Download A Day at Shakespeare’s Theater

Theater in
Shakespeare’s
Day
By Julie Rittenhouse
For the “Hamlet to Hamlet” unit
English Literature, Grade 12
12 July 2005
That was then…
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Going to the theater in
Shakespeare's day was a
completely different
experience from what it
is today.
Shakespeare’s theater,
The Globe, was typical,
with a majority of the
audience standing in the
open air in front of the
stage.
If it rained, most of the
audience would get wet.
Sounds dramatic to me…


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Audiences were not a
quiet bunch but a
riotous crowd who could
purchase food and drink
from strolling vendors
during the course of the
performance.
The poorest, called
“groundlings,” had to
stand for the duration.
If the performance
failed to please, they
would talk, jeer, catcall
or hiss.
Money made a difference


For twice the price of
admission the middle
class could sit in
seats with a roof over
their head in curved
tiers around the
inside of the building.
The very important or
rich could sit in a
position directly
above the stage or
even on stools on
stage.
Early arrival for Company

The Globe’s
company arrived
early on the
morning of a
performance as
there was much to
do to get ready:
they had to set up,
rehearse, maybe
even re-write.
Frequent Rehearsals

Rehearsals were
frequent in
Shakespeare’s
theater because
there were often
changes to the
script—and they
were always doing
new plays…often
at the same time
as others.
Run up the White Flag

People knew
there would be a
performance at
the Globe that
day when they
saw a white flag
flying from the
turret.
Daytime Drama
All lighting was
natural.
 Plays began at two
o'clock, the
beginning of the
show being
announced by a
trumpet fanfare
and three sharp
knocks.

No women allowed
Very few women
came to see plays
in the Elizabethan
era.
 Even if they were
escorted by men it
was considered
risque behavior.
 Queen Elizabeth
occasionally
attended, though.

Boys took women’s roles
Few, if any, women
appeared on stage
during Shakespeare’s
day. Acting was
considered a taboo
profession for women.
 Usually young boys
(before their voices
changed) played the
part of girls and older
men played older
women.

Entrances and Exits
The stage was
surrounded by the
public in the central
yard on three sides.
 The most luxurious
amount of scenery
would be to have a
curtain at the rear that
would cover the three
doors through which
all entrances and exits
were made.

Give them their Props
Only essential
props such as a
bed or a throne
were brought
onto the stage.
 The imagery was
painted in the
words of the
playwright and
the imaginations
of the audiences

"I'll meet by moonlight,
proud Titania!"
Nighttime could
be suggested
by the actors
carrying
torches or
lanterns, but
 mostly the
language
created the
stage setting.

Dressing the Part

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Authenticity in
costume design is
considered important
in modern day
productions, but in
Shakespeare's time
the actors supplied
their own costumes.
As a result, a variety
of periods of design
could stand next to
one another on stage.
Playing to the Crowd
An actor could see the
audience as well as
they could see him, so
a great connection was
established between
the two.
 The actor would play
himself against the
crowd and would
sometimes improvise
speeches of his own to
suit the occasion.

The Globe Theater
The Globe Theatre was
constructed in 1599,
out of timber taken
from the Theatre.
 It stood next to the
Rose, on the south side
of the Thames, and
was the most
elaborate and
attractive theatre yet
built.

The Chamberlain’s Men

The Globe was
designed and
constructed for
the Chamberlain's Men by
Cuthbert
Burbage, son of
the Theatre's
creator, James
Burbage.
Neither a borrower nor a lender

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The lease for the land
on which the Globe
stood was co-owned
by Burbage and his
brother Robert, and by
a group of five actors
including William
Shakespeare.
Much of Shakespeare's
wealth came from his
holdings in the Globe.
An equal share
Both the Lord
Chamberlain’s Men
and later the King’s
Men shared equally
in the expenses and
income of their
theater.
 That meant each got
1/16th of the profits
and paid 1/16th of
the expenses.

6 sides, 3 stories, 0 roof
The Globe was a
hexagonal structure
with an inner court
about 55 feet across.
It was three-stories
high and had no roof.
 The open courtyard
and three semicircular
galleries could
together hold more
than 1,500 people.

The Outer Stage
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The stage had two
primary parts: 1) The
outer stage, which
was a rectangular
platform projecting
into the courtyard,
from the back wall.
Above it were a
thatched roof and
hangings but no front
or side curtains.
The Inner Stage
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2) The inner stage was
the recess between
two projecting wings
at the very back of the
outer stage.
This stage was used
by actors who were in
a scene but not
directly involved in the
immediate action of
the play, and it was
also used when a
scene takes place in
an inner room.
“Hell” on earth
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Underneath the floors of the outer
and inner stages was a large cellar
called "hell", allowing for the
dramatic appearance of ghosts and
the like.
It was accessed by two or more
trap-doors on the outer stage and
one trap door "the grave trap" as
scholars call it, on the inner stage.
Actors in "hell" would be
encompassed by darkness, with the
only light coming from tiny holes in
the floor or from the tiring-house
stairway at the very back of the
cellar.
The Tiring House
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
The tiring-house, the three
story section at the back of
the playhouse, contained
the dressing rooms, the prop
room, the musician's gallery,
and connecting
passageways.
It was enclosed in curtains
at all times so the less
dramatic elements of play
production would be hidden
from the audience.
No curtain call

Unlike our modern
auditoriums with
cloaked main stages,
and seating limited to
the front view, the
Elizabethan
playhouses were open
to the public eye at
every turn, and
scenery could not be
changed in between
scenes because there
was no curtain to
drop.
Walk-off, stage-clearing drawl

It was no coincidence
that in all of
Shakespeare's plays,
the scene, no matter
how dramatic or
climatic, ended on a
denouement, with
the actors walking
off or being carried
off the stage.
Imagination required
It would seem that
Shakespearean audiences
got more out of their playgoing experience because
they had to put more of
themselves into it.
 Today, we wouldn’t dream
of letting the actors see or
hear our reactions to the
plot or their skill. We are
told to sit still and stay quiet
until the end of the act.
 In Shakespeare’s day, the
audience had more input
and influence.

Comprehension and Recall Quiz
1.
2.
3.
How were performances at the Globe
Theater influenced by the weather?
Why did the Globe’s company arrive so
early on the morning of a performance?
Why were rehearsals so frequent in
Shakespeare’
The Quiz continues
What was the proportion of women to men
in theater audiences of the Elizabethan era
and why?
 What was the role of women players in the
theater in the Elizabethan age? Compare
their position during this period with those
of more recent times.
 Who owned and managed the Globe? How
were its expenses and income shared?

…This is Now…

Which theater experience would you
prefer, Shakespeare’s or contemporary
Boston’s. Explain why.
Works Cited
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http://www.balletmet.org/Notes/Shakespeare.html#anchor195444
http://www.cinetropic.com/shakespeare/index.html
http://www.bardweb.net/globe.html
http://www.wfu.edu/~tedforrl/shakespeare/outpics.htm
http://www.wfu.edu/~tedforrl/shakespeare/inpics.htm
http://search.eb.com/shakespeare/esa/660005.html
http://www.shakespeare-online.com/theatre/theglobe.html
http://www.shakespeare-online.com/theatre/theglobe.html
Mabillard, Amanda. Shakespeare's Globe. Shakespeare Online. 2000.
http://www.shakespeare-online.com/theatres/theglobe.html (July
12, 2005).