Roman Theatre
Heritage
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Began when Romans tried to adopt Greek
Theatre
 Comedy surpassed Greek predecessors
 Tragedy not as successful
 Because of Romans high standards for
themselves they thought Romans wouldn’t
behave in a free spirited fashion…so their
plays often portrayed Greek settings and
dealt with Greek characters so as not to
offend Roman citizens
Theatres
Romans wished to control
 Built everything freestanding
 Copied Greek idea of large gathering
centers
 Adapted to their own types of
entertainment
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– Romans built
• Large theatre, circus and a forum together
Roman Style
Dominated architectural design of
Europe and America for centuries
 Romans added more realistic scenery
to plays
 Setting usually outdoors
 Since Roman plays were about Greeks
there was always an alter on stage
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– Still present today but rarely used
A visual tour…
Theatre of Pompey
Arial View
Another View
Conventions of Roman Theatre
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More speaking actors than Greeks
Chorus not used as often as the Greeks did
Actors played one part
Masks still used
Stock Characters embellished
– Series of stereotyped characters
– Used often in comedy
– Easily identifiable
• Anticipate behavior - reactions
Common Stock Characters
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Slave
– Motivating force
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Young man
Girl
Braggart
Old man
Smart slave
Dumb slave
Parasite or leech
Plautus
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Rome’s most popular comic playwright
Plays had poor structure
Were lyrical and poetic
Full of gag lines
Many playwrights from Shakespeare to Neil
Simon follow his style of comedy writing
– A series of misadventures loosely tied together
Terence
Consummate craftsman
 Well developed subtle plots
 Greater suspense
 More surprises
 Not as lyrical or poetic
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Seneca
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One of the greatest minds and writers in
Roman history
 Plays made him great writer of tragedies in
Roman history
 Conflicts in his plays mainly man versus
himself
 Plays more fit for reader’s theatre than stage
production
– Long
– Brilliant monologues
– Unmotivated entrances
Theatres
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Coliseums
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Circuses
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Forums
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