Theater history Powerpoint
Greek Theater
By Mr. Healy
Dionysus- Greek God of wine and fertility
City Dionysia- Ritual ecstatic celebration of god of wine and fertility
Orchestra- Greek for “dancing place”, semi circle where chorus performs and acting takes place
Skene- A large rectangular building situated behind the orchestra, used as a backstage. Actors could change their costumes and masks.
Thespis- Greek chorus member who thought of the idea of wearing masks and acting
Tragedy- Deals with high status, beautiful characters in tragic situations
Comedy- Funny plays that deal with ugly, low class people
Satyr plays- rude comedies starring men as satyrs, or half men half goats. These were the servants of Dionysus
5 th century BC- was the high period for greek drama- Aeschylus,
Euripides, and Sophocles all produced their plays in this era
Terms
Chorus- A body of men who sung lines from the play. Usually commenting on the dramatic action
Dithyramb- Choral song that tells a
Greek myth
Terms continued
Greek theater, and therefore theater itself.
Originated in Athens around 700 B.C.
Athens was the center of Greek government and also worship
Theater arose from the festivals celebrating the god Dionysus
The main festival was called City
Dionysia
Theater originates from some pretty raunchy Greeks
Origins
Ecstatic ritualized celebration of Dionysus
Led by drunken men dressed up as goats because goats were thought of as sexually potent
Chorus would sing Dithyrambs
Soon performances became competitive and actors began to take the stage
Plays were submitted and performed and then judged
Winners had their names inscribed in stone at the venue ensuring glory for all time
City Dionysia
First man to play a character on stage is credited as Thespis
Originally a member of the chorus, he began to stand alone and assume different masks depending on what character from the story he was playing
More on masks later
Origins of acting
1.
2.
3.
There were three types of plays presented at the festival
Tragedy
Comedy
Satyr Plays
Origins of Dramatic Genres
Type of play focusing on upper class or noble characters and their downfalls
The 3 most famous Tragedians are
Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles
Some famous Greek Tragedies are
Oedipus Rex,
