Transcript Ancient Greek Theatre - East Bernstadt Independent Schools

Ancient Greek Theatre
Where it all started.
• Mathematics played a large role in the
construction of these theatres, as their
designers had to able to create acoustics in
them such that the actors' voices could be
heard throughout the theatre, including the
very top row of seats.
• First seats in Greek theatres (other than just
sitting on the ground) were wooden, but
around 499 BC the practice of inlaying stone
blocks into the side of the hill to create
permanent, stable seating became more
common.
• They were called the "prohedria" and
reserved for priests and a few most respected
citizens.
Classical Era
• This was the time
period in which the
Greeks invented theatre
as we know it.
• The Greeks were the
first to invent a physical
place that was designed
for public performance.
Amphitheatre
• Greek theatres were
actually called
amphitheatres.
• Amphitheatres were
built into rocky hillsides
so of course, plays were
performed in daylight
The First
• They were the first
country to use make up
as part of their masks.
• They were the first to
use two or three actors
rather than the one that
was used in the past.
First
• They were the first to
have drama
competitions to develop
playwright’s skills.
• The first ones were held
during the Festival of
Diaonysus.
First
• They were the first to
make it mandatory for
everyone to attend the
performances. The
performances were
government supported,
and no admission was
charged
• They were the first to
used painted scenery
which was Sophocles’s
idea.
• They were the first to
used comedy and
tragedy as dramatic
forms.
First Continued
3 Unities
• They were the first to
use the three unities.
• Time
• Place
• Action
• They were the first to
use chorus which spoke
in unison as both
narrator and
conscience.
• Were first to use the
word thespian to
describe actors.
First
• They were the first to
use satire to make fun
of famous people.
• They were the first to
use mechanical effects.
They created a deus ex
machina which was a
machine to lift them like
gods flying.
First
• They coined the following
words:
• Theatron: watching
space; where we got the
word theatre
• Skene: background;
where we got the word
scene
• Orkestra: part of stage;
where we got the word
orchestra
Greek Theater
• Their ancient theater
looked much like our
prosceniums.
Theaters
• Ancient Greek theaters
were very large, openair structures that took
advantage of sloping
hillsides for their
terraced seating.
Because of drama's
close connection with
religion, theaters were
often located in or near
sanctuaries.
• The death of a
character was always
heard, “ob skene”, or
behind the skene, for it
was considered
inappropriate to show a
killing in view of the
audience.
• Greek theatres also had
entrances for the actors
and chorus members
called parodoi. The
parodoi (plural of
parodos) were tall
arches that opened
onto the orchestra,
through which the
performers entered.
Orchestra
• The core of any Greek
theater is the orchestra,
the “dancing place” of
the chorus and the chief
performance space.
Skene
• On the far side of the
orchestra was the stage
building, or skene
(meaning “tent”).
• This was a covered
structure, originally a
temporary wooden
building, where the actors
stored their masks and
costumes and performed
quick changes out of the
sight of the audience.
Theatron
• The audience sat in the
theatron, the “seeing
place,” on semi-circular
terraced rows of benches
(in the earliest theaters
these were wooden; they
were later built of stone).
The Greeks often built
these in a natural hollow
(a koilon), though the
sides were increasingly
reinforced with stone
Drama
• The city of Athens
became a significant
cultural, political and
military power during
this period, was its
centre, where it was
institutionalized as part
of a festival called the
Dionysia, which
honored the god
Dionysus.
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•
•
•
Three forms of drama:
Comedy
Satyr
tragedy
Special Effects
• ekkyklema, a wheeled
wagon used to bring
dead characters into
view for the audience
• trap doors, or similar
openings in the ground
to lift people onto the
stage
Special Effects
• Pinakes, pictures hung
into the scene to show
a scene's scenery
• Thyromata, more
complex pictures built
into the second-level
scene (3rd level from
ground)
Acropolis
• It was the first stone
theatre ever built — cut
into the southern cliff
face of the Acropolis —
and the birthplace of
Greek tragedy. The
remains of a restored
and redesigned Roman
version can still be seen
at the site today.
• The theatre could seat
as many as 17,000
people, making it an
ideal location for
ancient Athens' biggest
theatrical celebration,
the Dionysia.
Sophocles
• Was the second of the
three ancient Greek
tragedians whose work
has survived.
• Sophocles influenced
the development of the
drama, by adding a
third actor.
Euripides