Transcript Ancient Greek Theater

Ancient Greek Theater
This is where it all began:
the Theatre of Dionysus in
Athens.
Scope of Influence
The comedy and tragedy that developed
in Athens and flourished in the fifth and
fourth centuries BCE have influenced
nearly all subsequent Western drama,
starting with that of the Romans.
 When the Romans conquered Greece
they brought Greek literature back to Italy
and set about making it their own.
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Theater is a ritualistic art form which
celebrates the Olympian gods who often
appeared as characters.
 Dionysus, god of wine and procreation,
was honored at the dramatic festivals.
 Legendary kings and heroes were often
portrayed as well.
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Theater and the Common Man
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Business and activities were suspended
during the week-long festivals held three
times per year.
It was considered a CIVIC DUTY for people
to participate in the productions in some
way.
The plays were to give a lesson to the
people - DIADACTIC PURPOSE
The Physical Structure of the Greek
Theater
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The theatron held benches on which the audience sat. The semicircular theatron was specifically built in to a hillside to provide good
views of the action.
The orchestra was the circular dancing place for the chorus.
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The parados were two broad aisles which allowed the chorus to
enter the theater. Parados is also the term for the entrance song of
the chorus.
The skene was a rectangular building with three doors which
provided a generic backdrop for entrances and exits of the
characters.
The proskenion was a small platform in front of the skene to give
actors more visibility to the audience.
The Physical Structure of the
Greek Theater
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Approx. 15,000 people fit in the Theater of
Dionysus in Athens.
No sets, props, etc.
Actors’ lines marked the passage of time
and the setting.
Design of theatron was important for
acoustics – no microphones.
The Players
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Because Greek tragedy and comedy originated with the
chorus, the most important part of the performance
space was the orchestra, which means 'a place for
dancing' (orchesis).
A tragic chorus consisted of 12 or 15 dancers
(choreuts), who may have been young men just about to
enter military service after some years of training.
Athenians were taught to sing and dance from a very
early age. The effort of dancing and singing through
three tragedies and a satyr play was likened to that of
competing in the Olympic Games.
Performance Characteristics
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Plays were initially held with just the chorus
singing/chanting the lines.
In 534 BCE Thespis was credited with
creating the first actor (thespians). The
character spoke lines as a god.
This begins the concept of DIALOGUE –
the character interacts with chorus.
The Role of the Actor
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Aeschylus – earliest Greek tragedy writer
brought idea of second actor.
Sophocles – brought third actor – no more than
three actors on stage ever in a Greek tragedy.
Euripedes – also used three actors after
Sophocles.
Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripedes each
wrote a version of the Oedipus tragedy, but
Sophocles’ version is the most famous.
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Actors needed to be LARGER THAN LIFE
and thus easy to see.
Size was symbolic of their social status.
Chiton – a long, flowing robe, padded at the
shoulders for width, selected in symbolic
colors
Cothurni – platform shoes for added height
The Greek Actor
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Participation is a civic duty; many
volunteered for the chorus.
Experienced speakers became actors
(often govt. officials or imp. businessmen)
Actors were revered and exempt from
military duty.
Women were excluded from acting and had
to sit in the higher seats in the theatron.
Masks
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The large size of the theatre (in its final form it seated
20,000 people) and the distance of even the nearest
spectators from the performers (more than 10 meters)
dictated a non-naturalistic approach to acting.
All gestures had to be large and definite so as to 'read'
from the back rows. Facial expression would have been
invisible to all but the closest members of the audience.
The masks worn by the actors looked more 'natural'
than bare faces in the Theatre of Dionysus. The masks
of tragedy were of an ordinary, face-fitting size, with
wigs attached, and open mouths to allow clear speech.
Example of Chorus
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pla
yer_detailpage&v=ZZyQNOkLfNE
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Theatrical masks were made of wood (like the
masks of Japanese Noh drama), leather (like the
masks of the Commedia dell' arte, or cloth and
flour paste (like many of the masks used at the
Carnevale of Venice, and many masks made for
modern productions today). Various theories are
advanced in favor of each material, but no
originals remain, only stone carvings which may
have been used as mask-molds and the paintings
on pottery.
Greek Theater Masks
Oedipus Rex (Oedipus the King)
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Written by Sophocles in 430 B.C.E.
Based on a great legend of western culture
from Ancient Greece.
Greatest Greek tragedy; drama of extreme
tension; one person rules action
Sophocles’ version deals with the discovery
of Oedipus’ fate.