Perez, Jay Christoper T.
1st year BSA A
Greece and Rome are famous for their mythological stories, which are sometimes
performed in theaters. There are some parallels between Greek and Roman theater.
The stories told in the theater are from Greek culture. The Romans adopted some
Greek culture, stories, and theater, but there are some minor differences in names,
clothing, and other situations.
The video I watched focused on the similarities and differences between Greek and
Roman theater. In the video, Greek theater is performed with a limited number of actors,
such as only three men acting in a play, and they must use masks to portray a girl, a
goat, or even an elderly person. Themes in Greek theater are drawn from Greek
mythology, religion, or comedic situations. The video also discusses the structures of
Greek theater, costumes, and masks. While in the Roman theater, the video discusses
how the Romans adopted Greek cultures and theater, such as how there are similarities
in theater structures, costumes, and plays.
In the twenty-first century, we can see theater performances in schools, Local theaters,
and occasionally in cinemas. As far as I can tell, there are movements, structures, and
costumes in Greek and Roman theater that can still be seen today. Because a theater is
a large space where the audience watches a performance from their seats, an actor or
performers in the Greek and Roman theaters use exaggerated movements to make
their performance more lively and understandable to the audience. Today, in modern
theater performances, performers still use exaggerated movement to help audiences
understand what the performers are doing. In terms of structure, Greek theaters are
placed downhill, while Roman theaters are solid structures, both of which are round or
curved in shape, whereas in modern times, as I have observed, there are some theaters
that are round, curved, rectangle, and square in shape. Theatron or seats, Orchestra or
stage, parados left and right or entrance and exit, and skene or backstage are the
components of Greek theater. The parts of the Roman theater are the same as those of
the Greek theater, except for the Box, which is a room for patrons and sponsors of the
plays. In modern times, theaters retain the same structural elements, but with some
improvements such as improved seats or chairs, large screens in a theater, and air
conditioning around the theater. Lastly in costumes, as I have observed Greeks us
Chiton, Dresses and War uniforms while Romans uses color coded Chiton. I think that I
can compare or differentiate the color coded Chiton to the modern costumes some
performers are using, purple chiton symbolizes rich in the modern costumes it is like
wearing fancy and luxury clothes, yellow chiton portrays woman while in modern
costumes you can wear skirt, Saya, jeans, depending on the theme of the play, yellow
tussle portrays man, in the modern times man can wear whatever he wanted depending
on the character he is portraying, white chiton for olds while in the modern costumes
some are using blouse and palda for old woman and shirt and pants for old man.
Movements, structure, and costumes are some of the things that can still be seen in
Greek and Roman theaters that exist in the twenty-first century.
The importance of theater to the Greeks and Romans was discussed at the last
meeting; anyone, including prisoners, can watch a live performance in the theater. A
person who can watch a live performance in the twenty-first century has a pass ticket; if
you do not have a ticket, you can only watch it on screens. In addition, unlike the Greek
and Roman theaters, prisoners are not permitted to leave the confines of the prison but
can watch a live performance on television.
Finally, theater is a collaborative form of performing art in which live performers, usually
actors or actresses, present the experience of a real or imagined event in front of a live
audience in a specific location, usually a stage. The performers may express their
emotions to the audience through gesture, speech, song, music, and dance. Having this
type of topic in Theater and Arts broadens my knowledge on how theater is important
for people, because there are many performances in theater, so I believe that if I join a
theater, I can develop many skills such as dancing, acting, making creative props, and
many more. Also, theater allows you to express yourself and tell stories about your own
and other people's lives. It aids in the creation of meaning through personal narratives.
The theater has an impact on how we think and feel about our own lives, forcing us to
examine ourselves, our values, and our behavior.
Furthermore, the primary purpose of theater in society is to entertain people. Some
plays feature actors performing embarrassing acts in order to make the audience laugh,
while others use comedy to mock politicians. Having entertainment in one's life can help
to alleviate sadness.