History of
the Theater
When and where did it begin?
• Theatre emerged from
• The information we do
myth, ritual, and ceremony.
have from long ago comes
• Through these rituals,
from wall paintings,
leaders, or actors of sorts,
decorations, artifacts, and
emerged. These
hieroglyphics that show
acting/leadership roles were
the importance of
often filled by elders and
successful hunts, seasonal
priests.
changes, life cycles, and
• Acting spaces or
stories of the gods.
auditoriums developed as a
result of more elaborate
rituals.
The Very First Play!!!
• The earliest example of theatre comes from
ancient Egypt.
• The Abydos passion play concerns the story
of Osiris, the first mummy. This drama was
enacted at the most sacred place in Egypt,
Abydos- the burial site of Osiris.
• Performed annually from 2500 to 550 B.C.
• First of its kind ever recorded.
Greek Origins
• At the early Greek festivals, • Because of the limited
the actors, directors, and
number of actors allowed
dramatists were all the same
on-stage, the chorus
person.
evolved into a very active
part of Greek theatre.
• Later, only three actors
could be used in each play. • The chorus was given as
many as one-half the total
• After some time, nonlines of the play.
speaking roles were allowed
to perform on-stage.
• Music was often played
during the chorus' delivery
of its lines.
The first Roman performance occurred in
Rome around 364 B.C.
Romans borrowed Greek and Etruscan
methods in their own theatre.
The first permanent theatre structures in
Rome were dedicated to the god Venus.
In contrast to ancient Greece, comedy was
more popular in Rome than tragedy.
Middle Ages
• Even though the Catholic
• After the fall of the
Church deemed these
Roman Empire, small
travelers as “sinners” they
nomadic bands
revived drama with
traveled around
reenactments of bible
performing.
stories.
• They consisted of
• The church always
storytellers, jesters,
reserved the right to
jugglers and many
approve or disapprove a
other performers.
script before it became a
production.
Directors emerged to handle the sometimes large
numbers of actors, special effects, and money that
would be put into productions.
A play committee would have duties such as:
•
•
•
•
•
directing the constructing of the stage
seating for the audience
casting and rehearsing
assigning people to take up money at the door
addressing the audience at the beginning and end
of the play
• In Italy staging was
made popular by using
perspective
architecture and
painting.
• These methods gave
audience members the
illusion of distance
and depth.
• Scenery and stages
were raked or angled
to increase the illusion
and create a
perspective setting.
• Italians also came up
with new methods of
shifting scenery using
wings and painted
canvas coverings.
•The man known as the
greatest dramatist of all
time is William
Shakespeare.
•He was involved in all
aspects of theatre, more
than any other writer of
his day and is said to have
written over 38 plays.
Say what??
During Shakespearean times, there were– no women actors
– little props
– open auditoriums
– flag colors to determine the type of play
performed
th
18
Century Origins
• The playwright was also the
director of a play, and
• The first designer
rehearsals from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
broke up floor space
with pieces of scenery, • Actors got paid on popularity,
giving more depth and and usually played the same
type of roles.
dimension to the stage.
• Playwrights got proceeds
• Others experimented
from the third and sixth
with lighting by using nights, but only for the
original run of the show.
candles and large
chandeliers over the • Pantomimes would also
perform before and after a
stage.
play.
th
19
Century American Theater
• Large cities had longer runs of shows, but
theatres cut down on the number of shows
that they would do in a year.
• This caused a rise in the per-pay contract,
and actors were paid for one year or until
the run of the show ended.
• A company was composed of actors,
designers, and directors who came together
for one year. Each person would play one
role.
We’re in the MONEY!!
• The royalty system was
developed in which a
playwright was paid a fee
for every performance.
• Developed copyright
system to protect
playwrights by law.
• By 1900, the international
copyright agreement was
developed to keep track of
plays and their writers.
• Playwrighting finally
became a profitable
profession.