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Roman Theater:
masks
Roman Theater Influences
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Three major influences on Roman theatre:
Greek Drama
Etruscan influences – emphasized circus-like elements
Fabula Atellana – Atellan farces (Atella was near Naples).
Short improvised farces, with stock characters, similar costumes
and masks – based on domestic life or mythology – burlesqued,
parodied – during the 1st century B.C., then declined
• Stock characters:
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Bucco: braggart, boisterous
Pappas: foolish old man
Dossenus: swindler, drunk, hunchback
Drama flourished under the republic but declined into variety
entertainment under the empire
Most notable Roman comedic
writers:
• Plautus
• Terence
• Both relied on stock characters and standard
plot formulae.
Masks
• If characters were types, ie. stock characters,
then they might as well look the same, right?
Masks
• What do actors on a stage look like today?
• How are ‘stock’ characters portrayed on
modern television?
• On modern stage, actors’ facial features are
exaggerated and/or intensified to accentuate
their features and expressions.
• On modern television, character types –
especially in pilot episodes – are very much
exaggerated. Ie. The clumsy fool, the
overprotective father, the ‘airhead.’
• Ancient Romans used masks to convey these
character types.
• What types of characters do you see in the
following masks???