Transcript GREEK THEATER

GREEK
theatre
Dr. Neighbours
NRHS Theatre Classes

The land
The myths
The stage
The Land
Located in Europe in the Aegean Sea
The Land
PURPOSE OF GREEK DRAMA
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Dramas presented by the state at annual
religious festivals.
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Plays were supposed to be presented for the
purpose of ethical and moral improvement of
the spectators and to ensure the spiritual
survival of the community.
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Typically the Festival of Dionysius, the God of Wine,
Fertility & Revelry
And a little entertainment, too! 
Winners of prizes were selected by ten citizens
chosen by lots for the duty.
FESTIVALS OF
DIONYSUS
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In honor of the god of Wine, Fertility, and
Revelry
Early worship involved orgies and drunkenness
Myths relate to seasonal growing cycles and
passions of Man
Purpose of worship was inducement of fertility
8th-7th Century B.C.--contests of choral dancing
held at many festivals ; “dithyrambs”
DITHYRAMB
“Ecstatic Hymn”
A RELIGIOUS CHANT OR SONG
PERFORMED IN RHYTHM AND
WITH DANCING
First Definite Record of Drama in Greece:
534 B.C.
“City Dionysia” (late March)
reorganized
 Contest for Best Tragedy
instituted
 Winner of first contest is
Thespis, who also acted in the
performance
 Actors today are known as
“Thespians”, in honor of the
first known Greek actor.
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CHARACTERISTICS OF
GREEK DRAMA
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Actors were all male. They wore masks.
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Scenes of the drama were always outdoors; indoor
actions were reported by messengers.
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There was no violence on stage
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There was “unity” in plot -- no subplots or irrelevancies.
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The action always took place in one day.
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There were no curtains or intermissions.
“HYPOKRITE”
GREEK WORD FOR ACTOR,
MEANS “WEARER OF MASKS”
“CHORAGUS”
A
wealthy patron, wishing to honor
the gods, pays for the cost of a
production
 Precursor to the “Producer”
THE CHORUS IN GREEK DRAMA
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The function of the chorus was
to :
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set the mood of the drama
interpret events
relieve the tension
generalize meaning of the action
converse with and give advice to
the actors
give background information
emphasize the beauty of poetry
and dancing
leader acted as spokesman for the
group
SUBJECT OF PLAYS
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The subject was almost
exclusively taken from wellknown myths.
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The plays explored the
mysteries of life and the role of
the gods in human affairs.
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The main purpose was ethical
and religious instruction.
STYLE IN PLAYS
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There are long, wordy
speeches (sometimes
about current events or
contemporary people).
MESSAGE FROM TRAGEDIES
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Out of great tragedy
comes wisdom.
CONCEPT OF TRAGIC HERO AND
TRAGEDY (from Aristotle)
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Tragedy arouses the emotions of pity, fear, wonder and
awe.
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A tragic hero must be a man or woman capable of great
suffering.
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Tragedy explores the question of the ways of God to
man.
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Tragedy purifies the emotions (catharsis)
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Tragedy shows how man is brought to disaster by a
single flaw in his own character.
Greek Theatre Terms
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exodus --
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prologue –
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strophe --
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Dionysus --
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episode --
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antistrophe –
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skene --
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stasimon --
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epode --
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theatron or
orchestra --
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chorus –
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hubris –
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choragas --
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humartia --
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proscenium --
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sphinx --
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choral ode --
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unities --
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parados -thymele --
Oedipus rex, Antigone and Greek
Theatre Terms, cont.
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exodus -- final action of the play
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Dionysus -- God of drama, wine, revelry
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skene -- wooden building with three doors through
which actors made their entrances and exits
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theatron or orchestra -- dancing place of the chorus
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parados -- chorus marching in from the left or right
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thymele -- altar to Dionysus on which sacrifices were
made, and which was sometimes used as a stage prop
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prologue -- opening scene (introduction)
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episode -- act or scene
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stasimon -- choral ode (end of each episode)
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chorus -- clarifies experiences and feelings of the
characters and expresses conventional attitude toward
development in the story; also sets the mood
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proscenium -- level area in front of the skene on which
most of the plays action took place
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choral ode -- lyric sung by the chorus which develops
the importance of the action
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strophe -- a turning, right to left, by chorus
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antistrophe -- a turning, left to right, by chorus
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choragas -- leader of the chorus
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epode -- the part of a lyric ode following the
strophe and antistrophe
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hubris -- Greek word for excessive pride or
arrogance
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humartia -- Greek word for error in judgment,
especially resulting from a defect in the
character of a tragic hero; the tragic flaw
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sphinx -- a female monster, usually represented
as having the head and breast of a woman, the
body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle
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unities -- time, place, action; a play should have
no subplot, should not cover more than 24 hours
and should not have more than one locale
Masks of Greek
Theater
The masks were worn for
many reason including:
1. Visibility
2. Acoustic Assistance
3. Few Actors, Many Roles
4. Characterization
Masks of Greek Theater
Masks of
Greek
Theater
Modern-day replicas
Hero-King
Comedy
or Herald )
(Servant
Tragedy
Chorus)
(Weeping
THE THEATRE OF THE
GREEKS
The Grecian Amphitheatre
(Where They Performed)
The Stage
The Stage
Theater at Epidaurus
Theater at Epidaurus
Once, on a Hill Far Away…
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The theatre of the Greeks was built on the slope
of a hill
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This secured sufficient elevation for the back row of
seats without enormous substructures (which the
Romans used)
If the surface was rocky, semicircles were cut out,
tier above tier (level above level)
If it was soft ground, an excavation was made in
the hillside and lined with rows of stone benches
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The steps were often made with marble, as in the
theatre of Dionysus at Athens.
The Circular Pit
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The circular pit that was formed by the
seating was enclosed by a lofty portico
and balustraded terrace
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The auditorium was divided by broad
concentric belts, named diazomata,
which served as lobbies,
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This area was assigned to the
spectators.
Had eleven rows of seats between each,
and these were further divided into
wedges by transverse flights of stairs
between the lobbies, converging on the
centre of the orchestra.
The latter resembled the passages in a
trireme with its banks of oars, and hence
were called selides or gangways, the
subdivisions, eleven to each section,
suggesting as many benches of rowers.
The
Auditorium
•The
auditorium was
divided, as with
contemporary theatres, into
several parts
•But the assignment of
seats was determined not
by a money payment, but
by rank and other
considerations.
•Thus the rows nearest the orchestra were set apart for the members of the
council, while others were reserved for young men, who sat together, or for
those who, for whatever reason, were entitled to them.
•Most of the space was given to the general public, who with these
exceptions could make their own choice of seats.
Parts of a Greek Theatre
ORKESTRA: circular
acting space at center,
translates as “dancing
place”
 THYMELE: Altar stone at
center of orkestra
 THEATRON: Spectator
seating; “seeing place”
 SKENE: Stage building
behind orkestra; where
we get the words
“scene” and “scenery”
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The Orchestra (Orkestra)
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The orchestra was ten
or twelve feet below
the front row of seats
which formed its
boundary
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A portion of its space
was occupied by a raised
platform, which
superseded the altar of
Dionysus in the centre,
though still known as the
thymele.
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In front of the
orchestra, and on a
level with the lowest
tier of seats, was the
stage
Flights of steps led from
the orchestra, with
others leading to
chambers below, known
as Charon's stairways;
 They were used for the
entrance of spectres
from the nether world
and for the ghostly
apparitions of the dead.
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SKENE
STAGE HOUSE:
provides scenic
background, a place
to change costumes,
place to exit
 Had one to three
doors
 May have been
raised up off ground
level
 Developed a second
story in later years
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Parts of a Greek Theatre
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PARADOS/PARADOI: entry ramps
for the chorus between the
Teatron and Skene; where we
get the word “parade”
PERIAKTOI: Three-sided turnable
column used as a scenic device,
placed in space between columns
of skene
MACHINA: Crane-like device used
to suspend celestial figures above
the action;
“deus ex machina”
means “god from the machine”
Side View: Orkestra and
Teatron
Orkestra with Thymele, Skene
Teatron
AUDITORIUM
“The Hearing Place”
Includes Orkestra and Teatron
Seating for the Priests
The Head Priest’s Chair
GREEK PLAYWRIGHTS
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Only 5 playwrights and 45 plays survive
 According to Aristotle, drama developed out of
improvisation by the leaders of the dithyrambs
 Early “plays”, such as those by Thespis, were no
more than a discourse between one actor
(“Protagonist”) and the chorus.
 In later years, playwrights wrote 3 Tragedies and
one Satyr Play for the contests at the City
Dionysia
Major Greek Dramatists
Aeschylus
524 B.C.
Agamemenon
Sophocles
496 B.C.
Antigone
Oedipus
Euripides
480 B.C.
Medea
Dramatist
Born
Wrote
AESCHYLUS: 525-456 B.C.
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Tragic Playwright,
Introduced Second Actor,
“Deuteragonist”
 Encouraged face-to-face
conflict between characters
 reduced importance of
chorus, size from 50 to @15
 Wrote Agamemnon and
Prometheus Bound
SOPHOCLES: 496-406 B.C.
Considered greatest
Greek dramatist, wrote
tragedies
 Created Third Actor
 More concerned with
human relationships
than religious issues
 Wrote Oedipus Rex (the
King) and Antigone
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EURIPIDES: 480-406 B.C.
Last of great Greek
Tragic playwrights
 Reduced chorus to
relatively unimportant
role
 Treated Gods with
lack of awe
 Wrote Medea and The
Trojean Women
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ARISTOPHANES: 450-385 B.C.
Comic Playwright,
“Old Comedy”,
discusses “happy
idea”
 Wrote Lysistrata, an
anti-war comedy
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ONE LAST WORD ON GREEK
TRAGEDIES…
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General pattern developed by Aeschylus
 PROLOGOS: establishes dramatic situation
 PARODOS: Entrance of Chorus, “exposition”
 EPEISODA: main action, equivalent of an “Act”
 STASIMA: Choral interlude, makes comment on
the action in the Epeisoda
 Climax occurs in last Epeisoda, so that last
Stasima allows final comment by the chorus
 EXODOS: Final summation and exit of Chorus