Download Analysis of Theatre Periods

Analysis of Theater Periods
Trends and Influential Figures
Types of Theatre Styles
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African
Asian
Chinese
Southeast Asian
Japanese
Middle- Eastern
Western Theatre History
1. Greek
2. Roman
3. Medieval
4. Commedia’ dell Arte
5. Renaissance
6. Restoration
7. Restoration Spectacular
8. Neoclassical
9. Late Modern Theatre
GREEK THEATER
The vast majority of Ancient Greek theatrical texts
have not survived intact. A small number of works
from four Greek playwrights writing during the 5th
century B.C. remain fully intact.
Aeschylus
Sophocles
Euripides
Aristophanes
They are considered the most influential during this
time.
DRAMAS
1.The dramas rarely had more than three actors (all
male), who played the different roles using masks.
2. There was a chorus on the stage most of the time
which sang songs and sometimes spoke in unison.
3. As far as we know, most dramas were staged just a
single time, at the traditional drama contest.
4. Honored the God, Dionysus
ROMAN THEATER
The theater of ancient Rome
was heavily influenced by
the Greek tradition.
Two most important
playwrights were Plautus
and Terrance.
Roman theater was less
influenced by religion.
Also, Roman theater was
more for aesthetic appeal.
In Roman theater, war was
a more common thing to
appear on stage as
opposed to the Greek
theater where wars were
more commonly spoken
about. This was no doubt a
reflection of Roman culture
and habits.
Roman Audiences
The audience was often loud and rude, rarely
applauding the actors, but always shouting
insults and booing.
Roman Actors
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The actors developed a kind of code that would
tell the audience about the characters just by
looking at them.
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A black wig meant the character was a young man.
A gray wig meant the character was an old man.
A red wig meant the character was a slave.
A white robe meant the character was an old man.
A purple robe meant the character was a young man.
A yellow robe meant the character was a woman. (Character played by a man.)
A yellow tassel meant that the character was a God.
Plays lasted for two hours, and were usually comedies.
Most comedies involved mistaken identity (such as
gods disguised as humans).
MEDIEVAL THEATER
• In Europe in the courts of
kings and noblemen
scripted re-enactments of
the Arthurian legends and
other romances, usually
associated with jousting or
tournaments, were popular
in the early 13th century
until the middle of the 14th.
By the 16th century the
practice had developed
into staged theatrical
events
Medieval Plays
Three types of plays:
1. Mystery or Cycle Plays- Series of short plays
based on the Old and New Testament.
2. Miracle Plays- dealt with the lives of saints.
3. Morality Plays- taught a lesson through
allegorical characters representing virtues or
faults.
COMMEDIA’ DELL ARTE
Form of theatre that began in
Italy in the mid-16th
century characterized by
masked "types", the advent
of the actress and
improvised performances
based on sketches or
scenarios.
The performers played on
outside, temporary stages,
and relied on various props
in place of extensive
scenery.
La Commedia dell'Arte
literally means "Artistic
Comedy”.
The Commedia was known
for its’ stock characters.
And you could tell who the
character was, by the mask
or outfit they wore.
Commedia Characters
ARLECCHINO
Harlequin, a poor
character, wearing a
colorful patched
costume, the patches
probably remnants of
richer costumes.
PANTALONE
was a caricature of the Venetian merchant, rich
and retired, mean and miserly, with a young
wife or an adventurous daughter.
Pulcinella
Was a dwarfish
humpback with a
crooked nose, the cruel
bachelor who chased
pretty girls.
RENAISSANCE THEATER
refers to the theatre of England, largely based
in London, which occurred between the
Reformation and the closure of the theatres
in 1642. It includes the drama of William
Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and many
other famous playwrights.
The term "Elizabethan
theatre", however, properly
covers only the plays
written and performed
publicly in England during
the reign of Queen
Elizabeth (1558–1603).
Companies of players
attached to households of
leading noblemen and
performing seasonally in
various locations existed
before the reign of
Elizabeth I. These became
the foundation for the
professional players that
performed on the
Elizabethan stage.
Renaissance Costume
Costumes were often bright in color
and visually entrancing.
Costumes were expensive,
however, so usually players wore
contemporary clothing regardless
of the time period of the play.
Occasionally, a lead character
would wear a conventionalized
version of more historically
accurate garb, but secondary
characters would nonetheless
remain in contemporary clothing.
William Shakespeare
Most influential figure during
the Renaissance period.
Born- April the 23rd, 1564
Died- April 23rd, 1615
Wrote 37 plays and 154
sonnets.
Known as ‘The Bard of Avon.
Married Anne Hathaway
Known for such great titles as:
Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet,
Julius Caesar, Macbeth,
etc..etc..
RESTORATION COMEDY
Restoration comedy refers to English comedies written and performed in
the Restoration period from 1660 to 1710.
Notorious for its sexual explicitness, a quality encouraged by Charles II
(1660–1685) personally and by the rakish aristocratic ethos of his court.
The socially diverse audiences included both aristocrats, their servants and
hangers-on, and a substantial middle-class segment. These playgoers
were attracted to the comedies by up-to-the-minute topical writing, by
crowded and bustling plots, by the introduction of the first professional
actresses, and by the rise of the first celebrity actors. This period saw the
first professional woman playwright, Aphra Behn.
Restoration Costumes
Clothing in the Restoration expressed the suppressed feelings of freedom
during the Puritan period.
Masculine and feminine dress began to take on the stiffness and smart
elegance.
Gentlemen wore wigs that had curls all over it and they shaved their heads.
The faces were shaved at first then only a thread of a mustache if any.
The hat moved to a high-crown, stiffer and a little narrower-brimmed
hat and it was cocked to side. All men tried to wear cravats around the
neck rather than the huge collars.
Women wore ringlets clustered in the back of the hair with smaller tendrils
waved around the face which replaced the earlier dense frizzle. Rich
women would weave pearls into their hair and put nosegays in their
buns, however, the common people wore simpler hair.
Restoration Spectacular
The Restoration spectacular, or
elaborately staged "machine play",
hit the London public stage in the
late 17th-century Restoration period,
enthralling audiences with action,
music, dance, moveable scenery,
baroque illusionistic painting,
gorgeous costumes, and special
effects such as trapdoor tricks,
"flying" actors, and fireworks.
These shows have always had a bad
reputation as a vulgar and
commercial threat to the witty,
"legitimate" Restoration drama;
however, they drew Londoners in
unprecedented numbers and left
them dazzled and delighted.
Machine Play- (Restoration period)
Machinery allowing for sunrises and sunsets, flights and
descents from heaven, rocks that opened and
fountains that played, became increasingly
important, achieving its apotheosis in the operas.
The term ‘machine play’ is given to a variety of
works (tragedy, pastoral, etc.) in which the
spectacular element predominates, usually with a
strong admixture of music and dance.
Neoclassical Theater
Neoclassical Theater was the
dominant form of theatre in the
18th century.
Neoclassical theater as well as the
time period is characterized by its
grandiosity. The costumes and
scenery were intricate and
elaborate. The acting is
characterized by large gestures
and melodrama.
The neo-classical age directly follows
the time of the Renaissance.
Headdresses:
Late Modern Theater
twentieth century theater, often continues the project
of realism. However, there has also been a great
deal of experimental theater that rejects the
conventions of realism and earlier forms.
Examples include: Epic theater, absurdist theater, and
postmodern theater. Key figures of the century
include: Luigi Pirandello, Bertolt Brecht, Antonin
Artaud, Konstantin Stanislavski, Harold Pinter,
Eugene O'Neill, Samuel Beckett, Dario Fo and Tony
Kushner.