THEATRE SPACES
HOW DOES A THEATRE SPACE INFLUENCE THE WAY A
PLAY IS PERFORMED?
What are the PROS and CONS of each theatre space?
Why did a particular theatre space suit the time period
when it emerged?
FOUR TYPES OF THEATRE SPACE
AMPHITHEATRE
THRUST STAGE
First used by Ancient GreeksUsed during Shakespeare’s time
PROSCENIUM STAGE
First used during the Restoration Era
TRAVERSE STAGE
First used in Japan
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The Birthplace of Theatre
520 - 220 B.C. 2500 years ago
Ancient Greece is where theatre started and
has influenced our theatre today.
Massive amphitheaters were built, and
theatre was one of the most important
elements of life: for gathering,
entertainment, and stories to be spoken.
The Festival of Dionysus (Oscars)
Dionysus was the god of the Greek stage.
It was at these festivals that the Greeks performed their
tragedies & comedies.
Tragedy
What is the right &
wrong course in life
Comedy
Comes from the word
Komodos
meaning “Merrymaking”
There were many Famous Greek Playwrights
Whose plays are still performed today
Aristophanes: 446 B.C.-386B.C.
• He is the best known writer
of comedies from Ancient
Greece: He is known as the
Father of Comedy
• His plays include:
–
–
•Used SATIRE - technique used to
mock politicians and statesmen
–
•STOCK characters emerged such as: –
boastful soldier, the grouch or
overbearing parent.
•mistaken identity, ironic situations,
romance and situational humour
Lysistrata
The Birds
The Clouds
The Frogs
– Eleven of his forty plays
survive to this day.
For the
audience
Where the CHORUS
performed
Huts for actors to change,
may have 3 doors
Eventually used as a
Backdrop for scenery
Pathways for
actors to enter
On a chariot
Amphitheatres
Chorus
Often portrayed
The audiencesactors feelings
Chanted poetry of
Moral lessons
Chorus Techniques:
Moving and or speaking:

Unison, Delayed, Echo, Repetition, Call
and Response, Volume, Emotion,
Emphasis

Flocking, Symmetry, Asymmetry, SemiCircle, Circular, Gesture, Abstract,
Tableau
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Character Masks!
Masks needed to have broad, simple designs
So they could be visible along way off
Acting had to be LARGER THAN LIFE
20,000 spectators watched these plays
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INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT
ANCIENT GREEK THEATRE
•
The first ACTOR’s name was THESPIS – he decided
to step out of the Chorus and speak directly to the
audience – Today Actors are called Thespians
•
Play Rules - only included 3 actors on stage
•
Chorus remained in the orchestra and interacted with
the actors and the audience
•
The audience would never clap but would stamp their
feet – if you really liked a show you might “Break your
leg”
•
Today “Break a leg” is said to wish a performer good
luck
•
Women were not allowed to perform or attend these
festivals Chorus video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP7_XERqv-Y
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ELIZEBETHAN ERA 1500-1600
THRUST STAGE
•
a stage that extends into the auditorium
so that the audience is seated around
three sides.
•
This extension created greater
intimacy with the audience
(advantage)
•
However more care was needed to not
block the audiences view but an actor
will often have their back to someone
(disadvantage)
•
Because no microphones were used the
Thrust allowed for better sound
quality but actors still had to speak loud
and clear.
•
Women attended these performances
but did not play characters – female
roles were played by young men
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GLOBE THEATRE
•
a Thrust stage theatre in London associated with William
Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by
Shakespeare’s playing company.
Areas of the Stage:
The PIT: Area around the stage,
No seating, filled with ‘groundlings’
Paid a penny to watch the play
The LORD’S ROOM: gallery above
the stage
For rich, upper class and nobility to sit
Best seats, best view
The HEAVENS: structure over the stage for the actors to hide
Used for special effects like flying or dramatic entries
The TIRING HOUSE: back stage for costume changes
The TRAP DOOR or HELL : for dramatic entrances/exits/sound effects/
located under the stage/prompt lines
Thrust Stages in Canada – Stratford & Prescott Ontario
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William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an
English author, poet, and
playwright who wrote almost
40 plays explored themes
such as history, comedy,
and tragedy.
His most famous pieces include
Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet,
Macbeth, and A Midsummer Night's
Dream. His work is now performed
and studied all around the world
and has inspired new takes on his
creations, (Love's Labour's Lost the
musical, West Side Story, The Lion
King etc.)
RESTORATION ERA (1700 to 1850): PROSCENIUM STAGE
Proscenium, in theatre, is the picture frame or
arch separating the stage from the auditorium,
through which the action of a play is viewed.
Comedy of Manners (Popular Plays)
• These plays ridiculed human failings-Focused on the fashions and foibles of
the upper class – gossip, adultery,
sexual escapades
•
•
•
All theatre was now indoors
Females were allowed to perform
Actors were treated as celebrities
Tartuffe by Moliere
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Interesting Fact:
Theatre was outlawed in mid 1640.
The Puritans feared theatre encouraged
moral looseness and a distraction from
worshipping God.
Actors were be apprehended as “rogues”
(dishonest, untrustworthy, unprincipled
scoundrels)
Advantages of the Proscenium Stage
• Room backstage
• Use lots of Painted scenery
• More realism possible
• Can have a brightly lit stage
Disadvantages of the Proscenium Stage
• Offers only one perspective
• Less intimacy with the audience
• Poor Acoustics
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TRAVERSE STAGE (1600’S) FIRST USED IN JAPAN
Traverse stage - the
audience is predominantly on
two sides of the stage, facing towards
each other.
The stage is also commonly known
as an alley or corridor stage.
They often had trapdoors for dramatic
entrances & exits.
Advantages of the Traverse Stage
• Allows the actors to be close to the audience for effect.
Disadvantages
• Actor will have his back to some audience
members and need to project
• Staging is limited
MODERN DAY TRAVERSE – CATWALK
For a fashion shows, and concerts
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Kabuki (歌舞伎) is a classical Japanese
dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known
for the stylization of its drama and for the
elaborate make-up worn by some of its
performers.
Originally only performed by WOMEN
•
Later women were banned
•
•
Today all roles are played by men
Actors will play the same character for life –
passed down within the family
The Actor will have an assistant onstage
dressed in black – who hands actor props or
manipulate costumes
•
Stock characters included:
Samari warrior, young, old,
lovers, statesmen, father, mother
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Your task:
• In your designated group you will rehearse and
perform a edited scene from Ancient Greece ,
Elizabethan Era or the Restoration Era using the
elements of that type of stage.
•
I will help you understand the scene and how plays
were performed but you will need to read
summaries of the play to understand the plot and
character motivation.
•
You will present your scene to the class using set,
costumes and props
•
You will cast the scene – base your decisions on
who you think will play the character well and the
amount of lines that need memorising.
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Watch Videos to expand your knowledge of the
time period and influence of that stage
•
Elizabethan Theatre (Thrust Stage)
•
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_cTCdkCAcc
•
The English Restoration (Proscenium Stage)
•
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNPxkYW36M4
•
Kabuki Theatre (Traverse Stage)
•
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67-bgSFJiKc
•
•
Kabuki: The people's dramatic art - Amanda Mattes
•
•
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oidE2SSDczw
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