built like a football stadium. Held thousands of people (around 14,000-17,000 people)
Theaters built into hillsides so people could see
Behind the stage aka orchestra was the skene (skaynee) a small hut building for dressing rooms.
large masks with microphones. Changed masks to change character.
The performances took place on the group level called the orchestra
No electricity so plays started early morning and went till sunset
Deus ex machina- the god machine. Crane that helped actors fly
Other info:
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Started at religious festivals for Dionysius. Drama at first, added comedy later.
Greek chorus
words come from Greece: theatre, drama, comedy, and tragedy (comes from tragos meaning goat song because during the festival they sacrificed
a goat and sang a song as part of the celebration
GREEK THEATRE- PLACES
skene
Theater of Dionysus
Built into a hillside
GREEK THEATRE- FESTIVAL OF DIONYSUS
Dionysus
Thespis
GREEK THEATRE- TECH
Deus ex machina
Masks
ITALIAN RENAISSANCE THEATRE
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Places:
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Rome (very wealthy area, so they had lots of time and $ for entertainment.)
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Teatro Olimpico- in Vicenza Italy, oldest surviving theatre
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Roman Coliseum
People:
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Seneca- wrote tragedies (took plots from Greek plays and rewrote)
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Titus Plautus
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Terence (aka Publius Terentius Afer)
Plays:
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Trojan Women, Medea, Oedipus, Agamemnon (Seneca wrote, all based on greek plays)
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They eliminated the chorus
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Neoclassicism- focused on being true to life (verisimilitude)
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Commedia plays- The Miser, the Misanthrope, the Imaginary invalid
Tech:
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Added music in place of the chorus
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The entire setting of a play took place in one time in one place, no set or scene changes. (called unity of time, unity of place, and unity of
action
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Scaenae frons- permanent stone structure that represented facades of houses .this had doorways which represented the different main
characters homes and they used this for entrances and exits.
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Very little scenery. Outdoors
Other info:
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Extreme Realism
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Commedia dell’arte- “Comedy performed by professional artists,” Stock characters (young lovers, servant, father, soldier) ALL
IMPROVISED. Very physical performances (flips, leaps, etc.) The plots were simple: two young lovers (the innamorati) were kept apart by il
vecchi (the old men – fathers/guardians, elderly suitors, etc.) The zanni (servants) helped to outwit the old men and bring the lovers
together.
ITALIAN THEATRE- TECH
Scaenae frons
ITALIAN THEATRE- PLACES
Roman Coliseum
Teatro Olympico
COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE
Young lovers (AKA innamorati
the old men – fathers/guardians,
elderly suitors (AKA Vecchi)
Servants (AKA Zanni)
ENGLISH (ELIZABETHAN) THEATRE
• Places: permanent theatres began to arise. Before plays were done in town squares
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Theaters were round and had 3 levels of seating called galleries. The pit is where poor people stood, and those people were
called groundlings. For a large fee people could sit on stage.
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The Globe theatre- Shakespeare’s theater
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Christopher Marlowe- Shakespeare's rival. Most famous playwright until Shakespeare started
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Ben Jonson-. He was a rebel & was always in trouble with the law.
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Shakespeare- considered greatest playwright of all time. 37 plays, 154 sonnets.
• Plays: Court plays- came after Shakespeare. They were more sophisticated and serious. Shakespeare’s plays were
boisterous
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the Jew of Malta, , the Tragical History of Doctor Faustus (Marlowe)
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The Alchemist, Every man in his humor (Jonson)
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Romeo, Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, midsummer, shrew (Shakespeare)
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Theaters had partial roofs called the Heavens because of the stars drawn on them. The other half was open and used for lighting
the stage
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They had lots of trap doors
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Flags on top of theatre show there will be a play
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Tiring house-area behind the stage, this served as a backdrop.
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Inner stage- roofed area at back of stage to give impression of being inside
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No women on stage
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During this time acting went from a hobby to a career
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Civil war in 1642 stopped theatre for a while. Puritans banned theatre and stages were destroyed
ENGLISH THEATRE- PLACES
• The Globe Theater
ENGLISH THEATRE- PEOPLE
Christopher Marlowe
Shakespeare’s
rival- most popular
until Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
Most well-known
author of all time
Ben Johnson
Rebel- known for
getting into trouble
with the law
ENGLISH THEATRE- TECH
The Heavens
If the flag was black, a tragedy was
scheduled; white flag meant comedy; and a
red flag meant a history play.