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HISTORY OF GREEK THEATRE
Several hundred years before the birth of Christ, a theatre flourished, which to you and I would seem strange, but, had it not been for this Grecian Theatre, we would not have our tradition-rich, living theatre today. The ancient Greek theatre marks the First Golden Age of Theatre.
GREEK AMPHITHEATRE- carved from a hillside, and seating thousands, it faced a circle, called orchestra (acting area) marked out on the ground. In the center of the circle was an altar (thymele), on which a ritualistic goat was sacrificed (tragos- where the word tragedy comes from), signifying the start of the Dionysian festival.
- across the circle from the audience was a changing house called a skene. From this comes our present day term, scene. This skene can also be used to represent a temple or home of a ruler. (sometime in the middle of the 5th^ century BC)
DIONYSIAN FESTIVAL- (named after Dionysis, god of wine and fertility) This festival, held in the Spring, was a procession of singers and musicians performing a combination of worship and musical revue inside the circle. **Women were not allowed to act. Men played these parts wearing masks. **There was also no set scenery.
A- In time, the tradition was refined as poets and other Greek states composed plays recounting the deeds of the gods or heroes. B- As the form and content of the drama became more elaborate, so did the physical theatre itself. 1- The skene grow in size- actors could change costumes and robes to assume new roles or indicate a change in the same character’s mood. 2- ECCYCLEMA- moving platform where scenery was moved on stage for the audience to witness. Ex. murder off stage—wheeled on for audience to see. 3- Costume/Sound- Roles were distinguished by the size of the costume. The bigger the costume, the bigger the part.
Ex. elevated boots, stilts, big robes, and masks.
The person most responsible for theatre greatness was and still is the PLAYWRIGHT- writer of the play.
THESPIS, in 534 B.C. introduced the first actor. He stepped out of the chorus and uttered the first words of DIALOGUE- verbal words where exciting and important exchange of ideas and emotions can be transcribed. Thespis paved the way for several of the greatest playwrights in theatre history.
AESCHYLUS (525-456 B.C.)
- Deeply religious- dealt almost exclusively with the gods and attempted to lift their deeds to great heights.
- Acted and directed in all of his own plays.
- Dramatic writer of TRAGEDY- lead character spends entire life in search of something or someone, never achieves it, and usually dies.
- Famous work- “Oresteia”- dramatization dealing with guilt and retribution.
SOPHOCLES (497-406 B.C.)
- Tragedy writer
- To many, the greatest Greek writer and playwright of all time. He had the perfect blend of content and form. That is, he knew what to say, and how to say it.
- Dealt largely with the heroes of ancient Greece.
- Famous works- “Oedipus the King”- dealing with the rational mans’ search through darkness for light, and “Antigone”.
EURIPIDES (485-406 B.C.)
- Rebel writer of the time (most modern).
- Wrote about real men rather than the gods or heroes.
- Famous works “The Trojan Women”- blistering attack on war. “Medea”- lashed out at injustice in many forms.
HISTORY OF ROMAN THEATRE
A superior Roman military force wipes out the Greek Theatre and the Roman era of theatre starts.
I. The following are characteristics of Roman Theatre at its start: 1- Stereo-typical characters 2- Mimes and dancers 3- Wanderers who set up their platforms and gave on-the-spot performances anywhere they thought they might have an audience.
II. Rome adapted the Greek Hillside Theatre-
- Raised the acting area and called it PULPITUM- it was elaborately carved and decorated and brings us the word PULPIT today. The Orchestra became the Pit and the Pulpitum became the Stage.
- Built of wood at first, then stone to look like the famed Coliseum.
- Added a front curtain
- Reduced the Acting circle to a semi-circle
- The Romans liked borrowing and enlarging ideas, but never really improved anything.
- The famous playwrights of the day borrowed plots and themes from the Greeks, but never challenged for brilliance.
III. Top playwrights of the Roman era. PLAUTUS (254-184 B.C.)
- Top roman writer of comedy.
- Comedy of Jerry Lewis and Danny Kaye are rooted in Plautus. TERENCE (185-159 B.C.)
- Another writer of comedy. SENECA (4 B.C.-69 A.D.)
- Writer of tragedy.
- His plays were called “closet dramas”, because they were intended to be read at home rather than performed.
- He lacked great poetry or important ideas in his dramas, but it was his influence that is demonstrated in the works of the great English playwright William Shakespeare.
The theatre in Rome beings to decline quickly, and the fall of Rome is on the way.
IV. Instead of watching vulgar, slap-stick comedies or over-written elaborate, gruesome tragedies, the entertainment of the day becomes the following 1- Christians being fed to the lions. 2- Gladiators and slaves fighting full-fledged battles, to the death, for the Roman Hierarchy. 3- Mimes doing vulgar, erotic pantomimes.
Rome falls in 476 A.D. The church takes over and promptly closes all of the theatres. Theatre then falls into what we refer to as the Dark or Middle Ages.
And so, almost 1000 years after Thespis steps out of the chorus to become the first actor, the classic theatre, as we understand it, draws to a shabby, banished, disreputable close.
What was left in the church? They came up with the first of what we still know today as the Passion Play, which is a dramatization of the life and crucifixion of Christ.
- These were extremely well written.
- No expenses or time was spared.
- Sets and costumers were very elaborate. ex. clouds and angels hoisted down from Heaven. Gigantic floods on which the ark floated.
Keep in mind, that although drama continued, it was still banned. Structuring got tighter.
IV. IMPORTANT PEOPLE OF THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD
HROSVITHA (935-1000)
- She was a German nun.
- Writer of formal drama.
HANS SACHS (1494-1576)
- Writer of farces and comedies.
- Some of his works are said to be still playing well today.
Late in the Medieval Period, a rebirth of curiosity and classic learning took place:
- Travel started up again.
- Ancient plays by Plautus, Terence, and Seneca were reopened, reconstructed, and reperformed.
This rebirth of curiosity and classic learning came to be known as the Renaissance.
V. IMPORTANT PEOPLE OF THE RENAISSANCE
ARIOSTO (1474-1533) Two comic playwrights whose comedy was ARETINO (1492-1556) funny and amusing, but often immoral and lewd.
VI. COMMEDIA DELL ‘ARTE (IMPROVISED COMEDY)
- Women appear upon the stage for the first time.
- There is no script or pre-planned action.
- Impromptu comedy.
- Charlie Chaplin is an example.
- VILLAIN in melodrama comes from here (Capitano).
So, although thought of as unproductive, the Middle Ages were actually a launching pad for several developments in Theatre. Theatre began to move away from Rome, Italy, and the rest of Continental Europe. It really took off in Elizabethan England, and that’s where we will go next.
Magnificent flights of poetic fancy and description which became typical of Elizabethan drama.
First such playhouse “The Theatre”, built in 1576.
- Built by James Burbage
- Two-level stage
- Sat 1500
- Opposed by Lord Mayor of London, but protected by Queen Elizabeth, who permitted it to flourish.
IMPORTANT PLAYWRIGHTS
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (1564-1616)
- Supreme writer of great tragedy
- Master playwright
- All plays contained the essential ingredient of any drama-ACTION
- Wrote some 37 plays
- Closest thing to the perfect playwright since Sophocles.
CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE (1564-1593)
- He alone challenged Shakespeare for supremacy as writer of great tragedy.
- Writer of masterful verse/mighty individual line.
- Died in a street brawl at the age of 29.
- Speculated that had he not died so young, he might have surpassed Shakespeare for greatness.
The Elizabethan England era of theatre is called the 2nd^ Golden Age of theatre. It was the age of giants. But, all too soon, reached an end. By 1625, Elizabethan drama was practically over.
The Civil War in England brought this era to an end in 1642.
- Oliver Cromwell (Puritan Leader) had the King beheaded.
- The rest of the nobility fled to France.
- The theatres were closed up as “Dens of Iniquity.”
RESTORATION ENGLAND
Oliver Cromwell closed the English theatre in 1642. The nobility fled to France where theatre was flourishing. The kind of theatre that was found in France had a later influence on British theatre, so, for that reason, let’s take a look at it.
- Built indoors, which was something new.
- It was entertainment and hobby for the aristocracy.
- The French were excellent poets.
One comic playwright stood out as the master playwright of the era.
MOLIERE (1622-1673)
- He was a student and participant in the Commedia dell ‘arte.
- Characteristics of his writing include: Social and personal criticism. Moliere knew how to write without offending anybody.
In 1660, Cromwell’s Regime fell. The English nobility returned to England and brought with them ELEGANCE and ARISTOCRACY as trademark of the New English Theatre. This would begin a restoration process that would eventually bring English theatre to the level of greatness it once possessed. It would turn into the 3rd^ golden Age of Theatre.
Some qualities characteristics of the New Theatre were:
- Women acting
- Flamboyant performers
- Bigger auditoriums/larger stages to accommodate growing crowds.
Characteristics of the play themselves were:
- Polished and sophisticated
- An idea of a “new morality”- the only sin is sincerity.
- An idea that the city is brilliant/country is boring.
- Flattery was expected and highly accepted.
- The tone of these plays was light, cheery, and comic.
EUROPEAN THEATRE IN TRANSITION
Theatre has been restored in England, but what about the rest of Europe?
FRANCE
- La Comedie Larmoyante (Tearful Comedy) Combination of humor and semi-tragic complications.
VOLTAIRE (1694-1778) - Dominant figure in French Eighteenth Century literature, philosophy, and theatre.
- Dramatic writer who wrote well
- Wrote to push for social reform
- Possessed hatred of the clergy
- Best know for: Removing the spectators from the stage-theatre goes would rather be seen than watch what was going on. Raising acting standards through criticism.
BEAUMARCHAIS (1732-1799)
- The Barber of Seville
- The Marriage of Figaro Both reflect the rising democratic sentiments raised by the American Revolution and eventually resulting in the French Revolution.
With the French Revolution and the inventing of the Guillotine, theatre was set aside as a means of excitement until Napoleon restored order. Then, theatre took its place in the cultural lives of Frenchmen. Napoleon falls and Europe plunges into a series of crises and cultural and political revolutions.
VICTOR HUGO (1802-1885) – In 1830 introduces the first play on ROMANTISCISM, HERNANI, into the theatre.
- This was a romantic escape into the heroic, the beautiful, or the colorful.
- Characteristics of most modern theatre today.
No sooner had Romanticism established itself as a dominant force:
REALISM
ANTOINE (1858-1943)
- Amateur actor/director.
- Opened the renowned Theatre Libre’, meaning free theatre.
- Realistic presentation of current and down-to-earth problems.
True masterpiece of Realism were to come, not from France, but Scandinavia and Russia.
HENRICK IBSEN (1828-1906) – Norwegian (Scandinavian) playwright
- Wrote about social problems
- Considered the greatest writer of Realism ever
- Wrote on issues of: The position of women in society Syphilis Do-gooders Aspirations of beauty Community hypocrisy
RUSSIA
KONSTANTIN STANISLAVSKI (1863-1938)
- Opened the Moscow Art Theatre in 1898.
- Developed what has been called “The Method” or “Method Acting,” although he never called it that. This method deals with character objectives, goals, beats, sense memory and subtext.
ANTON CHEKHOV (1860-1904)
- Serious writer of drama/ and some comedy
- He wrote for the Moscow Art Theatre
- Wrote on characters whose lives wear pathetically away, with only a few rare moments of “drama”.
NINETEENTH CENTURY ENGLAND
The outstanding, prosperous theatre, which began with the reign of Elizabeth I, reached its final stages under another queen, VICTORIA (1838- 1901).
- Characteristics: Straight-laced Prudish-proper High-society Ritzy
Era was, for the most part, a continuation of what had gone on before.
- Tearful comedy
- Righteous melodrama (Both were taken seriously)
This era produced only one playwright worth mentioning, and he arrives later in the century.
This was the age of the actor.
As in the rest of Europe, Romanticism had a profound impact upon English literature.
- Most Romantic plays written were “closet dramas”.
- There were some worthy of performance: Lord Byron Lord Tennyson
OSCAR WILDE (1856-1900) – Most famous playwright of the era.
- Witty language
- Flair for the unexpected
- Hilarious farce
SIR HENRY IRVING (1838-1905)
- First actor to be knighted
- Very respectable actor
GEORGE BERNARD SHAW (1856-1950)
- Wrote comedies that blasted man and society
- England’s greatest playwright since Shakespeare
- Most important playwright of this era.
Nineteenth Century Theatre was not particularly brilliant, but quiet progress and improvements were made.
Two world wars would interrupt this progress, but the groundwork of theatre had already been laid in 19th^ Century England.
Two world wars followed, and, out of these, the United States emerged as a world leader. The time from W.W. II to the present is referred to as MODERN AMERICAN THEATRE.
20 th^ CENTURY DRAMA (Modern American Theatre)
IMPORTANT PLAYWRIGHTS
THORNTON WILDER
- 3-time Pulitzer Prize winner
- Our Town
- Matchmaker
EUGENE O’NEILL
- Considered the greatest American playwright of all time.
- 4 Pulitzer Prizes
- Nobel Prize for Literature in 1936
- He was an experimenter in the theatre His style ranged from Realism, to Naturalism, to Expressionism, to Impressionism.
- Hairy Ape
- Desire Under the Elms
- Long Days Journey Into Night This was first performed 4 years after his death, and won him his 4th^ Pulitzer Prize.
TENNESSEE WILLIAMS
- The Glass Menagerie
- A Streetcar Named Desire- won him a Pulitzer.
- Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
ARTHUR MILLER
- Death of a Salesman
- The Crucible
WILLIAM INGE
- Playwright of the 50’s
- Picnic- won him a Pulitzer
- Bus Stop- starred Marilyn Monroe
EDWARD ALBEE
- Playwright of the 60’s
- Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
TYPES OF MODERN DRAMA
REALISTIC – Create an illusion of reality on stage.
NATURALISTIC – Reality is determined by heredity and environment.
IMPRESSIONISTIC – Creating a mood.
SYMBOLIC – Symbols used to invoke feelings.
EXPRESSIONISTIC – Expresses the subjective life of characters.
EPIC REALISM – Places emphasis on social implications.
