Transcript Paolucci on theatre

THEATRE
Public Ritual and Spectacle
Summer 2016
Peter Paolucci: Shakespeare 3535
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from … SCHOLES
ROMANCE
TRAGEDY
COMEDY
SATIRE
Summer 2016
Peter Paolucci: Shakespeare 3535
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THE GREEKS
 Drama’s roots in ancient religious festivals
 Stories about the gods (ex: Dionysius)
 Theatre festival: full day event with critical audiences.
Thesis (“Thespians”) wins play competition in 534 BCE
 Tragedy … from


tragos = “goat”
tragedy =“goat song”
Summer 2016
Peter Paolucci: Shakespeare 3535
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THE GREEKS
cont’d
 Only 3 speaking actors on stage at once
protagonist, deuteragonist, tritagonist

 3 unities: time, place, action



24 hours
1 setting
1 plot: no comic relief or sub-plot
 Chorus

reminds us that men do not have complete control
 Choryphaeus

chorus leader who delivers lines of spoken verse
on behalf of the chorus as a whole
Summer 2016
Peter Paolucci: Shakespeare 3535
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THE GREEKS
 Aristotle on tragedy

drama should “imitate nature”
 Hamartia (hero’s error of judgement due to
ignorance or moral shortcoming)
leads to
 Peripeteia (reversal of fortune) leads to
 Anagnorisis (moment of self recognition) leads to
 Catharsis (audience purgation of emotions: “pity
and fear”)
Summer 2016
Peter Paolucci: Shakespeare 3535
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THE GREEK STAGE
 Theatres (usually) situated on a hill
(amphitheatre) outdoors
 Skene (“scene”)=


1-storey structure used to store costumes and for
entrances/exits
Scenes painted on the side
 Orchestra =

Circular space (apprx 85 ‘ diameter) used as main acting
space
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Peter Paolucci: Shakespeare 3535
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THE GREEK STAGE
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RENAISSANCE
 By the end of the 15th century, mystery and
morality plays evolved into secular pieces
presented at court
 Theatre now state-dominated. Context is the rise
of nation states

England, France, Spain emerging as nation states
 Plays still “moral”
 Religious virtue replaced by themes of loyalty to
the government or a stable state
 Embryonic realism
Summer 2016
Peter Paolucci: Shakespeare 3535
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ACTING COMPANIES
 Acting companies licensed by monarch
 Chamberlain’s Men license granted to Robert Dudley, earl
of Leicester in 1574
 Others included The Admiral’s Men (to which
Shakespeare probably belonged as early as December
1594) – worked in The Rose
 The King’s Men (1603 under James I) is assigned to the
Globe Theatre and Shakespeare belonged to this
company too as well as being a shareholder
Summer 2016
Peter Paolucci: Shakespeare 3535
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RENAISSANCE THEATRES
“The Theatre” (from Renaissance Vol.9#1,issue 35)
 Started by James Burbage (also an actor)
 Leased land in 1576 in a suburb north of London
 Outside jurisdiction of city (avoids by-laws and taxes)
 Builds London’s first playhouse simply called The Theatre
(he obviously needed marketing people)
 Used open air model (no roof) derived from Inn-yards
 Octagonal design based on design of bear-baiting pits
Summer 2016
Peter Paolucci: Shakespeare 3535
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RENAISSANCE THEATRES
“The Theatre” (from Renaissance Vol.9#1,issue 35)
 Used “apron stage” which jutted out halfway into the open
area and had wooden and thatched roof
 Audience on x3 sides
 Immediate success but Ministers railed against it
 So popular he opened a second one! (The Curtain)
 Enjoyed 10 year monopoly
Summer 2016
Peter Paolucci: Shakespeare 3535
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RENAISSANCE THEATRES
“The Rose”
 Built 1585, completed 1587 by Philip Henslowe
 Was a tradesman (a dyer): when master died he
married the widow and presto – instant $$
 Invested on London south side in brothels and inns
 Built the Rose amidst brothels, taverns and bearbaiting pits
 Partnered with John Chomley – a grocer
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Peter Paolucci: Shakespeare 3535
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THE ADMIRAL’S MEN
1. Company founded by Edward Alleyn
2. Was partnered with Burbage at The Theatre
for a while (the Lord Strange’s Men) but had a
falling out
3. In 1592 he joined Henslowe and the Rose
theatre and brought an injection of capital into
the theatre so it could expand
4. Repertory included


Summer 2016
Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, Jew of Malta and Tamburlaine Kyd's
Spanish Tragedy
Shakespeare's Henry VI pt 1 and Titus Andronicus
Peter Paolucci: Shakespeare 3535
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RENAISSANCE THEATRES
 “The Swan”
 Opened by Francis Langley in 1595
 Just west of the Rose theatre
 Used by the Lord Chamberlain’s Men (incl.
Shakespeare)
 But in 1597 the Swan closes b/c owner of land
refused to renew the lease
Summer 2016
Peter Paolucci: Shakespeare 3535
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RENAISSANCE THEATRES
 “The Globe”
 Opened 1599, burned down 1613 & immediately
rebuilt
 Octagonal or circular (more or less)
 Born of a business consortium between Burbage
(Blackfriar’s Theatre) and the Lord Chamberlain’s
men
 Southwark location chosen (near pubs and brothels)
Summer 2016
Peter Paolucci: Shakespeare 3535
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RENAISSANCE THEATRES
 “The Globe”
 Born of a business consortium between
Burbage (Blackfriar’s Theatre) and the Lord
Chamberlain’s men
 William Shakespeare, John Heminges,
Augustine Phillips, Thomas Pope, William
Kempe, Burbage, and the sons of Edward
Alleyn (Cuthbert & Richard)
Summer 2016
Peter Paolucci: Shakespeare 3535
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THE GLOBE
 “The Globe” (cont’d)
 Held 3000 patrons (Rose held 2400)
 Contained open “heavens” but added trap door for
hell
 Painted (decorated) with pics of the planets
 “Groundlings” paid a penny for admittance
 By 1600, the Lord Admiral’s men (the Rose) unable
to compete & the move
 May 19, 1603 Chamberlain’s men become the “King’s
Men” (under King James I)
Summer 2016
Peter Paolucci: Shakespeare 3535
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SHAKESPEARE
 Burgeoning of public entertainment
(spectacle)



Theatre
Public executions
Bear baiting
 William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
 Other notable playwrights



Thomas Kyd
Christopher Marlowe
Ben Johnson
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Peter Paolucci: Shakespeare 3535
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RENAISSANCE TRAGEDY
 (Unnecessary) death of main character
 Failed attempts to control conflict compound
problems
 Society (ostensibly) reintegrated through grief
 Challenges the three unities
 Some moral purpose intended
 Disproportionate suffering/punishment
 Character is destiny
Summer 2016
Peter Paolucci: Shakespeare 3535
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RENAISSANCE COMEDY
 Starts with a world of order, moves to disintegration
through conflict or misunderstanding
 Redemption
 Forgiveness
 Ends either in promise of marriage (never actual
marriage) or appropriate punishment for the corrupt
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Peter Paolucci: Shakespeare 3535
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THE RENAISSANCE STAGE
 Theatre design (intimacy) allowed actors
to make subtle gestures (unlike the
Greek amphitheatres)
 See Hamlet’s instructions to players
 Actors surrounded on 3 sides by
audience
 Trap doors and upper stories allowed
entrances from above/below as well as
left/right and back/front
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THE RENAISSANCE STAGE
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THE GLOBE THEATRE
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THE GLOBE THEATRE
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THE GLOBE THEATRE
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PROSCENIUM STAGE
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PROSCENIUM STAGE
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