Download Theatre of the French Renaissance

Theatre of the French
Renaissance
Drama I
The Neoclassic Period
The 17th century (1600s) in France
Neoclassic means “new classics”
French looked to Greek and Roman
critics for ideals
Development of Theatre
Religious plays were forbidden in
1548.
Theatre was slow to develop because
monarchs gave their favorite groups
the sole rights to production in the
form of a monopoly.
This was the beginning of the practice
known as royalty payments (we still
have today).
The French Academy
The Academy formed informally in
1629 and became official in 1635 due
to the urgings of Cardinal Richelieu
(the prime minister).
The French Academy set the
standards for writers to follow.
They were rule-makers who took
most of their ideas from Italian, Greek
and Roman writers.
The Rules of the French Academy
There are only two
legitimate forms of
drama—tragedy
and comedy.
Drama should be
written to teach a
moral lesson.
Unities of time,
place, and action.
5 act play form.
Decorum—
should be
appropriate and
fitting for your
audience.
Verisimilitude—
reality, morality,
and generality.
Verisimilitude
Reality—rule out things that cannot
actually happen in real life (chorus
was discouraged, no ghosts, etc)
Morality—violence off stage (it
would offend the public)
Generality—playwright sought
attributes that are shared by all
(universal types)
Elements Should Not Be Mixed
Tragedy
Characters of
nobility as
protagonists
Stories dealt with
affairs of state
Unhappy ending
Poetic style
Comedy
Characters from
middle or lower
class as
protagonists
Stories dealt with
domestic or private
affairs
Happy ending
Ordinary prose
Neoclassic Playwrights
Pierre Corneille (1606-1684)—Le Cid.
Broke all the rules but was still
accepted by the public—an OUTRAGE!
Jean Racine (1639-1699)—Phaedra.
The peak of French neoclassic
tragedy.
Moliere (aka jean Baptiste Poquelin)
(1622-1673)—The Miser, “Tartuffe,”
The Misanthrope.
French Theatre Architecture
Theatres started as indoor tennis courts.
The walls around the buildings had two or
three galleries, some divided into boxes.
The stage was five or six feet above the
pit where the less wealthy audience stood
to watch the show.
Stage was raked and had a proscenium
arch and curtain.
Acting Companies
Smaller companies
than English—10 to
15 members.
Democratic
organizations
where each
member had a
vote.
Companies were
professional—paid.
Companies included
women who could
vote and were paid—
”equal rights!”
After Moliere’s death,
his company merged
with two others to
become the Comedie
Francaise—the first
national theatre.
Scenery and Staging
Italian scene design dominated.
Flat wings and borders.
Perspective scenes.
Separate scenes for incidental
entertainment (similar to lazzi).
Raked stage.
Stages were very deep, many with two
stages divided in half depth-wise.
Costumes and Masks
Actors were expected to furnish their
own costume pieces.
For the most part, costumes were
contemporary but classical (they
would use dress of the time, but alter
it to look like that of the period).
No masks were used.