Assignment 1A:
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Key Concepts
Demonstrate a basic knowledge of theater history and dramatic works.
Program Level Outcome:
Identify the major stages of development in various dramatic forms in Western and Eastern cultures.
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Theatre Etiquette
Arrive 15-20 minutes before show time
Some places have a dress code, so be sure to check.
Before the play begins pick up your ticket.
Check your coat,
Rent hearing devices if needed.
Turn off or mute your phone.
No loud noises, strobe lights, adult language and situations.
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Theatre vocabulary,
Stage floor= Deck
People who run the show = Crew
Mopping the floor = Swabbing
Batten= Long metal pole from which scenery or lighting is hung.
Beam= A beam is the horizontal pipe hanging downstage of the proscenium ("the box or arch which the play is viewed through")
Rigging= ropes that control scenery through pulleys, winches, ect.
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Theatre history
Who is Aristotle anyways?
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher who lived from 384 B.C.E-322 B.C.E. He was a student of Plato. He wrote "The Poetics", a literary theory book. "The Poetics" still to this day influences writings and primarily focuses on Greek tragedy.
Aristotle believed that the purpose of all human activity is to provide pleasure. Noth physical pleasure but the pleasure of knowledge and truth. He also believed that a well written and well performed play could be enjoyed by the blind.
Western theatre's roots come from 6th century (BC) Greece. It started in the Ampitheatre of Dionysus in Athens. Dionysus is the god of wine and fertility in Hellenic culture/religion (Hellenism refers to the culture of Greece which was spread far and wide by Alexander the Great)
Theatre began as a ritual dance honoring Dionysus. These rituals celebrated "the god of wine, theatre, and ecstasy". Likewise were lively events with song and dance. Rituals eventually became formalized and women were no longer allowed to attend of participate. Pffft! HAHAHA! Thats messed up. The temple of Dinoysus was added at the back of the orchestra and an alter (alter means thymele). Celebration began with the sacrifice of a Tragos ( A Tragos is a goat). It consisted of formally dressed chorus men (up to 50). They sang with the accompaniment of dithyamb (dithyamb means musicians).
The 5th Century (BC) was known as the Golden Age of Athens. This headlined democratic discourse, and all male citizens were given a voice in state affairs. Well how nice!
Who was Thespis?
Thespis is a man known as the "inventor of tragedy". He was born in Attica and was the first prize winner of the Great Dinoysia in 534 BCE. His important innovations for theare introduced such things as independent actor, as opposed to the chorus. He introduced masks, make up and costumes.
Thepsis created the first travelling orchestra which carried into the Middle Ages. He was known as the "first actor"
Who was Phynichus (Fin-i-cuss)
Phynichus was a student of Thespis. He introduced female characters into drama. He introduced contemporary subjects, won the tragedy contest in 476 BC. He also started the "Phoenissae" a chorus of Phoenittian women. They celebrated the defeat of the Persian King Xerses at the battle of Salamis. None of his works survived.
Starting in 534 BC in the city of Dionysia, there was a week long drama festival held in March each year.
Here is a timeline of the progression of the festivals.
534 BC - Statue of Dionysus paraded to the city center. Playwrights were introduced and the first tragedy contest was held.
508 BC- Dithyrambic Contest (first battle of the bands) added.
501 BC- Satyr Plays added
457 BC- Comedy (old) contest added
336 BC- Comedy (new) contest replaces old comedy.
In the 5th century BC the festivals became very popular.
-Temporary benches were added
-Skene was erected behind the orchestra.
the skene was a tent and where we get the word scene from.
-In the 4th century BC a permanent structure was built.
It is estimated that thousands of play were written and performed but sadly only 32 tragedies from 3 playwrights have survived.
More important playwrights who influenced tragedy?
Aeschylus (523 BC-456 BC)-
Diminished chorus from 50 men to 12
innovated a second actor so that dialogue was possible.
wrote about 90 plays, but only 7 survived.
wrote one of the earliest surviving plays called "The Persians"
Most noted work: "Agamemnon" which explores themes of revenge, and the transition from a cycle of violence to a system of justice.
Euripedes (480 BC-406 BC)
Only 19 of 92 complete plays survived.
Employed a more naturalistic and human approach versus the conventional means.
Introduced strong and intelligent female characters.
Most noted work: Medea which explores themes of betrayal, revenge, and the consequences of unchecked passion.
Sophocles (495 BC-406 BC)
Out of hundreds of plays only 7 survive.
Introduced a third speaking actor.
Brought dramatic plot closer to tragedy
Advanced scene painting by using painted panels.
Known as the father of Greek Tragedy
Most noted work is Oedipus Rex which introduced more psychologically complex well motivated characters. It could be described as the introduction of mystery. AKA. "from ignorance to knowledge"
Aristophanes (448-380 BC)
Out of 40 plays only 11 survive.
Had politically and socially based satire.
Best known play called the Lysistrata was an anti-war play where women withheld sex from the men until the stopped the war.
Greek comedies made fun of beliefs, social conventions, and rituals, but not to satirize, with the end goal of creating a better society.
Pericles (495 BC-429 BC)
Reigned in the 4th Century BC. He was a very important Athenian figure who rebuilt Athens, established the Delian League. The Delian league was a series of city states that banded together and established economic wealth and Athenian naval dominance. He used league funds to build large projects which eventually led to resentment from other city states and started the Peloponnesian War (basically a war between Greek city states). In the context of theatre, he renovated the Theatre of Dionysus which included hillside excavation and temporary wooden seating, approximately 14,000 spectators could attend, ten sections of seating added (one for each city state), women may have been allowed to sit in on of these sections.
Tragedy was popular when Athens was at its height.
Comedy was popular when Athens government was in it's lowest or in decline.
404 BC- The Peloponnesian War was lost to the Spartans.
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Old comedy to new
336 BC- Alexander the Great comes to power. He was beloved by Greeks and is to primary contributor to spreading Hellenistic culture. Without him the world today would look very different. This cultural revolution changed many things, including comedy. Comedy lost a lot of it's political undertones in favor of more familial and societal relationships. The theme of "Love" is introduced. Chorus was diminished even further, and theatre becomes more professionalized with guilds. (Guilds were organized groups who focused on protecting consumers and providing quality control measures).
From 336 BC to 30 BC. Greek culture began to mix with those of the near East. A shift from "city-state" to a more Monarchic structure. A shif from "thought-based" society fo a faith-based" society.
Many new theatres are built. Everyone was now allowed to attend. Plays no longer played exclusively at the Dionysian Festival.
The Theatre of Dionysus is further renovated. Wooden seating was replaced with stone seating in a stadium configuration. The Skene (scene) was rebuilt in stone. The logeion (speaking place) was added during this time.
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Roman conquest
Throughout the 2nd and 1st centuries. The Romans engaged in series of military campaigns against the Greeks. These are described as the "Macedonian Wars". After conquering, the Romans assimilated cultures into their own. This was part of why they were so successful. So, you have this merged culture where it becomes a mix of Roman culture and whoever they conquered. In Greece, this effected how theatre was perceived. New Comedy lasts from 323 BCE to 260 BCE with the death of Alexander the Great. After which it was no longer a civic duty to attend plays. Acting was no longer and honorable profession in Rome. It was so bad that actors lost civil rights, had legal restrictions. Actors could not vote, serve in the military, hold office. All Hellenistic theatres were converted to Greco-Roman theaters were converted to Greco-Roman theaters. This was a generalization of the time and eventually the Romans came around to the idea of theatre. Permanent theatres were not built until 55 BCE. The first theatres in the Roman empire were built by Pompey. The Roman plays focused heavily on reenacting battles, even sea battles, and had jugglers, acrobats, and rope-dancers.
Theatres started to become a profitable business when rivals of Pompey built their own. Two other theatres were built close to the Theatre of Pompey and thus began a business theatre structure where theatres competed to become the best and most profitable.
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Italian Renaissance
1300 to 1600
Playwrights influenced by Greek and Roman playwrights
By1498: Aristotle’s Poetics back in circulation and by 1550, pretty well read
Playwrights got rid of the chorus, employed greater realism
Tragedy has to teach useful and moral lessons
Actors were nobility as were audiences (which is why shows were primarily performed in court theatres)
15th century Italians discovered Vitruvius’s Treatise de Architectura (basically Poetics for architecture, written around 15 BCE)
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Lastly, I'd like to give appreciation to Professor William Walker of Paris Junior College for his notes. These notes were heavily influenced by his work and are appreciated.