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Theatre History A brief look into the past Greek Theatre Golden Age of Greece (500-400 BC) Celebrated Dionysus - god of wine and fertility Festival for Dionysus 2x a year Consisted of 3 tragedies and a satyr play Tragedy - “goat-song” main character does not reach his goal Comedy - main character reaches his goal - happy ending Main People in Greek Theatre Thespis - Playwright and actor - created the first “main actor” Aeschylus - invented the “trilogy” and added a second actor to the plays Sophocles - musician, singer, athlete - added third main character to his plays and made chorus larger Euripides - “humanized” drama - looked at real personal problems and emotions The Greek Stage Skene - back wall where actors would enter and exit and change costumes behind it Stage - where the main actors would perform Parados - the side entrances Orchestra - “dancing space”large, round area where the chorus would perform Theatron - where the audience sat Other Important Info Actors were made up of all men - it was illegal to have a woman on stage Actors wore masks to represent different characters and different emotions Hypocrite - “to speak from behind a mask” Catharsis - “purging of emotions” Festivals were day-long events, plays went from sun up to sun set The Polis - or government- would help pay for those who could not afford the admission price Roman Theatre Hey! Wait! Where did the theatre go?! The Roman Empire Theatre was frowned upon by aristocratic Romans Theatre was no longer a form of religious celebration - only seen as entertainment Drama was too boring - needed more excitement Comedies still existed, but rude, vulgar slapstick The Coliseum - much larger than Greek theatres Gladiators - warriors who battled both men and beasts Chariot races Everyone and their mother went to these events Theatre Around the World Hindu Theatre Dates back to 1500B.C. Brahma invented theatre and commanded the first playhouse built For the upper class Performed in either gardens or courtyards of palaces Great love of beauty - intimate, delicate, always happy ending First to permit women on stage Japanese Theatre 3 MAJOR FORMS Kabuki Noh Bunraku Kabuki Created during the Edo Period (1603-1868) Still a high form of theatre today Unlike plays from the west, Kabuki was done without any realistic qualities Acting was “full-front” (lines said to audience), even for romantic dialogue between two lovers Plays based on character conflicts - following ethic code, if a character strayed from code they would usually die in the play Kabuki Cont. Style of acting very specific Set movements and vocals told emotions and character Set facial expressions Even specific ways of walking which differed for each character Kabuki actors held in high regard - very respected Noh Theatre Developed during the 14th and 15th centuries However, during the Edo period it became the official performance art of the military government Almost died out between 1868-1912 - but devout followers kept it alive Still not that popular with the Japanese people as a whole, however there are about 1500 professional performers today who make their living performing and teaching Noh What exactly is Noh? “Noh is a classical Japanese performance form which combines elements of dance, drama, music, and poetry into one highly aesthetic stage art” Mainly male actors who pass down the training through their families 5 categories of plays - gods, warriors, beautiful women, miscellaneous figures (mad women or present time), and supernatural beings A MASKED art form Bunraku The least famous of the three art forms - but still a large following and area of training Puppetry Medieval Theatre The Growth of Christianity Middle Ages (Dark Ages) - no cultural activity Began with the fall of Rome and lasted until the 13th century Theatre once again looked at as a religious celebration / lesson Lower class still had comedies, but now based off religion Main Types of Plays in Medieval Era Mystery Plays - subject matter = Bible stories Miracle Plays - acted out the lives of saints Morality Plays - taught right from wrong Passion Plays - scenes from Christ’s life Comedies were also based off religious stories but in a funny way (ex. Noah’s wife refused to enter the ark and had to be carried, screaming and kicking, inside) Italian and Spanish Renaissance Time to get funny! A “Rebirth” of Learning Vigorous activity in all of the arts and sciences Major names that came from the era: Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Machiavelli New form of theatre: Commedia dell’Arte Professional company of 7 men and 3 women Adlib, dialogue, song, and dance / combat Not religious Comedy for all ages and classes Stock Characters Harlequin - “jester”- but clever, witty one Pierrot - lovelorn, moody Columbine - flirtatious, pretty Pantalone - creepy, old man *First women on stage since Indian drama *Wore half masks Elizabethan Era The time of rule under Queen Elizabeth (1558-1603) Background Major play houses or “Wooden O’s”- The Theatre, The Rose, The Globe All classes of people attended No Females on stage Audience very much part of the action of the play…if they didn’t like what was going on they would throw stuff on stage- rotten fruits and veggies, dirt, other trash, etc. If they liked it they would vocalize with shouts and cheers Major People Main playwrights: William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, and Ben Jonson Main actors: Richard Burbage (Shakespeare’s tragedies), Edward Alleyn (Marlowe’s tragedies), and William Kemp (Shakespeare’s comedies) Plays were very poetic in nature - verse, blank verse The Globe Theatre Started in the city of London as “The Theatre” – Suffered Taxation and Censorship In Shakespeare’s time they took it apart and built it on the other side of the river – freedom Shakespeare’s plays were preformed here – used flags to signify what type of plays were performed. Why? It burnt down in 1613 It was rebuilt with a tiled roof and stood until 1644, when the puritans tore it down during the Civil War In 1970 the American actor Sam Wanamaker started a project to rebuild Shakespeare’s Globe near to its original site It’s an accurate replica of the first one and is built of the same materials- brick, oak wood, thatch, animal hair and putty Shakespeare Born to John Shakespeare ,a glove maker, and Mary Arden Born April 23rd 1564 Died April 23rd 1616 Married to Anne Hathaway (8 years older and pregnant) – They had 3 children: Susanna, Hamnet and Judith (twins) Did not attend university Quit school to help his father, then moved to London to write plays and poetry Did act – but never lead parts Wrote 38 plays, 154 sonnets, and 2 narrative poems Rhythmic Poetry Foot = one unit of meter Meter = the pattern of accented and unaccented syllables in the lines of a traditional poem Iambic = unaccented followed by an accented one (~/) Trochaic = accented syllable followed by an unaccented one Anapestic = unaccented, unaccented, accented Dactylic = accented, unaccented, unaccented Spondaic = two accented syllables Examples Iamb = unknown Troche = older Anapest = interrupt Dactyl = openly Spondee = heartbreak Meter Mono – one foot in a line poetry Dimeter – two feet Trimeter – three feet Tetrameter – four feet Pentameter – five feet Hexameter – six feet Heptameter – seven feet Octometer – eight feet Examples Take her up tenderly Take` her~ up~ / ten` der~ ly~ Dactylic Dimeter Double, double toil and trouble Dou` ble~/, dou` ble~ /toil` and~ /trou` ble~ Trochaic Tetrameter Iambic Pentameter What Shakespeare mainly wrote Not how people talked back then! He would mix it up, either by # of syllables or varying stresses “A pair of star crossed lovers take their life” A~ pair`/ of~ star`/ crossed~ love` /ers~ take`/ their~ life` Try These! Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean What here shall miss our toil shall strive to mend To be or not to be, that is the question And hear the sentence of your moved prince Sonnets Shakespearian Sonnets 14 lines of poetry Rhyme scheme – abab,cdcd,efef,gg Iambic Pentameter Example Two households, both alike in dignity (In fair Verona, where we lay our scene), From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life; Whose misadventured piteous overthrows Doth with their death bury their parents strife. The fearful passage of their death-marked love And the continuance of their parents’ rage, Which, but their children’s end, naught could remove, Is now the two hours traffic of our stage; The which, if you with patient ears attend, What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend. TODAY’S THEATRE Skipping ahead a few years Types of Theatres Proscenium Theatres - definite arch that separates stage from audience - “the 4th wall” audience only in the front Thrust Theatres - Audience on 3 sides of the stage - back wall still used for set Arena Theatres (Theatre in the Round) - Audience on all sides - no large set pieces Found Space - Anywhere you can do theatre classrooms, churches, outside, gyms, etc. Up Stage Left USL Center Stage Left CL Down Stage Left DSL Up Stage Center USC Center Stage CS or CC Down Stage Center DSC or DC Up Stage Right USR Center Stage Right CR Down Stage Right DSR or DR Movement on the Stage No matter what type of stage you are on you must have set movement called “Blocking” Blocking - The set movements and positions Things To Do Do create a pleasing stage picture Do speak clearly and loud enough for everyone to hear you Do create a character - someone that is not you Do know what you are going to say Do stay focused Things To Not Do Don’t mumble Don’t turn your back to the audience Don’t stand in front of another actor Don’t cross in front of someone who is speaking Theatre Vocab Theatre Actor Playwright Script Director Chorus Blocking “Off Book” THE END!!! For now ;)