Transcript Theatre History

Theatre and Drama in Ancient Greece
(Tragedy in the 5th Century)
* Euripides wrote about 90 plays, of which 18 have
survived.
* The most commonly known are Medea, The Trojan
Women, and Electra.
* The relatively large number of still-existing plays is
largely due to Euripides’ popularity in later periods.
* However, he was not highly appreciated in his own
lifetime: he only won 4 contests.
* In his plays, Euripides often introduced topics thought
unsuited to the stage and questioned traditional values.
* He explored psychological motivations in sometimes
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“undignified” ways.
* His characters often questioned the gods’ sense of
justice.
* He sometimes suggested that chance – not gods – ruled
the world and that humans were more concerned with
moral values than the gods.
Euripides.
Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euripides
Theatre and Drama in Ancient Greece
(Greek Comedy in the 5th Century)
* All of our knowledge of Greek comedy comes from
ONE author: Aristophanes
* We only have 11 complete plays to study, out of 40
he likely wrote.
* The most well-known of the existing plays are
Lysistrata, The Clouds, and The Frogs.
* His works define a genre called Old Comedy.
* It comments on contemporary society, politics,
theatre, and the war with Sparta known as the
Peloponnesian War.
* Plays are organized around a theme embodied by a
“happy idea.”
* Events of most Old Comedies could not occur in
everyday life, but parallels to real life were clear.
* Because the events were extreme, they pointed out
how absurd the real-life events were.
* These comedies are both beautifully written and
terribly obscene!
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Aristophanes.
Image: Wikipedia
Theatre and Drama in Ancient Greece
(Music and Dance)
* Music was an integral part of Greek drama in the
choral odes and long passages of recitative.
* It was rarely used apart from words, but if it
was, it was for special effects.
* At first it was played quietly to ensure spoken
words could be heard, but by Euripides’ time, it
was more elaborate and somewhat disruptive.
* This could be why choral odes became less and
less important over time.
* Music was played on a “flute” (called an aulos)
which sounded more like an oboe or clarinet.
* Other instruments included the lyre, trumpet, and
various forms of percussion.
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A Greek urn with an image of an aulos player.
Imagehttp://www.its-her-factory.com/2013/05/why-does-plato-hate-the-fluteaulos-and-whatdoes-this-have-to-do-with-women/
Theatre and Drama in Ancient Greece
(Music and Dance)
* Music and dance were thought to have ethical
qualities, meaning that certain types of music or
dance were associated with particular emotions or
ideas.
* Dance was defined as any expressive rhythmical
movement.
* This didn’t necessarily mean fancy footwork! Any
gesture or pantomime, if rhythmic, could have been
called “dance.”
* Dances in tragedy were called emmeleia, meaning
harmony, grace, and dignity.
* Dances in comedies were called Kordax, and were
much less dignified and often intentionally
ridiculous.
* Dances in satyr plays, sikinnis, were burlesques and
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likely involved jumping, horseplay, and lewd
pantomime.
A Greek vase painting showing actors (maybe
chorus members?) in what appears to be a dance.
Image: http://blogs.luc.edu/artsalive/2016/02/09/the-evolution-of-dance-up-to-loyolas-classicalrevolution/
Theatre and Drama in Ancient Greece
(Costumes and Masks)
* The overall visual style of a Greek theatrical
production was greatly influenced by costumes and
masks.
* Historical information about costume & mask come
from vase paintings and some sculptures.
* Historians like to argue over what was “normal” or
standard thanks to the variety of images available.
* Very few plays specifically reference costume, and
written accounts all come from much later time
periods.
* All performers (except maybe the flute player) wore
masks during performances.
* Phrynichus first introduced female masks.
* Aeschylus first used painted masks.
* Masks were made from linen, cork, or lightweight
wood (so none survived to modern day).
* They covered the entire head and included hairstyle,
beard, and appropriate ornaments & features.
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This vase painting shows comic chorus members
dressed as horses and riders. Note the aulos
player to the right, too!
Image: https://www.usu.edu/markdamen/ClasDram/chapters/061gkthea.htm