Download A Very Brief History of Theatre

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Primitive/Ancient Dances
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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
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Explain
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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
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Probably first practitioners
of definite drama
Around 3000 B.C.
Pyramid plays
Abydos Passion Play
(resurrection)
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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
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Tragedy comes from the word tragos for
“goat song”
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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
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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
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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…
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“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
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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
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Freestanding
Pulpitum in
front of
back façade
Vomitorium
direct
access from
stage to
exterior
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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)
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In churches or monasteries
Chanted or sung
In Latin
Performed by choir boys or clergy members
Short, part of the service
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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
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No permanent stages
Mansions represented locations
 Platea multipurpose open area around the mansion
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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
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Flourishing of visual and literary art that began
in Italy
Focus on the genius and beauty of humans
In theatre:
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A shift from simultaneous to sequential settings
Return to Greek classics
Addition of perspective art
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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
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Shakespeare
“Wooden O” stages
that facilitated quick
changes of scene
Largely bare stages
with balconies and
traps
All classes –
“groundlings” to
royalty
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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