Globe Theater
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Specific Information and pictures.
Headings
Specific Information and pictures.
Headings
Specific Information and pictures.
*Write down the definitions of new words and
highlight them.
Miniature Model of The Globe
The Globe 1599 - 1613
The Globe Specs
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total capacity of between 2,000
and 3,000 spectators
no lighting
performances at the Globe
were conducted, weather
permitting, during the day
(probably most often in the
mid-afternoon span between 2
P.M. and 5 P.M.)
Because most of the Globe
and all of its stage was open
air, acoustics were poor and
the actors were compelled by
circumstances to shout their
lines, stress their enunciation,
and engage in exaggerated
theatrical gestures.
Specs cont.
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Costumes and props
were utilized; however,
there were no
backgrounds or
scenery. Scene
changes were indicated
explicitly or implicitly in
the speeches and
narrative situations that
Shakespeare wrote into
the text of the plays.
The playhouse did not
have curtains. Actors
had to change their
costumes backstage.
Specs continued
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The Globe Theater was the
most sophisticated theater
in England during this
period.
The Globe company used
massive props like fully
working canons, although it
would of course had to be
left on stage for the entire
performance of the play.
The Globe company used
special effects: smoke
effects, the firing of a real
canon, fireworks (for
dramatic battle scenes) and
spectacular 'flying'
entrances.
• The stage floor had trap-doors
allowing for additional surprising
incidents.
• Music was another addition to the
Globe productions. It was no wonder
that the Globe Theater and this form
of Elizabethan entertainment was so
popular.
Stage
Shakespearean Advertising !
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Towering above the
Globe was a small
tower with a flag pole.
Flags were used as a
form of Elizabethan
Advertising! Flags
were erected on the
day of the
performance which
sometimes displayed
a picture advertising
the next play to be
performed. Color
coding was also used
- a black flag meant a
tragedy, white a
comedy, and red a
history.
Theater Politics
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The government of the
Elizabethan Times did not
approve of the theater. The
law prohibited theaters from
being in London.
Even though attending the
theater was a bit out of the
way for London folk, highstatus as well as low life
spectators were welcome.
Theater Politics
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Elizabethan theater and the
acting companies that
animated it were looked at as
evil by at least some
conservative elements in
England.
The acting profession was
considered a precarious way.
Most stage players were
vulnerable to arrest on charges
of vagrancy (homeless) if they
were not under the protection
of a powerful sponsor.
Theater Politics
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Globe Theatre stood until June 29,
1613, when its thatched (straw)
roof was set ablaze by a cannon
fired in a performance of Henry
VIII and the Globe burned to the
ground.
The Globe was reconstructed in
1614.
In 1642, England’s government
closed down all of the country's
theaters. Two years later,
Cromwell's round heads tore down
the Globe, leveled the site and
constructed tenement (large
apartment building) housing upon
it.
Actors
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Young boys played
the parts of main
female protagonist
like Juliet.
A young boy
dressed in a
17th century
lady’s dress.
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It was against English
law to dress in clothing
that was outside of your
class.
For example, peasants
must wear peasant
clothes they cannot
dress up like a
princess.
However, actors could
wear the clothes of
Kings, Queens,
Noblemen, and
Noblewomen.
Actors
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Richard Burbage
Burbage was one of the
great tragic actors of
his day and the roles of
Hamlet, Othello and
Lear were probably
written for him.
Actors
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Will Kemp
As an actor, Kempe
is certainly
associated with two
roles: Dogberry in
Much Ado About
Nothing and Peter in
Romeo and Juliet.
Actors
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William Sly
It is believed that he
took youthful, romantic
or soldierly parts such
as Tybalt in Romeo and
Juliet, Laertes in
Hamlet or Hotspur in
Henry IV
Actors
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We mustn’t forget William
Shakespeare.
Not only was Shakespeare a
playwright, he also acted in
many of his plays.
It is also assumed that
Shakespeare played smaller
roles in a variety of his own
plays, including Adam in As
You Like It, King Duncan in
Macbeth, King Henry in Henry
IV, and Hamlet’s father in
Hamlet.
Plays and Propaganda
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Initially, plays were used as
a vehicle for propaganda.
They would make fun of
political and religious
groups.
Queen Elizabeth, ever
concerned about her
popularity with the people,
realized that although it
would be important to
enforce some regulations
that it would be foolhardy to
apply too many restrictions.
Otherwise, she may
become a target for ridicule.
Box Office
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Globe audiences had to put
one penny in a box by the
door which would pay for a
view of the play by standing
on the ground, in front of
the stage. These people
were called “groundlings”.
“Groundlings” consisted of
house servants, unskilled
workers, and unemployed
people. These people
would sit/stand, talk, throw
food, etc, while the play was
being performed.
Box Office
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To sit on the first gallery
would cost another penny in
the box which was held by a
collector on the front of the
stairs. Skilled artisans,
high-ranking landowners,
merchants and military
officers were seated here.
To sit on the second gallery,
you put another penny in
the box held by the man at
the second flight of stairs.
Aristocrats, ladies of the
court, and nobles sat in this
area.
Box Office
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Then when the show
started, the men went and
put the boxes in a room
backstage.
Profits there were shared
between members of the
Globe company as such
and the owners of the
theatre. Shakespeare
received approximately
10% of the profit for writing
the plays.
The Theater’s Reputation
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Elite society looked down on
attending the theater; therefore,
upper class man and women
would wear a mask to disguise
their identity.
The subject matter of the plays
would often be vulgar and
sexual.
The behavior of some of the
audience was highly
inappropriate!
The theatres didn’t just show
plays. Some also served as a
brothel and gambling house
when plays were not being
performed.
Crime increased at the theaters
and following the performances
the crowds were noisy and
unruly. The vast crowds and the
popularity of the London
Theaters needed some
additional controls.
Popularity
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Days out at the Globe Theater
would have been an exciting
event. The grounds
surrounding the Globe
Theater would have been
bustling with people.
There would be stalls selling
merchandise and refreshments
creating a market day
atmosphere. Common
refreshments were hazelnuts,
beer, water, gingerbread,
apples, and oranges; all of
which were occasionally
thrown at the actors onstage.
Young people would often
avoid going to work in order to
go to the theater.
Popularity
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Plays were big!! There
was money to be made!!
There was a constant
demand for new
material!! Rivalry between
the Theatres Playhouses
was enormous!! As soon
as a play had been
written it was immediately
produced - printing
followed productions!
(Printing back then meant
copying the text by hand
over and over again.)
First Clip
If the video doesn’t play go to
the Hamlet folder and play
the clip titled:
The Globe_5.avi
*If you start the clip at 3 min. you will skip
some unnecessary information
Second Clip
If the video doesn’t play go to
the Hamlet folder and play the
clip titled:
Shakespeare A Life and
Times_4.avi
* Start the clip at the beginning, but you can
skip through starting at minute 3:00 and fast
forward to minute 4:00. (Unnecessary part
about Francis Bacon being a potential
candidate for writing Shakespeare’s plays.)