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Greek Theatre Greece Greece, 5th century B.C., Athens was a happening place. Outstanding achievements politics, philosophy, science, and the arts. Athens is credited for example, with being the birth place of democracy. In 510 B.C., the rulers of Athens established a democracy for free citizens, which means that all male citizens – men who were not slaves or of nonAthenian origin – were given a voice in politics and government. Notice this did not include women. Other Advances Greek philosophers, such as Socrates and Plato tried to explain the world around them. Mathematician, Pythagoras, formulated a theory that remains one of the cornerstones of geometry. Hippocrates wrote the physician’s oath that doctors still take today – Hippocratic Oath. This era also ushered in great accomplishments in art and architecture. Columns and proportions used to design and build the Acropolis and the Parthenon are stilled used by architects today. This was also a golden era for the development of Theatre. Origins of Greek Theatre The precursor to Greek Theatre was the religious ceremonies, which were a prominent feature of Greek society: funeral services festivals celebrating the seasons and ceremonies honoring the gods. Religion Greece at this time was polytheistic. Polytheistic – believing in more than 1 god. The Greeks did not regard the gods as all-powerful They did believe that the gods could protect them and reveal the future. Greek gods Through the centuries, the Greeks had developed a religion based on the worship of a group of gods. Zeus was the leader of this group of gods along with his wife, Hera. Annual festivals were held in honor of those gods to appease them and pay honor to them in hopes that they would guide and protect them. Theatre became a central feature of certain religious festivals. Theatrical presentations were both religious events and entertainment. Religious Ceremonies These ceremonies were the beginnings of what later became theatre. During these original religious ceremonies dithyrambs were performed. A dithyramb was a long hymn, sung and danced by a group of fifty men. Its format may have been similar to a modern-day choral presentation: the leader of the chorus recited or sang and improvised story while the other members sang a popular refrain. By about 600 B.C. the dithyramb became a literary form detailing heroic stories. Thespis In the sixth century B.C., Thespis transformed the dithyramb into tragedy by stepping out of the chorus and becoming the first actor! Thespis delivered a prologue and presented dialogue that required him to impersonate a character: thus a purely narrative or storytelling form became a dramatic form in which characters exchanged lines. It is from the name Thespis that we get the modern term thespian which is a synonym for actor. From religious ceremony to Theatre! People of all social classes attended theatrical performances. We know that both the upper and lower class participated because in 450 B.C. the Theoric Fund was established to assist those who were too poor to afford admission to the theatre. The religious aspects of these festivals made them far more important to people then modern theatre is to us. Festivals were no joke Business would shut down for day Traveled from all around to see drama competitions. Prisoners temporarily released to see plays. Wars ceased and political concerns were ignored. No good modern comparison. The Super Bowl or the returns after a Presidential election attract the attention of millions of Americans. Life still goes on during these events. Dionysus and the City Dionysia Of particular significance to theatre was Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility and the City Dionysia. A festival honoring the god Dionysus. The City Dionysia was a signal event in Athens End of March, when spring had arrived and the port near Athens, which was closed for the winter, had reopened and visitors began pouring into the city. City Dionysia The City Dionysia lasted several days. Parades and sacrifices honoring Dionysus. 5 days were then assigned to dithyrambs and plays. On 2 of these days, 10 dithyrambic choruses were presented. 3 days - tragedies and satyr plays. With one tetrology being presented each day tetralogy - is 3 tragedies and one satyr play by a single playwright. After the Festival A few days after the festival, awards were given and people who had behaved improperly or disrespectfully were judged and penalized. Ex: A punishment would be given out to a festivalgoer who used violence to prevent someone else from taking a seat in the theatre or who carried a whip and struck an enemy with it while intoxicated. The best tragic and comic playwrights were awarded prizes. Later they added an award for the best tragic acting in the festival. The modern equivalent = Tony Awards. The organization of the Festivals Since theatre was both a religious and civic event, because the festivals incorporated both, the organization of the dramatic presentations was undertaken by the citystate (government). The city provided the theatre space, the awards, and the playwrights’ and actors’ salaries. The archon, an appointed government official, chose the plays 11 months before the next festival. The Choregus The archon appointed a choregus, the equivalent of a modern-day producer, for each of the playwrights. The choregus, a wealthy individual, provided the money himself and paid for all the major expenses connected with the chorus: rehearsals, costumes, and musicians. While it is true that a stingy choregus could hurt a playwright’s chances of winning the contest, usually the choregus would strive to produce a winner because winning was a source of great prestige. When their productions won, for example, some choregoi erected monuments in their own honor. Tragedies The sources of the subject matter of most of the plays written for the festivals were Greek myths. The stories in myths provided: action, the characters, and the conflicts. A myth is a story or legend – sometimes invented, sometimes based loosely on fact – handed down from generation to generation. Frequently, a myth is an attempt to explain natural and human events: The changing of the seasons or a cataclysmic occurrence like an earthquake or a civil war. Aeschylus During this Golden age of Theatre there were 3 big tragic playwrights. He was the first to develop drama into a form separate from singing, dancing, or storytelling. Considered the founder of Greek drama and therefore of all western drama. Acknowledged master of the tetralogy – four plays which can stand separately but are united by a single story or theme. Before Aeschylus, a drama would have only one actor, who interacted with the chorus. He added a second actor. Aeschylus was one of them! This was an important development in theatre practices, since it allowed for true dialogue for the first time. He reduced the size of the chorus from 50 to 12. Wrote 90 plays! Sophocles Increased the chorus from 12 to 15. Introduced a third actor. Told his stories as single dramas instead of extending them into the traditional trilogy. Wrote over 120 plays – 7 survived Euripides Was often criticized for being too modern. His characters behaved as people do in everyday life and such realism wasn’t considered appropriate for tragedy. Criticized for his diminished use of the chorus. He mixed comedy and tragedy and critics did not like it but it would later serve as the model for tragicomedy and melodrama of later periods. He created believable female characters and showed a greater understanding of women than his contemporaries. 18 plays still exist Aristotle He was a philosopher and literary critic 100 years after the golden age. He was NOT a playwright. Aristotle tried to pinpoint the characteristics of the Greek tragedies. He wrote about it in a book called, The Poetics. The Poetics is not a play. It is a literary criticism. Aristotle’s Six Elements of Drama According to Aristotle, there were six elements of drama, which he ranked in order of priority. 1. Plot – the arrangement of dramatic incidents. 2. Characters – the people represented in the play. 3. Thought or theme – the ideas explored. 4. Language – the dialogue and poetry. 5. Music 6. Spectacle – scenery and other visual elements. Pattern of a Greek Tragedy Prologos – opening scene, this sets the action and provides background information. Next comes the Parados, in which the chorus enters. This is followed by the first episode, a scene in which the characters confront each other and the play starts to develop. Next there is a choral ode performed by the chorus. Throughout the body of the play, episodes alternate with choral odes until.. The exodus, the final scene, in which all the characters exit from the stage. More from Aristotle Aristotle said that every tragedy contained: a katharsis – a Greek work translated as “purgation.” It means to have some kind of emotional release during a play. (could be tears, fear, laughter…etc) Protagonist – The tragic hero, who is usually a royal figure. Why does the tragic hero suffer? According to Aristotle, it’s because the hero suffers from some tragic flaw, or hamartia, in his or her character. Many times this tragic flaw was hubris, or excessive pride. Comedies Comedies of this period were called Old Comedies. Old comedy always makes fun of society, politics, or culture, and frequently its characters are recognizable contemporary personalities. In The Clouds, for example, the philosopher Socrates is shown as a character suspended in midair in a basket – in other words his head is always in the clouds. A modern day example would be when SNL makes fun of President Bush or Obama. Old Comedy used fantastical and improbable plots to underline its satire. In Lysistrata, Aristophanes uses a comic premise in order to condemn the Peloponnesian Wars, which were then raging in Greece. The Greek women in this comedy go on a sex strike, refusing to sleep with their husbands until the men cease warring. Miraculously, the scheme works. Comedy vs. Tragedy Old Comedies also had a chorus, but the chorus was only 24 men. The chorus was also unique in that it was a double chorus, meaning it was 2 groups of 12 men. Old Comedies have sections similar to those in tragedy; prologos, episodes alternating with choral odes, and the exodus. They also have additional sections. Additions to Old Comedies agon, a scene with a debate between the two opposing forces of the play – each representing one side of a social or political issue. parabasis, a scene in which the chorus speaks directly to the audience, makes fun of the spectators and specific audience members. Religious and political officials attended dramatic festivals and were seated in the front row of the theatre; during the parabasis, the chorus would single them out for ridicule. A counterpart today would be television or standup comics who attack their audience. Satry Plays Satyr Play - comical plays that poked fun at honored Greek institutions, including religion and folk heroes. Had a chorus of satyrs, mythological creatures who were half-goat and half-man. Satyr plays were not family friendly shows and often had elements of vulgarity. For example these plays often included explicit sexual material. The only complete satyr play still in existence is The Cyclops by Euripides. The Greek Amphitheatre Since tragedies, comedies, and satyr plays were offered at religious festivals, huge theatres were necessary. accommodated 15,000 to 17,000 spectators. Greek theatres were outdoor amphitheaters. Parts of the Greek Theatre There were four separate parts in a Greek theatre: Theatron Orchestra Skene parados Theatron Translated means, “the viewing place.” It is where the audience sat. Greeks built their theatres into hillsides which provided naturally sloped seating and excellent acoustics. Orchestra (the stage) The orchestra, or playing area, was surrounded on three sides by audience. It is believed that the orchestra was a circle that was approximately 66 feet in diameter and paved with stone. In the center of the orchestra was the altar – a reminder that Greek drama was a part of religious rituals. Skene scene building, which was located behind the orchestra. The skene contained: dressing space for the actors who needed to change costumes and was used to store props. It is also believed that the skene building was used as the basic setting for all plays. Parados Entrance chorus. to the theatre used by the Amphitheatre Lighting Amphitheaters were outdoors and electricity had not been invented. illumination was provided by the sun. The Greeks were often resourceful in use of natural lighting in their dramas. play required a “sunrise effect,” example, it would be presented as first drama of the day, at dawn. the If a for the Costumes Tragedies: Tragic characters wore a very ornate tunic with a long or short cloak. Old Comedies: were based on everyday clothing and were short tunics. Satyr Plays: very short, tight tunics. Masks All Greek performers wore masks which covered the entire head and included hair, beards and other distinctive facial features. Usually the masks were made of linen, wood, or leather. Human or animal hair was also used. The eyes were fully drawn but in the place of the pupil of the eye was a small hole so that the actor could see Why Did They Need Masks? These helped the audience identify characters allowed the actors to perform multiple roles. Since there were no female actors masks made it possible for men to play women. Amplification so the audience could hear the actors better. Masks For tragedies the masks were not highly exaggerated and all the chorus members had the same mask. The Chorus in Tragedies represented every day people. Comic choruses, on the other hand, often required unusual masks. The chorus in Old Comedies represented fantastical creatures. We know that in two of Aristophanes plays the chorus members were frogs and birds.