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FMP – Theatre through time: RESEARCH: GREEK Festivals were put on as a way of honouring gods. Men would perform songs to welcome the God `Dionysus` and plays were only performed at the `City Dionysus festival`. Athens was the place used for `these theatrical traditions`. In early Greek plays, the same individual would act in and direct the performance. As time went on, only 3 people `were allowed to perform in each play`. Later, `non-speaking actors were allowed to perform on stage` too. The chorus became a `very active part of Greek theatre` and music was sometimes played during the delivery of the lines that the chorus had. A significant difference between tragedy, comedy and satyr formed. Thespis was considered `to be the first Greek “actor”`. `Aristotle’s poetics contain the earliest known theory about the origins of Greek theatre`. Three well known Greek tragedy playwrights are Sophocles, Euripides and Aeschylus. `Comedy plays were derived from imitation`. `Aristophanes wrote most of the comedy plays`. Theatre buildings were called a `theatron`. Theatres were large and open air built on the slopes of hills. They consisted of `the orchestra, the skene and the audience`. The orchestra was a `large circular or rectangular area at the centre part of the theatre where the play, dance, religious rites and acting used to take place`. The skene was a `large rectangular building situated behind the orchestra, used as a backstage`. Earlier, it was a tent or hut and later it became a stone structure that was permanent. Due to the number of people on stage and the large audiences, the theatres were built to accommodate up to fourteen thousand people. `Ancient Greek actors had to gesture grandly so that` all of the `audience could see and hear the story`. Most Greek theatres were constructed to transmit `the smallest sound to any seat`. Masks `were made from linen or cork` and tragic `masks carried mournful or pained expressions, while comic masks were smiling or leering`. `The shape of the mask amplified the actor’s voice, making his words easier for the audience to hear`. http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/Theatre/ Athens, Greece between 600 and 200 BC Dithryamb `chronic hymn` was introduced as part of a religious ceremony as a hymn in the middle of a mass describing Disonyus – the god of fertility & procreation Lead by a leader of a band of revelers; a group of dancers. Performed by 50 men dressed as satrys – half human, half goat. Soon became a competitive subject at Athenian festivals. “Attic theatre” was used to refer to Greek theatre 534 BC – Pisistratus (ruler of Athens) put drama competitions in to place Theatre at Delphi, the Attic Theatre and Theatre of Disonyus in Athens constructed Plays performed in daytime and competitions spread over a few days Tragedy – from Greek words tragos – goat and ode – song; due to teach religious lessons Greek religion encouraged people to behave and think a certain way However, there was also a `birth of intelligence and free thought` Tragedy: Prologue; set the scene, Parados; an ode sung by the chorus as it made its entrance, 5 dramatic scenes each before a komos; exchange of laments by chorus and protagonist, Exodus; climax and conclusion Aeschylus (playwright) added a 2nd character (the antagonist) to act with the first. Props and scenery introduced. Earliest play to exist – Aeschylus’s Persians Died 456 BC – `population grew to 150,000, government embraced democracy and the arts flourished` Sophocles – added 3rd character and emphasis on drama between humans instead of humans and gods Won 20 competitions Euripides placed peasants next to princes – balanced feelings Comedy in Aristotle’s time considered trival and common New comedy – use of over satire, topicality and the pointed lampooning of celebrated characters Aristophane replaced with mistaken identities, ironic situations and ordinary characters with wit 404 BC – `overrun by Spartans and fell under dominion of Alexander the Great` http://anarchon.tripod.com/indexGREEKTH.html ROMAN Roman theatre was strongly influenced by Greek theatre. `The semi-circular design of the building enhanced the natural acoustics of the theatre`. The Roman theatre was `built in the shape of a semi-circle and the amphitheatre was generally oval`. `Roman theatres were designed for stage plays` and amphitheatres were built for `greater spectacles and shows of gladiators and wild animals`. The theatre of Pompey was the first Roman theatre. In `the first stages of the Commonwealth`, theatres `were only temporary and were therefore, composed of wood`. Theatres `were designed in the shape of a half circle and built on a level ground with stadium-style seating where the audience was raised`. Up to 15,000 people could be seated. The auditorium was sometimes `constructed on a small hill or slope in which stacked seating could be easily made mimicking the tradition of Greek theatres`. The entrances to the theatres were important `in order to safely handle the number of Romans in attendance`. `The surrounding Roman corridor separated the galleries of a theatre were used for walkways, concentric with the rows of seats, between the upper and lower seating tiers`. `The theatre didn’t` have a roof, instead awning was pulled over the audience to protect them from the sun and rain`. The seating area `was called the Cavea` and was arranged in a wedge shape. The seats were divided in to `senators, knights and the commons`. The stage was raised to roughly `five feet high` and was covered with a roof. There was a stage house behind the stage, `doorways to the left and right` and a curtained central doorway from which the actors made their entrances`. There was `3-5 doors in the rear wall of the stage`. `Roman playwrights included Seneca for tragedy and Plautus and Terence for comedy`. The most famous plays `were the Menaechmi by Plautus and Oedipus by Seneca`. An `actor spoke the character’s lines and a different actor mimed the part on stage`. The stage of the theatre `had a curtain that could be lowered in to the stage to reveal a scene`. Trap doors were used to enter and exit props. Costumes `mirrored traditional Greek clothing`. They `had a standard design which was a long robe called a Chiton` (tunic). A himation was often worn over the chiton and they were both coloured to `denote character, sex and rank`. Female `characters were originally played by men`. (`A purple costume identified a rich man, boys wore striped togas, soldiers wore shot cloaks, red costumes indicated a poor man a yellow robe meant the character was a woman, short tunics indicated a slave and a yellow tassel meant the character was a god`). Actors `wore a cheap and simple sandal called the Baxa`. It `was made from vegetable leaves, twigs and fibres. Woven palm leaves were used to make the bottom of the shoe`. The strap was `made from palm leaves and vegetable leaves in a style similar to modern-day flip flops`. http://www.tribunesandtriumphs.org/roman-life/roman-theatre.htm `Women were not allowed to act` Actors spoke lines, another actor mimed the gestures `to fit the lines` and background music If script involved death, `a condemned man would` replace the actor last minute `and actually be killed on stage`. The scaenae frons - `the elaborately decorated background of a Roman theatre stage` The pulpitum – screen that tended to be made from stone. Divided `the choir (the area containing the choir stalls and high alter in a cathedral, collegiate or monastic church) from the nave and ambulatory (the parts of the church to which lay worshippers may have access)` A proscenium - `the area of a theatre surrounding the stage opening` The cavea - `the subterranean cells in which wild animals were confined before the combats in the Roman arena or amphitheatre` A vomitorium - `passage situated below or behind a tier of seats in an amphitheatre` used by crowds to exit once the performance was over Theatre of Marcellus – survived in Rome. Caesar started it and Augustus finished it Stands `on a level ground and is supported by radiating walls and concrete vaulting` Theatre of Orange – 1st century CE. Seen `by the Roman Authorities not only as a means of spreading Roman culture to the colonies, but also a way of distracting them from all political activities` Free to watch 4th century – Western Roman Empire declined. Christianity was the official religion and the theatre `was closed by official edict in AD 391 since the church opposed what it regarded as uncivilized spectacles` The barbarians took it over and it was used in the Middle Ages as a defensive post http://www.crystalinks.com/rometheaters.html 4th century BC - `Romans first experienced theatre` 240 BC – Roman drama started `with the plays of Livius Andronicus` 509-27 BC – Roman Republic expanded and `Rome encountered Greek drama` 2nd century BC - `drama was firmly established in Rome and a guild of writers (collegium poetarum) had been formed` Plautus `wrote between 205 and 184 BC` Terence – 170-160 BC Gaius Maecenas Melissus – 1st century “comedy of manners” Seneca – 1st century dramatist www.Crystalinks.com/romantheatre.html LITURGICAL DRAMA (MIDDLE AGES) This `type of play` was performed near or within a church and related to `stories from the Bible`. However, `such plays were not performed as an essential part of a standard church service`. The `language of liturgical drama was Latin`. `The earliest traces of` this are from `manuscripts dating` back to the 10th century. As time went on, it gradually increased both in length and in sophistication. It particularly flourished `during the 12th and 13th centuries`. `The most popular themes were derived from colourful biblical tales` such as Daniel in the Lion’s Den. `Eventually, the connection between` liturgical drama and the church` was severed completely` due to the plays `coming under secular sponsorship and they adopted the vernacular`. http://www.britannica.com/topic/liturgical-drama `began with religious and moral themed plays` Early Medieval period – few records of plays survived because the general population’s literacy rate was low Earliest liturgical drama – “Easter trope, Whom do you seek” This style didn’t `involve actors impersonating characters, but it did involve singing by two groups` Hrotsrit – first recorded female playwright. Wanted `to save Christians from the guilt that reading Classical Literature instilled in its readers` `Actors in plays in the late Middle Ages were usually laymen from the town’s local population` `A change in interests among popular culture, a change in patronage to the theatre, and the establishment of playhouses signified the death of the theatre in the Middle Ages` 10th century - `Hrotsvit, a histrorian and aristocratic canoness from Northern Germany` - first female playwright `purpose for writing was to save Christians from the guilt that reading Classical Literature instilled in its readers` 1501 – `work first published` 12th century - `Secular Latin plays were an important aspect` 12th century - `Religious plays began production outside of the church` http://www.thefinertimes.com/Middle-Ages/theatre-in-the-middle-ages.html MYSTERY PLAYS (MEDIEVAL TIMES) These plays were used to dramatize `key biblical stories from the Creation of the Last Judgement`. The plays were `usually performed in connection with the new early summer feast of Corpus Christi (instituted in 1311), the Thursday after Trinity Sunday in June and may have developed from the processions` that took place on that day. Records show `that the plays were performed on pageant wagons wheeled through the city streets`. `Guilds sponsored particular plays and the players were guild members`. The plays were `full of humour and vitality`. The original authors `would have been clerics`. Plays that related to the Old Testament were dramatized because they were `seen to prefigure the central drama of Christ’s life`; for example, `Noah’s flood anticipates the Last Judgement`. The mystery plays provided people with the opportunity to `exploit the ways in which their audiences were steeped in a visual culture that everywhere depicted` sections of the Bible. http://www.english.cam.ac.uk/medieval/mystery_plays.php Usually represented subject matters from the Bible 16th century – church `no longer supported them because of their dubious religious value` Professional travelling companies were soon preferred by the general public Performed `on pageant wagons, which provided both scaffold stage and dressing room and could be moved about readily` http://www.britannica.com/art/mystery-play 600 AD – `fall of Rome` “dark ages” 4th century - `Bishop of Rome, claiming to be the successor to St. Peter, established supremacy in church matters and secular concerns` 600-1000 AD - `Little is known about the theatre` 925-975 – drama was `re-introduced into the church services` 12th century - `Crusades helped bring other cultures to Europe` 2 types of stages: Fixed & Moveable `Simultaneous staging was a distinctive characteristic of medieval theatre` FIXED – mansions put up in clear space, opposite ends, Heaven and Hell MOVEABLE – pageant wagons were `moved through the streets` and the audience would stay in the same place Church `performed in cycles`: Mystery plays, Miracle Plays, Morality plays Late 16th century – drama in the `medieval period lost its force` `Increased interest in classical learning – affected staging and playwriting` `Social structure was changing – destroyed feudalism and “corporate” nature of communities` `Dissension within the church led to prohibition of religious plays in Europe` Plays `usually performed in connection with the new early summer feast of Corpus Christi (instituted in 1311)` 16th century – church `no longer supported them because of their dubious religious value` http://novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/spd130et/medieval.html NOH THEATRE (14th century) Noh theatre is Japanese drama. Its name means `“talent” or “skill”`. These performers were `simply storytellers who used their visual appearances and their movements to suggest the essence of their tale`. It `developed from ancient forms of dance and drama and from types of festival dramas` that took place at temples and shrines. `It became a ceremonial drama performed on auspicious occasions by professional actors for the warrior class`. `There are five types of Noh plays. The first type, the kami (“god”) play, involves a sacred story of a Shintō shrine; the second, shura mono (“fighting play”), centres on warriors; the third, katsura mono (“wig play”), has a female protagonist; the fourth type, varied in content, includes the gendai mono (“present-day play”), in which the story is contemporary and “realistic” rather than legendary and supernatural, and the kyōjo mono (“madwoman play”), in which the protagonist becomes insane through the loss of a lover or child; and the fifth type, the kiri or kichiku (“final” or “demon”) play, features devils, strange beasts, and supernatural beings`. A typical Noh play is `short and its dialogue sparse`. The program tended to consist of three plays from the five types. On stage, you would have the `principal actor, the subordinate actor and the narrator`. http://www.britannica.com/art/Noh-theatre Tokugawa period - `became increasingly standardized with an emphasis on tradition rather than innovation` There are 5 troupes which perform to this day Themes - `dreams, supernatural worlds, ghosts and spirits` Performed `on a square stage with a roof that is supported at its four corners by pillars. All side of the stage are open except for the back side which consists of a wall` Performers enter the stage using a bridge that is at an angle off the stage All that perform are male Masks – 3D `properties allow skilled actors to induce a variety of expressions with changes in head orientation` Kyogen – performed at intervals 14th century – originated `popularized and formalized by a man named Zeami during the Muromachi Period` (1333-1573) Tokugawa Period (1603-1867) - `shogunate made noh its official ceremonial art and issued regulations for its goverance` http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2091.html ROMAN REVIVALS AND INTERMEZZI (RENAISSANCE) These were `performed on festive occasions` in the presence of Italian princes. It became the custom `to have rather more lavish musical entertainment (intermezzi) between the acts, with spectacular stage effects, beautiful costumes and much singing and dancing`. `The first intermezzi to be preserved in detail for posterity` were `performed to celebrate a wedding at the Medici court in Florence in 1589`. The scenes were close to those that became `familiar to opera audiences over the next two centuries`. http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?ParagraphID=asu 1564 – Shakespeare and Marlowe born 1572 – Dekker and Johnson born 1574 - `St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in England – Marlowe based his play the Massacre at Paris` 1576 – Curtain theatre built 1577 - `Raphael Holinshed publishes his Holinshed Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland, the primary source text for most of Shakespeare’s plays` 1580 - `Francis Drake completes his circum navigation of the globe` 1587 - `Theatre Impresario Phillip Henslowe builds the Rose theatre` 1592 - `Marlowe arrested at Flushing in the Netherlands for coining` 1592 - `”The Spanish Tragedy” by Thomas Kyd is published` 1593 – Theatres closed because of plague 1593 – Marlowe murdered and `Shakespeare’s Venus and Adonis published` 1594 – Theatres re-open, Kyd dies and `first recorded performance of Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus and The Taming of the Shrew take place` 1597 – Johnson and Nashe “The Isle of Dogs2 leads to Johnson being arrested 1599 – Globe built 1599-1602 - `Johnson battles John Marston and Thomas Dekker with wits and words in The War of Theatres` 1602 - `Twelfth Night opens` 1605 – Middleton and Dekker’s `”The Roaring Girl” is performed` 1610 – `Johnson’s The Alchemist opens` 1612-1618 – Dekker in debtor’s prison 1613 – Globe burnt down 1616 – Shakespeare dies 1617 – Johnson `named England’s first poet laureate` 1632 – Dekker dies 1637 – Johnson dies 1642 – `English Civil War commences and the Puritan Parliament bans the theatre and closes the playhouse` http://www.writersinspire.org/content/english-renaissance-timeline-some-historicalcultural-dates COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE This phrase means comedy of the trade which `merely implies professional actors`. This was often performed in the street, though it would have been performed inside if the premises were available. `Improvisation and slap stick played a huge part in the performances`. Each company performed their own material, however some characters were `widely established` and they became easily recognisable by the masks that they wore. An example of this is Il Capitano; he bragged about his bravery but was a coward when it came to danger. He’s `known as Scaramouche in France`. The Italian example has influenced many countries. In England, Pulcinella evolved `in to Punch, - the beak nosed wife beater of the well-known Punch & Judy shows`. http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?ParagraphID=asu No `attempt was made to change the performances dialect from region to region` The focus was physicality instead of what was said Minimalistic staging Arlecchino was a well-known character and `he bare two sticks tied together` and the noise created a great impact – slapstick was born Costumes helped the audience to understand the type of character an actor would be playing Males would wear half masks Female characters didn’t wear costumes or masks as identification Fixed character types wore coloured leather masks http://italian.about.com/library/weekly/aa110800d.htm LONDON’S THEATRES `In 1576, an actor James Burbage built a permanent playhouse in Shoreditch`. He called `it the theatre` and it followed `the architectural form of an inn yard with galleries enclosing a yard open to the sky`. A second playhouse called the curtain was built in 1577. Next built was the Rose in 1587 `on the south bank of the Thames` in an area called bankside. Burbage died in 1597 and two years later, his sons dismantled the theatre and carried the timber to the other side of the river where they used as the base for a new theatre – the Globe. This was where Richard – one of the Burbage brothers developed `in to one of the first great actors of the English stage`. Ordinary Londoners (the groundlings) stood `in the open pit to watch plays for a penny`, others would pay a second penny `to climb to a hard seat in the upper gallery` and a third penny would provide them with `access to the two lower galleries and a seat with a cushion`. Around 21,000 people would go to the theatre each week. http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?ParagraphID=asu 1558-1603 – Elizabeth I’s Reign – `known for her cultivation of British drama and literature`. Possible `that Shakespeare’s works wouldn’t have survived to this day were it not for Elizabeth I’s support` 1573-1652 – Inigo Jones – introduced proscenium arch 1576 - `first permanent public playhouse` was built 1577-1622 - `The Curtain theatre was built on Curtain Close in Shoreditch` 1592-1594 – Plague meant that between `1592 and 1594 all theatres in London were closed` 1593 – Marlowe killed 1599 – Globe built 1601 - `2nd Earl of Essex Robert Devereux commissioned a performance of Shakespeare’s Richard II`. This was `about the overthrow of an unpopular monarch`. He did `to try and remove Elizabeth I from power`. Tried `for treason and put to death` 1603-1625 – King James 1st `awarded a royal charter to Shakespeare’s company of players and they subsequently changed their name to the King’s Men` Exclusive performances given before the monarchy “masques” - `became a fashionable and often expensive leisure activity for royal families all over Europe` 1613 – Globe burnt down `canon used during a performance of Henry VIII started a fire` 1642 – Puritans thought that the theatre `attracted an indecent crowd`, so all theatres in Britain were closed for 18 years 1644 - Globe demolished by puritans 1660 – Charles II `inspired he genre of Restoration Comedy which was quick witted, full of innuendo and cynicism` 1660 – Theatre Royal, Drury Lane built 1662 - `King Charles II issued a royal decree that female roles should only be played by female actors` 1671 – The Dorset Garden Theatre (now known as the Queen’s theatre) was built 1672 – Theatre Royal’s first fire 1717-1779 – David Garrick `revolutionised acting by playing his characters in a more realistic way` 1728 – “The Beggar’s Opera” – allegedly first musical in the world 1737 Licensing Act – Lord Chamberlain could get rid of anything he deemed inappropriate 1791 – Theatre Royal rebuilt 1800 – Theatre Royal and Covent Garden theatre were only 2 patented theatres allowed to show plays 1809 – Theatre Royal – 2nd fire 1828 – Royal Opera House destroyed by gas explosion 1868 – New Adelphi theatre opened 1880 – Paper “The Stage” first published 1889 – Lyric theatre opened 1889 – Garrick theatre opened 1896 – St James theatre – premiere of Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” 1901 – The Apollo theatre opened 1916 – “Chu-Chin-Chow” - `most successful production during World War 1` - based on Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves 1922 – Fortune theatre opened 1929 – Duchess theatre opened 1929 – Great Depression – lack of money for theatrical productions 1930 – Cambridge theatre opened 1930 – New Aldephi theatre opened - `redesigned by Ernst Schaufelberg in a fashionable Art Deco style` 1930 – “The Intimate Revue” had `the shortest run in West End history` - cast were laughed off stage 1931 – The Apollo Victoria theatre opened 1940 – The Blitz – theatres badly damaged Nov. 1952 – The Mousetrap opened May 1960 – Harold Pinter (British playwright) “The Caretaker” was his first West End success Dec. 1965 – “Saved” by Edward Bond `partly lead to the abolition of the Licensing Act in 1968` - set in a council estate in London `and examines the poverty of young people` Jan. 1968 – Licensing Act abolished June 1971 – Longest running British comedy, “No Sex Please” premiered Jan. 1976 – National theatre built June 1977 – Danmar Warehouse opened - `known for producing some of the most ground breaking performances in the UK` Oct. 1985 – Les Miserables opened March 11986 – Starlight Express at the Apollo Victoria theatre Oct. 1986 – Phantom of the Opera opened Jan. 1990 – Inside of the Savoy theatre destroyed by a fire July 1996 – Globe opened on South Bank June 2006 – Noel Coward theatre opened Sep. 2006 – Wicked opened Sep. 2009 – The Lord of the Rings `became one of the most expensive musicals of all time` http://www.londontheatres.co.uk/timeline/ MARLOWE `Christopher Marlowe was born in Canterbury` and attended the King’s School. He went on to become a playwright and his plays were performed in London. He became friends with the poet Thomas Watson which seemed to cause him trouble. The pair `were arrested in 1589` and were `charged with the homicide of William Bradley`. On the 30th of May, 1593, he spent the day `at the house of Mrs Eleanor Bull in Deptford`. He was with three gentlemen when a quarrel took place, it was reported that Marlowe drew a dagger and injured `one of his companions`. The gentlemen grabbed the weapon and in defence stabbed Marlowe in the right eye. http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/christopher-marlowe He wrote Tamburlaine parts 1 and 2 which caused great excitement. Its heroicness along `with the splendour of the blank verse led to its constant revival`. Edward II was his first successful history play and it was a moving tragedy. http://www.marlowe-society.org/marlowe/work/work.html Born in 1564 Achieved his bachelor of arts degree – 1584 Rumoured `that he had converted to Roman Catholicism` which caused the University to hesitate in giving him his degree Council didn’t specify the nature of hiss `service to England`, but it has been suggested that he `was serving the government in some secret capacity` 1594 – “Dido, Queen of Carthage” published (first play) Was an atheist and was therefore arrested as it `was a serious offence, for which the penalty was burning at the stake` `Shakespeare’s most important predecessor and is second only to Shakespeare himself in the realm of Elizabethan tragic drama` http://www.biography.com/people/christopher-marlowe-9399572#related-video-gallery SHAKESPEARE `Shakespeare was baptized in 1564 in Stratford-Upon-Avon`. He went on to become an `important member of Lord Chamberlain’s Men company of theatrical players`. He married Anne Hathaway in 1582. They had a daughter named Susanna and a set of twins Hamnet and Judith, although `Hamnet died aged 11 from an unknown cause`. By 1592, he was `earning a living as an actor and as a playwright`. By 1597, `15 of the 37 plays written by Shakespeare were published`. In 1599, `himself and his business partners built the Globe` and in 1605 he `bought leases of real estate near Stratford`. This `made him an entrepreneur as well as an artist`. His `early plays were written with elaborate metaphors and rhetorical phrases that didn’t always align naturally with the story’s plot or characters`. He `used unrhymed iambic pentameter or blank verse to structure his plays` and in doing this, he created freedom through his speech. `His early plays (aside from Romeo & Juliet) were history plays such as Richard II. He also wrote various comedies like A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Much Ado About Nothing`. In his late period (after 1600), he wrote his tragedies such as Hamlet and Macbeth. `During his final period he wrote the Tempest and the Winters Tale to name a few`. These `ended with reconciliation and forgiveness`. It is said that he died on his birthday. http://www.biography.com/people/william-shakespeare-9480323#related-video-gallery By 1600, Shakespeare had demonstrated his talent through every kind of play – `except tragedy`. Hamlet was Shakespeare’s first `full scale tragedy`, Othello followed and King Lear after that. These plays are tragic due to the main character in each having actions that `drive the events and whose flaws make the` consequences unavoidable. http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?groupid=81&HistoryID=ab35& gtrack=pthc Robert Greene (playwright) claimed that Shakespeare was an `upstart crow` 1598 - `first work published with his name on the title page` - “Love’s Labour’s Lost” 1598 – Frances Meres (author) `singled him out from a group of English writers as the “most excellent” in both comedy and tragedy` Published 154 sonnets with the themes of love, sex and beauty explored His friends John Heminge and Henry Condell put together 36 of his plays, `including 18 never before printed` - 7 years after his death 2006 – copy `sold for £2.8m` 19th century - `became an important emblem of national pride used to spread the influence of British imperial power` 1961 – Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) formed 1997 – Globe re-opened http://www.bbc.co.uk/timelines/z8k2p39 BEN JOHNSON Ben Johnson `was an early modern playwright` `and was crowned England’s first poet laureate` in 1616. It has not been reported when Johnson first entered the theatre world, however `in 1597 he was an actor for the Admiral’s Men`. Comedy `The Isle of Dogs` was co-written by Johnson and Thomas Nashe. When it was performed it caused upset and therefore `Johnson was arrested`. He participated in the “War of the Theatres” between 1599 and 1602. He `battled John Marston and Thomas Dekker by satirizing one another in their plays and poetry`. The `death of his seven year old son Benjamin` influenced the “Tribe of Ben”. `This was a group of poets who claimed that they were successors of Johnson. In the mix was Robert Herrick and Richard Lovelace`. http://writersinspire.org/content/ben-jonson-renaissance-playwright-renaissance-man Attended Westminster School and worked with his stepfather, bricklaying 1592 – Returned from Army 1594 – Married Anne Lewis Joined `the theatrical company of Philip Henslowe in London as an actor and playwright` Killed Gabriel Spencer in a duel. While he was imprisoned `he converted to Roman Catholicism only to covert back to Anglicism over a decade later in 1610` “Every Man in His Humour” (his second play) `was performed in 1598 by the Lord Chamberlain’s Men at the Globe with William Shakespeare in the cast` He `satirized other writers, chiefly the English dramatists Thomas Dekker and John Marston` Was `called before the Privvy Council on charges of `popery and treason`` due to his tragedy “Sejanus His Fall” offering an astute view of dictatorship` Due to having converted to Catholicism, he was `the object of deep suspicion after the Gunpowder Plot of Guy Fawkes` 1605 – wrote masques `for the entertainment of the court` Received `an honorary Master of Arts degree from Oxford University and lectured in rhetoric at Gresham College, London` 1628 - `appointed City Chronologer of London` 1637 – Died and buried in Westminster Abbey `under a plain slab on which was later carved the words, “O Rare Ben Johnson”` http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/jonson/benbio.htm ITALIAN STAGE AND SCENERY It was realized that the stage would look much better if framed and if the scenes could be rapidly changed. The `architect Giovanni Battista Aleotti` built the Teatro Farnese which was the first theatre to be fully `equipped with a permanent proscenium arch`. Scenery was `painted on a succession of parallel wings`. Flat wings made a `rapid change of scenery` possible. When scenery was due to be changed, the front wings would be `pulled out and the rears one pushed in`. Later, slots were `cut in to the stage so that the flats could rest on linked trolleys below`. `When a counterweight was released, every pair of wings moved in or out in perfect unison`. This was stage designers Giacomo Torelli’s invention. http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?groupid=81&HistoryID=ab35& gtrack=pthc 1485 - `Italian rulers began to finance productions of Roman plays and imitations of them`. This encouraged Roman plays to be rewritten in Italian 14th-16th century - `Renaissance drama developed in Italy, marking an end to medieval practices and a release of traditional Roman ways of presenting drama`. 1580-1584 – The Teatro Olympico was constructed `Italian architecture was an uninspired and relatively small affair` Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1466) – Invented `the principals of linear perspective in drawing and painting` 1419 - `commissioned to build the dome over the cathedral in Florence` 1419 – building not completed, solved problem by creating new dome that was `conical and high` Leon Baltista Alberti (1404-1472) – Known for his architectural books Perfected `the architectural language of the Renaissance` and is `considered to have perfected it in terms of symmetry and disposition` `Renaissance artists and architects applied many humanist principles to their work` Various `painters began to use a technique called chiaroscuro to create an illusion of three-dimensional space on a flat canvas` Teatro Olympico – Designed especially `for the Vicenza Accademia Olympica to stage theatrical perfomances` Design: seats on steep tiers formed a half circle These faced a proscenium stage that was rectangular Back wall had a central arch with 2 smaller doorways In these openings, `elaborate stage sets of streets angle backstage, a triad through the central opening and single streets through each side` Teatro Farnese design: `first permanent proscenium theatre` Theatre used for `official state functions` before it was abandoned after 104 years http://italianrenaissancetheatre.weebly.com/theatres.html CORNEILLE AND RACINE Pierre Corneille was a French poet and dramatist. He wrote his first play before he turned 20 and it was supposedly about a `personal love experience`; it was titled Melite. He went on to write a series of comedies. In 1647, he `moved with his family to Paris` and attended `the Academie Francais`, having been rejectd previously due to not living in the capital. For the next 14 years, he restrained to only writing one play a year. His final play was Serena and he later wrote some poetry. He was not rich, however not in poverty, but his situation wasn’t helped `by the intermittent stoppage of a state pension`. He died in his home and was buried in the Church of Saint Roch. http://www.britannica.com/biography/Pierre-Corneille Born in France in 1606 First play, `”Melite” was presented in Paris in 1629` 1663 - `granted a pension but its payment was irregular and he died in poverty` theatrehistory.com Jean Racine was a French dramatist and historiographer. His grandparents took him in at early age due to the death of his parents. He studied `Latin and Greek literature with distinguished masters`. `There were 3 ways for a writer to survive in Racine’s day: to attract a royal audience, to obtain an ecclesiastical benefice or to compose for the theatre`. His first successful play was La Thebaide and was about a set of identical twins; one that attacks and the other defends `their native city of Thebes`. He was the `first French author to live solely on the income provided by his work`. In 1674, he was `granted the title of treasurer of France` and later received the `role of ordinary gentleman of the King and then the Secretary of the King in 1696`. He died in 1699 from cancer of the liver. http://www.britannica.com/biography/Jean-Racine Attended `the school of a religious brotherhood at Port Royal` His first few bits of work were unsuccessful and he was advised `not to attempt any more tragedies` by Corneille 1670 – Racine and Corneille asked `to write a play on the subject of Berenice, though each was ignorant of the fact that the other was attempting the same theme` 12 years – wrote nothing to be presented on the stage Madame de Mointenon requested that `he produced Esther and Athalie for the pupils of Saint Cyr, a girl’s school under royal patronage` `Corneille was more concerned with events, so Racine was more concerned with character` `Voltaire sneered about the similarity of his heroes; and the Encyclopaedias of the next generation disparaged what they termed the access of sensibility in to the drama` http://www.theatredatabase.com/17th_century/jean_racine_001.html MOLIERE Jean Baptiste Poquelin was Moliere’s real name. He created `12 of the most durable comedies of all time`. Rhyming verse and prose were used. He had the role of `leading French comic, actor, stage director and drama theoretician of the 17th century`. Within the mix of comedy, he wrote comedy-ballets. These depended on an `array of stage machinery` imported from Italy. `Commedia dell’arte troupes` strongly influenced Moliere’s work. Jean was `acquired the pseudonym Moliere`. He `played an unsuccessful season in Paris` with the acting troupe Illusion Theatre and later went bankrupt. In the time that he had left to tour the provinces, he `polished his skills as an actor, director, administrator and playwright`. `In 1658, the troupe returned to Paris and` performed before King Louis XIV. Moliere’s patron was the Kings brother and `later Moliere and his colleagues were appointed official providers of entertainment to the Sun King himself`. His plays had the same lasting impact as tragedies. The clergy believed that `his plays were an attack on the Church`; however other `playwrights resented his continual experiments with comic forms`. `Famous tragedians envied his success with the public and the royal projection he enjoyed`. Moliere reacted by including `some of his detractors in to his comedies as buffoons and ineffectuals`. He `developed a lung ailment` which he never recovered from in the late 1660s. He tried as he might to continue to act, write, direct and `manage his troupe as energetically as before`. After the fourth performance of his play `The Imaginary Invalid` (February 17th, 1673), he collapsed and died at home later that evening. `Church leaders refused to officiate or to grant his body a formal burial`. 7 years down the line, Moliere’s company was united `with one of its competitors` by the King. From then, the French National Theatre was formed. http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Theatre/Moliere/moliere.shtml His style was `comedy of the true opposed to the specious, the intelligent seen alongside the pedantic` Was unable to visualize `any situation without animating and dramatizing it, often beyond the limits of probability` Born in Paris Educated at the College de Clermont 1645 – sent to prison twice `for debts on the building and properties` Oct. 24th 1658 – Company he was a part of performed before King Louis XIV. This `won him some reputation with provincial audiences` 1662 - `married Armande Bejart` “L’ecole des femmes” - `bears a quite remarkable testimony to his persistence and capacity to show fight ` 1665 – “Dom Juan; ou, le festin de pierre” - `an atheist is committed to hell – but only after he had amused and scandalized the audience` 1664 – put on “La Thebaide” – `Racine’s first produced play` 1665 - `Racine transferred his next play, Alexandre le Grand, to a longer established theatre while Moliere’s actors were actually performing it, which actually turned the two men against each other` “Le Malade imaginaire” was Moliere’s final play `During the fourth performance of the play, on February 17, Moliere collapsed on stage and was carried back to his house` In `La Critique L’Ecole des femmes, he states that tragedy might be heroic, but comedy must hold the mirror up to nature: “You haven’t achieved anything in comedy unless your portraits can be seen to be living types…making descent people laugh is a strange business”` http://www.britannica.com/biography/Moliere-French-dramatist KABUKI This `art form was created by Okuni, a female shrine attendant in the 17th century`. It is performed entirely by men and although greatly influenced by the other farm `noh`, it was a largely popular form of entertainment. All-female performances contributed to why the performances were so popular, mainly due to their sensual nature. The performers were prostitutes and therefore, the male audience `often got out of control`. Due to this, the Tokugawa Shogunate banned women from performing. Ironically, Kabuki was taken over by young male actors who `also engaged in prostitution` and so audiences continued to get riled up. The Shogunate tried to do the same as they did with women and instead introduced older actors who performed much more `formalized and strictly theatrical dramas`. `Changes were made to the traditional noh stage, such as adding a draw curtain and a hanamichi (catwalk) through the audience to allow dramatic entrances and exits`. Chikamatsu Monzaemon was considered to be `Japan’s greatest dramatist`. He spent some `of his career writing Kabuki dramas although his greatest works were bunraku puppet plays`. Ichikawa Danjuro (1688-1758) premiered lots of `great works and adapted puppet plays for the kabuki stage`. The actors who played the female roles were `known as onnagata or oyama`. The importance of these roles increased in correlation with the respect that the art form gained. Onnagata `were required to maintain their feminine persona and dress even in their private lives, this practice was abolished in the Meiji Restoration of 1868`. `Kabuki is performed on a large revolving stage`. Kamite (stage left) was where you would often see the `high-ranking characters` and shimote (stage right) was where you would see the `lower ranked characters`. Kata (forms) was performed by the actors throughout generations. For example, mie/striking an attitude was where the actor’s eyes would be crossed and they would make an exaggerated facial expression for dramatic effect. The arragato (`rough style` of acting) was `exemplified by such exaggeration and dramatic make-up and costume`. `Standard male kabuki roles include the handsome lover, the virtuous hero or the evil samurai; for an onnagata, roles include the high-ranking samurai lady, the young maiden or the wicked woman`. `Traditional kabuki is highly melodramatic but strictly historical`. `Similar to Shakespeare’s work`, the old stories and characters in the plays are all familiar to those `who are aware. It’s just that the language itself` is hard to follow. Although strongly appreciated in its time, it `is no longer of much interest to younger Japanese people`. Audiences are made up of older people and young refined women. Chushingura is one of the most famous stories and is greatly known for its `many movie adaptations`. http://www.japan-zone.com/culture/kabuki.shtml Inspired by Noh theatre The crows was addressed through frequent interruptions made by the actors Often, spectators would only attend `a single play or scene` as the programmes `ran from morning to evening` `The theatre stresses the importance of the play itself, trying to maintain the historical tradition and to preserve Kabuki as a traditional form` http://www.britannica.com/art/Kabuki BEAUMARCHAIS Pierre Augustin Caron De Beaumarchais was a French dramatist. He is the writer of 2 outstanding comedies; the Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro. The hero in both these plays was Figaro and he was portrayed by Beaumarchais in a class-conscious manner. Despite growing in popularity, `Beaumarchais was addicted to financial speculation`. He purchased `arms for the American revolutionaries and brought out the first complete edition of the works of Voltaire`. His 2 outstanding comedies were the only ones to remain successful and due to his wealth, during the French Revolution he was imprisoned, `but through the intervention of a former mistress, he was released`. http://www.britannica.com/biography/Pierre-Augustin-Caron-de-Beaumarchais Aged 21 - `invented a new escapement for watches, which was pirated by a rival maker` Music talent led him to teach the King’s sisters how to play the harp Worked for `the king’s secret service` Arrested over money and fighting Took ` a deep interest in the impending struggle between the American colonies and the mother-country` Called himself `Rodrigue Hortalez at Cie, he employed a fleet of forty vessels to provide help for the insurgents` 2 comedies; Le Barbier de Seville and Le Mariage de Figaro England - `Figaro plays are generally known through the adaptations of them in the grand opera of Mozart and Rossini` Contributed to `the events that led to the Revolution` Accusations made that he was `concealing arms and corn in his house` House searched – multiple copies `of the works of Voltaire which he had printed at his private press at kehl, in Baden found` Charged with treason and was imprisoned 1799 – died suddenly 1767 - `made his first essay as a writer for the stage with the sentimental drama Eugenie` 1775 – “The Barber of Seville” `was put on the stage` 1778 – “The Marriage of Figaro” was completed 1792 – drama “La mere coupable” 1783-1790 – `accused of concealing arms and corn in his house, but when his house was searched nothing was discovered but some thousand copies of the edition of the works of Voltaire which he had printed out at his private press at Kehl, in Baden` 1792 - `charged with treason` and imprisoned www.theatrehistory.com/french/beaumarchais001.html SCHILLER’S LAST YEARS Schiller was a leading dramatist, poet and literary theorist. In order for his play Die Ra:uber to be accepted, he `had to prepare a stage version in which the rebellious ardour of his original text was toned down`. Its first performance was a `milestone in the history of German theatre`. `Schiller travelled to Mannheim without the Duke’s permission` to be present at the plays first night. When the Duke heard about this, he sentenced Schiller to a fortnight in `detention and forbade him to write any more plays`. To escape from the situation he had put himself in, `Schiller fled from Stuttgart` and `set out for Mannheim in the hope of receiving help from Heribert Baron Von Dalberg, the director of the theatre that had launched his first play`. He wrote a new play which was rejected and when he re-wrote the ending, it was rejected again. `Dalberg eventually offered Schiller an appointment as resident playwright with the Mannheim theatre`. However, when Schiller’s contract expired after a year, it was not renewed. `Don Carlos, his first major drama in iambic pentameter was published` in 1787. He died in 1805 and due to the fragments that remain of his potential final play, Demetrius, it would have developed in to a success. http://www.britannica.com/biography/Friedrich-Schiller Born November 10th, 1759 Served `as a military doctor` after studying medicine Well-known for his stage plays `underrated as an author due to the fact that he lived and wrote in the same time as Goethe` http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0771646/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm