Designed by Michael Rasbury
Resources used:
Barranger, Milly. Theatre- A Way of Seeing.
5th edition. Chapter 2, Thomson
Learning, Inc., 2002.
Brockett, Oscar G. History of the Theatre. 8th
ed. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon,
1999.
Leacroft, Richard and Helen. Theatre and
Playhouse. Methuen London, Ltd,
1984.
Great Architecture of the World.Mitchell
Beazley Publishers Limited, 1982
2
The Seeing Place
Ritual and Theatre The Evolution of Actor-Audience Relationship
Agrarian and Fertility RitesEarly cultures tried to find ways to appease the seemingly supernatural or
godlike forces that controlled the food supply.
Stories began to grow out of the "performance" of the ritual to explain why
the ritual was important.
As humanistic thought and
knowledge developed, rituals
became less important for
ensuring food and fertility for
the society.
Like modern Theatre, these
rituals contained enactment,
imitation and seasonal
performances
photo by Melissa Byrd
Entertainment is a bonus for the ritual audience; the goal is to gain prosperity
from the gods. Modern Theatre must entertain.
Ritual Performance differs from Modern Theatre in several ways:
Actors now create fictional characters.
Actors use the playwrights words to create a sense of life and place.
Modern Theatre tends to provoke thought rather than provide
concrete answers.
Ritual and Theatre employ some of the same characteristics:
Music- early ritual used rhythmical
music.
Dance- ritual incorporated
pantomimic dance.
Speech- vocal sounds were used
more than formal speech.
Masks- many felt that masks had
the ability to attract the spirit of the
character.
Costumes- costumes were looked upon
the same way masks were.
Performers- ritual enforced highly
trained actors that did not
change the ritual.
Audience- spectators came to watch the
ritual.
Stage- most spaces were circular but not
all were.
The Evolution
of the Early
Theatrical
Space
From Religious
Ceremony to
Performance
The Beginning of Modern Theatre
Theater was first officially recognized in 534 B.C. when the Athenian
Government began to subsidize drama.
Some of the first accounts of Greek Drama are documented by the Greek
philosopher Aristotle in his book Poetics.
A dithyramb is a hymn that was sung and danced
for the god of wine and fertility.
Worship of Dionysus was achieved through
intoxication, sexual orgy and sacrificial offeringssometimes human.
The Greeks created the first permanent theatre
structure called “Theatre of Dionysus” in honor
the fertility god. It is located in Athens.
The Greek Outdoor Amphitheatre
Two major performance areas-
The Orchestra or “Dancing Circle”
served as the primary acting area
The Skene (scene building)-
consisted of a building behind the
orchestra probably used as a dressing
room, later to be integrated into the
stage action by an innovative playwright.
Greek Scenic Devices
Periaktoia revolving triangular devices
with one scene painted on each
side.
Deus ex Machina“God From the Machine”
The Machina- a crane that
was used to represent
characters who were flying
or lifted off of the earth.
Tunnel
from behind the Skene to the center of the
stage.
Scenic wagons
revealed through doors on the Skene.
Pinakes
painted panels that could be attached to the
skene.
The Greek Chorus
The chorus was dominant because there was usually one actor and that
actor had to leave the stage several times during a show to change
characters.
The chorus was to be a representation of society, they often served as
the “ideal spectator” by providing advice, opinions, questions to the
audience and actors.
The main actor(s) stood apart in the performance space because they
typically played heroic figure that would realistically be separated from
normal mortal beings.
Their costumes and masks added spectacle and their movement and
dance heightened the dramatic effect.
Great actors were characterized by their voice quality and the ability to
adopt their manner of speaking to the character.
Greek and Roman Theatre share the following elements:
A facade stage- actors
performed in front of a
neutral background
Relationship with
religion- plays were
presented as part of a
larger celebration
Special Occasion- theatre
was held on special
occasions and not often
enough to be taken for
granted.
Noncommercial
environment- the wealthy
citizens or the state picked
up the costs as part of the
obligation of citizenship.
Male-only performers-
women sat in the audience
only.
Medieval Theatre
The Liturgical Didactic Drama celebrated the birth of Christ in
the Springtime.
Types of Liturgical Didactic Drama1. Mysteries- dealt with events in Christ’s life
2. Miracles- dealt with the lives of historical and legendary
saints
3. Moralities- didactic allegories portraying human struggle
for salvation.
Medieval Theatre was emblematic and simultaneous.
-Spectators were familiar with symbolism.
-Medieval Theatre was often presented as a group or cycle of
several “playlets.”and usually presented simultaneously on
different stages.
Medieval Theatre Development
Medieval Theatre began as part of Easter celebrations held within
churches.
Church leaders presented tropes- church dramas in the form of
chanted dialogue performed by Latin priests.
Gradually performances outgrew the church and moved outside into
marketplaces, replacing the priest with lay performers.
Town councils sponsored the productions, produced by trade guilds
and casted with recruited actors from the local population.
The outdoor dramas differed from the indoor ones.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Plays presented outdoors were spoken.
Plays were in the vernacular instead of Latin
Laymen were actors instead of priests and clerics
Stories were not wholly limited to the liturgy
Outdoor dramas were limited to “good weather” months.
Medieval Staging
Medieval stages were
either “fixed” or
moveable.
Both types of stages
made use of two main
areas:
Mansions- depicted
specific locales
Plateaus- open playing
space
The two most represented places on the
Medieval stage were Heaven and Hell.
Heaven was usually
constructed higher than the
other mansions.
Hell was constructed lower
than the other mansions and
called “Hell Mouth.”
The Pageant Wagon
(the moveable stage)
Portable stage, similar to a
parade float
It had a “tiring house” for
actors that also served as
scenery.
The plays on Pageant Wagons
were presented much like a
modern parade is presented.
The Elizabethan Theatre
Permanent structures began to be
built to house theatre that was
becoming more commercial than
ceremonial.
All theatres were built outside the
city limits due to Puritan officials who
felt theatre was sinful because of it’s
secular subject matter.
The theatre building evolved from Ushaped inn yards where traveling
troupes presented their shows,
pageant wagons, etc.
The Globe was highly influenced by
Medieval Theatre due to its many
mansions.
Since elaborate scenery was
prohibited by the theater structure,
various properties suggested the
locale.
For visual stimulation, costumes were
relied upon instead of scenery.
There were no women in the Theatre
at this time. Female roles were
played by men and boys.
The Proscenium Theatre and Its Concealing Arch
Because the proscenium arch allowed the concealment
of the conventions, artists could paint perspective
scenery on large canvases placed on a raked stage,
creating the illusion of vastness.
It was an architect from Italy
system for changing scenery
dimensional wings painted in
method, created by Giambattista
a wing-in-groove system.
that created a new
with movable twoperspective.
This
Aleotti, is now called
Picture Frame Stage
The Arena Stage
Four Most
Prevalent Types
of Theatres
Seating is arranged around
the stage much like a
stadium
The “picture-frame” stage is used to present
“real-life” portrayed on stage through an
imaginary “fourth wall.”
The Thrust or Open Stage
Thrust stages are variations
on the “picture-frame” stage
designed to minimize the
separation between the
actor and audience.
The Black Box
The Black Box Theatre is
flexible and can be arranged
in a variety of ways.
Designed by Michael Rasbury
Resources used:
Barranger, Milly. Theatre- A Way of Seeing.
5th edition. Chapter 2, Thomson
Learning, Inc., 2002.
Brockett, Oscar G. History of the Theatre. 8th
ed. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon,
1999.
Leacroft, Richard and Helen. Theatre and
Playhouse. Methuen London, Ltd,
1984.
Great Architecture of the World.Mitchell
Beazley Publishers Limited, 1982
2
The Seeing Place