Theatres from 1660 – 1875
 Between 1660 and 1875, people in Europe and America undertook to change the world – to transform politics, industry, and education.
 The 18 th century was known as the age of enlightenment. People at that time believed that the mind was all-powerful, and that all problems could be solved through the intellect.
 The 19 th century was called the century of progress. It was the era of the industrial revolution – the development of machines for manufacturing and transportation.
 Theater during this era was in transition. o The roots of modern theatre can be found in transformations that took place in drama of the English Restoration, the 18 th century, and the early 19 th century.
 A modern version of the proscenium-arch theatre – the version we still have on Broadway and across the country – was developed.
 Technology was introduced into scene design, and more realistic stage effects became popular. o Primitive candle lighting gave way to more controllable gas lighting
(In 1881, electricity was to be introduced) o Historically accurate costumes became more commonplace, and costumes were designed in terms of characterization.
 The business of theatre as we know it today took shape during these years, including the rise of the theatrical entrepreneur, the establishment of the long run, and the appearance of the star system.
 The dramatic forms of these two centuries – such as comedy of manners, romanticism, melodrama, and the well-made play – are still used by today’s writers. o Melodramatic films and TV shows are direct descendants of 19 th century popular drama; the American dramatist Arthur Miller wrote well-made plays.
The Theatre of the English Restoration
 During the Restoration, women became an integral part of English theatre for the first time. o Actresses appeared onstage, and female playwrights made an auspicious debut.

 The Puritans closed the theatres in 1642, and from then until 1660 theatrical activity was severely curtailed. o Elizabethan playhouses were dismantled, and actors were persecuted.
 At the beginning of the Restoration, when theatrical activity resumed, several trends became evident. o One was a restriction on the number of theatres permitted to operate. o Another was a change in several key aspects of theatre activity.
 These included new theatres, a new makeup in the audiences, and a new atmosphere that permeated attendance at the theatres. o The most obvious change was the appearance of actresses onstage instead of the young boys who had previously portrayed female characters.
Restoration Drama
 Serious Drama o Today the serious drama of the Restoration is rarely produced, or even read. o One type of serious drama was heroic tragedy
 Popular between 1660 and 1675
 Dealt with extraordinary characters who undertook extraordinary deeds. o Another type of serious drama was referred to as Restoration
Tragedy.
 Popular during the last quarter of the 17 th century.
Restoration Comedy
 Comedies of Intrigue o The great plays of the English Restoration, however, were its comedies. o Characters have one trait overshadowing all others. o There were also farces; comedies of manners; and comedies of intrigue, which featured daring exploits of romance and adventure and had complicated plots o One of the most successful writers of comedies of intrigue was
Aphra Behn (1640-1689)

o Ahra Behn
 During the Restoration, when actresses were first appearing on the English stage, the first woman English playwright also appeared.
 She is not only the first known English woman dramatist; she is the first to have earned a living by writing.
 In addition to being a dramatist, she was also a poet and novelist.
 She wrote at least 20 plays.
 Several of them proved successful, and some remained an active part of the theatre repertoire until well into the 18 th century.
 Though there was some prejudice against her because of her gender, she overcame it with her successes.
 She is best known for her plays of intrigue.
 Following her, there were a significant number of other female playwrights in Restoration and 18 th century England.
 Comedies of Manners o It is not for tragedy, comedy, or plays of intrigue that Restoration drama is most remember, but rather for comedies of manners. o Comedy of Manners focuses on the fashions and foibles of the upper class – gossip, adultery, sexual escapes. o These comedies poke fun at the social conventions and norms of the time and satirize the preoccupation of the upper class with reputation: Most of the upper-class characters in the plays are disreputable.
Restoration Audiences
 Many of the audiences of this era were quite spirited in their behavior during performances.
 Many would purchase fruit from the “orange wenches” (many of these
“wenches” were prostitutes), spoke back to the actors, and attended the theatre to be seen rather than to see the play.
 Activities like these provoked attacks by religious leaders who were opposed to theatre.
 Restoration audiences were primarily, but probably not exclusively, members of the upper class – the same group that was being satirized in the plays.

Actresses and Actors
 One of the most obvious changes from English Renaissance theatre to
Restoration theatre was the appearance of actresses on stage.
 Once women were allowed to perform onstage, a favorite dramatic device was to have a woman dress as a man; parts that required this kind of cross-dressing were called breeches roles.
 In many areas of society and life, women had an inferior status, and this may have carried through to the position of actresses.
Theatre Architecture in the Restoration
 During the Restoration, there were three theatre buildings of note in
London o Lincoln’s Inn Fields (1661) – which was a converted tennis court o Dorset Garden (1671) o Drury Lane
 Fun fact – Drury Lane is said to have a ghost: an 18 th century gentleman in cloak and riding boots who appears in the upper circle only at matinees when the house is full.
 All three had interiors that fused Italian and Elizabethan features.
 By the time of the Restoration, the Elizabethan tradition of open-air public theatres had ended
 All theatres were now indoor proscenium-arch buildings
 The area for the audience was divided into pit, boxes, and galleries
 The pit in Restoration theatres had backless benches as well as raked – slanted downward from back to front – for better sight lines.
 The total seating capacity was about 650.
 In size, then, as well as in many other respects, Restoration theatres were similar to Elizabethan private theatres.

 The 18 th century was a time of transition and expansion in Europe and
America.
 In the theatre, star actors came to the forefront; and elaborate scenic effects, strongly influenced by Italian designers, were increasingly adopted, as theatres also grew in size.
Middle-Class Tragedy
Theatres in the 18 th Century
 Bourgeois – or middle-class – Tragedy and Domestic tragedy were 18 th century examples of drame: o They ignored the neoclassical requirement of royal protagonists and drew tragic heroes and heroines from the emerging middle class. o Domestic tragedies focused on bourgeois family concerns. o Bourgeois and domestic tragedies were often dramatizations of 18 th century middle-class morality – rewarding the virtuous and punishing the wicked – and they tended to be sentimental and melodramatic
 They openly appealed to the emotions as they pitted good against evil. o The emergence of middle-class tragic heroes and heroines reflected the rise of the middle class as a political and social force: the new middle-class audiences expected dramas to reflect their problems and points of view.
Ballad Opera & Comic Opera
 Ballad Opera – a parody of Italian opera o Popularized in the 1730s o No sung dialogue o Spoken dialogue alternated with songs set to popular contemporary melodies o Characters were drawn from the lower classes o Frequently they were social and political satires poking fun at contemporary issues.
 Comic Opera – France o Actors dressed as cupids and held signs onstage on which were printed the other characters’ speeches (in rhymed couplets)

o The action was mimed by the performers, and spectators would often sing the dialogue, encouraged by performers planted in the audience. o As some of the legal restrictions were removed, comic opera became more like ballad opera, since it used popular music for its songs, satirized political and social issues or other forms of drama, and had no sung dialogue o By midcentury, comic opera became less satirical, less comic in tone, and more sentimental o It had recognizable French characters
Sentimental Comedy
 These comedies continue to be produced today
 Like Restoration comedy except that it reaffirms middle-class morality: the virtuous are rewarded and the wicked punished.
 Were comedies of manners, satirized social conventions and norms
 They have many of the character types found in Restoration comedy
 One of the best examples of sentimental comedy is The Conscious Lovers
(1722) by Sir Richard Steele (1672-1729). The play’s protagonist is Young
Bevil, who is promised in marriage by his father to Lucinda. Bevil, however, wishes to marry a poor orphan, Indiana, who eventually turns out to be the long-lost daughter of Lucinda’s father. Indiana’s changed circumstance allows the tow young lovers to marry. The play also resolves happily for Lucinda, who is betrothed to Myrtle, Bevil’s best friend.
Regulation of Theatres in England
 Charles II issued Patents – Restricted the presentation of drama to only two theatres from 1737-1843 o Drury Lane o Covent Garden
 Covent Garden Theatre o A London playhouse that still exists today o Opened on December 7, 1732 o Featured extravagant pantomimes with animals, tumblers, and contortionists o As well as revivals of older plays o It was enlarged twice, in 1787 and 1792, in order to earn more revenue.

o The renovation of 1792 increased its seating capacity to 3,000. o Fires destroyed the theatre in 1808 and again in 1856, but both times it was rebuilt
Theatres in America
 Permanent theatres were also constructed in the New World in the 18 th century.
 The first English performance probably took place in 1665 in Virginia; presumably because of religious and governmental opposition, the actors were promptly arrested.
 Many popular entertainments are noted in early colonial America, such as tightrope walking and the exhibition of bears, but theatrical performances were rare until the early 1700s
 The first professional entertainer arrived in 1703 and performed in
Charleston and New York
 In 1714, the first play written in America was published
 The first permanent theatre was built in Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1716 by
William Levingston.
 After the American Revolution, theatre was revived in New York by Lewis
Hallam Jr and his company.
Hallam Family
 In the 18 th century, English actors and companies began arriving in colonial America.
 One of the earliest professional English companies on record is a family of performers: the Hallams (c. 1740-1800).
 William Hallam came from a line of English actors. For 10 years, he managed an unlicensed theatre in London.
 By 1750 he was forced to close and was left bankrupt. Looking toward a new opportunity in the American colonies, Hallam hired an agent, Robert
Upton, to investigate theatrical conditions in North America, but Upton disappeared once he had crossed the Atlantic.
 Hallam then hired a small troupe of ten performers organized on a sharing plan; outfitted them with costumes, scenery, and scripts; and sent them to
America under the management of his brother Lewis.
 In 1752, the unknown company arrived in Williamsburg, Virginia, making their first appearance in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice.
 With Lewis playing secondary roles, his wife as the leading actress, and their children – Lewis Jr., Adam, and Helen – in minor parts, the company

secured brief engagements in Charleston, New York, and Philadelphia with a repertoire that consisted of Shakespeare and popular Restoration and 18 th century English drama.
 In 1755, the struggling troupe sailed to Jamaica, where a small community of English players had settled.
 There, they met the English actor David Douglas, who at the time was trying to recruit actors from England.
 The two companies decided to merge.
 When Lewis died in 1756, Douglass married Mrs. Hallam and took over the company, calling it the American Company.
 The company toured the colonies until the Revolutionary War, when professional theatre ceased.
Acting
 The 18 th Century was an era of famous and enormously popular performers.
 All across Europe, successful actors and actresses developed a dedicated following.
 Some of these performers worked to improve the social status of the profession, but by large actors remained suspect members of society.
Acting Styles
 The predominant approach to acting in the 18 th century is usually described as bombastic or declamatory, terms that suggest its emphasis on oratorical skills.
 Standardized patterns of stage movement were necessary because rehearsal time was brief and bills were changed frequently.
 More often than not, actors would address their lines to the audience, not to the character to whom they were supposed to be speaking.
 In Europe and America, actors were often employed by “line of business,” that is according to type. o Normally actors “possessed” their parts; once they performed a role, it would remain theirs until retirement or death. o Performers often fell back on improvisation and relied on the prompter.

The Emergence of the Director
 Possibly the most significant development in the 18 th century was the emergence of theatre practitioners who functioned, to some extent, like the modern director.
 Well into the 18 th century, playwrights or leading actors normally doubled as directors of stage business.
 Since these playwrights and actors had more pressing primary concerns, their actual directing was minimal; furthermore, the time spent on preparing a production in rehearsal was limited.
 Two figures who are said to be the founders of modern stage direction are the English actor David Garrick and the German playwright, poet, and novelist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

Theatres from 1800-1875
Possibly the most important transformation during the early 19 th century was the industrial revolution; the replacement of hand tools and human power by machinery, and the development of factories and the factory system.
19 th Century theatre was considered popular entertainment. It attracted huge numbers of people, and its escapist dramas – though written quickly and often not particularly well – helped them forget the cares and drudgery of their lives.
Popular Entertainments
 Popular entertainment, which often spotlighted performers and spectacle, also attracted the masses.
 Americans, for example, supported the minstrel shows, burlesque, variety, vaudeville, and the circus.
 Minstrel Show – White performers were made up as caricatured blacks. o White men had performed in burnt cork with exaggerated lips and eyes o Minstrel shows made performances by whites in blackface commonplace, beginning in 1843 with a performance by the Virginia
Minstrels, a company of four white men. o A group of men, numbering from 6 to 100, dressed in colorful costumes with faces blackened and eyes and mouths enlarged by white and red lines, formed a semicircle on the stage. o At one end of this arc sat Tambo, named for his tambourine o At the opposite end sat Bones, named for sheep ribs that he played like castanets; o In the center stood Mr. Interlocutor – the straight man and master of ceremonies, and the only performer not in blackface. o Unburdened by ploy or character development, the show was a combination of comic and sentimental songs, dramatic and farcical skits, and jigs and shuffle dances – all this seasoned with the peppering of dialect jokes.
 Burlesque – Usually parodies of serious plays, such as Shakespeare’s works and popular melodramas. o Today, takeoffs of popular films and tv shows such as Saturday
Night Live, or Mad TV, as well as the Austin Powers spoofs of the

James Bond films with Mike Myers, are examples of contemporary burlesques. o Later in the 19 th century, burlesques began to include women dancers; but it was not until the 20 th century that this form became a combination of comedians and strippers.
 Variety and Vaudeville - collections of entertainments o Presented in concert halls, saloons, and playhouses o Included songs, dances, acrobatics, and animal acts – all on one bill o Today, late-night tv talk shows come closest to being the home of variety entertainment.
 Circus – Made popular by P.T. Barnum o Developed spectacular advertising to attract mass audiences. o Barnum’s earliest successes were at the American Museum in New
York City from the 1840s through the 1860s o There he exhibited human curiosities and presented variety acts and plays in a theatre especially built for family audiences. o Among Barnum’s curiosities were Joys Heth, who he said was 140 years old and had been George Washington’s nurse; the “Fiji mermaid,” which was actually the head of a monkey sewn onto the body of fish; and the midget Tom Thumb. o Between 1841 and 1865, Barnum sold 37,500,000 admissions to his
American Museum. o In the 1850s, he became involved with the circus, which was in many ways a touring version of his museum o He advertised the circus as the “greatest show on earth”
Audiences
The increase in numbers of spectators and types of entertainments resulted in the construction of more playhouses throughout the western world
 With better rail transportation, dramatic arts were also brought to new areas and new audiences
 The transcontinental railroad, for example, made it possible for touring theatre to reach people living in places like California
 The popularity of theatre between 1800 and 1875 has not been equaled in modern times.
 Today, theatre no longer holds the same central position.
 The intense passion of 19 th century audiences has rarely been found in other entertainments. The closest parallel today might be the emotional intensity of audiences at rock concerts.

Theatre Riots
 The 19 th century passion for theatre is clearly seen in several infamous riots.
 One of these episodes, the “Old Price Riots,” took place when London’s
Covent Garden Theatre was remodeled in 1809 and prices for admission were raised by the actor-manager John Philip Kemble. o When the lower-class audiences learned about the higher prices and also discovered that the third-tier gallery had been turned into expensive private boxes rented for the season, they disrupted performances for over 60 nights, chanting, sounding noisemakers, and throwing things. o Eventually, the management gave in; the old prices for the pit were restored, and the number of boxes was reduced.
 The most violent of the 19 th century riots occurred outside the Astor Place
Theatre in New York City. o This riot grew out of rivalry between an English star, William
Charles Macready; and an American star, Edwin Forrest. o Forrest, who was noted for his portrayal of melodramatic heroes, had made an unsuccessful English tour, and he blamed its failure on
Macready, whose style was more subtle and realistic. o When Macready appeared at the Astor Place Theatre on May 8,
1849, he was prevented from performing by Forrest’s working-class fans. o Macready’s aristocratic admirers persuaded him to perform again on May 10, and a mob of 15,000 attacked the building. o The infantry was called out to disperse the rioters, and when the violence finally ended, 22 people had been killed and many more wounded.
 These events and other audience uprisings illustrate not only the passionate involvement of 19 th century audiences but also the social changes of the era.
19 th Century Drama
Three major forms of drama came to prominence between 1800 and 1875: romanticism, melodrama, and the well-made play.
 Romanticism o Was a revolutionary philosophical and literary trend of the first half of the 19 th century

o Romantic dramatist did not believe in purity of genre; they considered all subject matter – the grotesque as well as the ideal – appropriate for the stage o They often used supernatural elements. o The romantic hero was frequently a social outcast, such as a bandit, who quested for justice, knowledge, and truth. o One of the most common romantic themes was the gulf between human beings’ spiritual aspirations and their physical limitations.
 Melodrama o Means “song drama” or “music drama” o Usually refers to a theatrical form popularized by the French at the end of the 18 th century and the beginning of the 19 th o “Music” refers to the background music that accompanied these plays – similar to the music used as a background in later films. o Heroes and heroines of melodrama were clearly defined and stood in sharp contrast to the villains; the audience sympathized with the good characters and despised the bad ones. o In addition to its heroes and villains, melodrama had other easily recognized stock characters:
 The threatened woman
 The sidekick
 And the “fallen woman” who, even after repenting, is punished for her wicked past.
 The fallen woman suggests the highly moral tone of traditional melodrama; a conflict between good and evil was clearly and firmly established, and virtue was always victorious. o A prime example of a 19 th century melodrama is Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a stage adaptation of Herriet Beecher Stowe’s novel.
 Adapting a popular story was a favorite way of developing plays in the mid 19 th century, and Stowe’s antislavery novel was a sensational best-seller.
 Like many popular melodramas of the day, Uncle Tom’s Cabin reflected a significant social issue.
 It is the story of a slave – the title character – who is cruelly mistreated by an overseer, Simon Legree.
 Uncle Tom is devoted to his white owner’s daughter, Little
Eva, who dies during the course of the story.
 Another important figure is Eliza, a mulatto who attempts to escape from slavery.

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 o To hold the audience’s interest, melodrama – past and present – has a suspenseful plot, with a climactic moment at the end of each act.
 In adventure shows on television, for instance – such as detective and cop shows – a climax like a car crash, a sudden confrontation, or the discovery of important evidence will occur just before a break for a commercial. o An example from 19 th century melodrama is the close of Act 1 of The
String of Pearls, written in 1847 by George Dibdin Pitt.
 This is a play about Sweeney Todd, the “demon barber” of
Fleet Street in London, the story on which the Broadway musical Sweeney Todd was based.
 In Pitt’s play, Sweeney has been killing customers in his barbershop and turning the bodies over to Mrs. Lovett, who makes them into meat pies.
 At the end of Act I, Sweeney decides to get rid of those around him, including Mrs. Lovett; but she overhears his plans.
 In a few short lines, the action accelerates.
 She demands half of the profits; he insists that he will deduct money she owes him; she draws a knife and is about to attack him when he pulls out a pistol and shoots her; he then throws her body into a fiery furnace as the curtain falls. o Most types of 19 th century melodramas have modern-day equivalents.
 Domestic melodrama became soap operas
 Frontier melodrama became the western
 Nautical melodrama, which dealt with sailors and pirates, was the forerunner of swashbuckler films o Today, however, there has been a major thematic change in much melodrama – a change that is most discernible in films of the 1960s and 1970s and beyond.
 19 th century audiences did not question social, religious, or moral norms;
 Since the 1960s, by contrast – partly because of the war in
Vietnam, the war in Iraq, and recurrent political scandals – audiences have questioned traditional values and no longer believe that good and evil are so easily defined.

 The Well-Made Play o Many popular melodramas of the 19 th century had what is called a well-made play structure.
 In the 20 th century, the term well-made came to describe a play that builds mechanically to its climactic moments and is intended mainly to arouse the audience’s interest in these contrived climaxes – not to create truthful emotions or characterizations. o In the 19 th century the term was complimentary: a “well-made” play was one that showed excellent craftsmanship, and the term itself implied admiration for all the well-crafted goods of the industrial revolution. o A well-made play emphasizes careful cause-and-effect development; it is usually a tightly constructed crisis drama.
 The action often revolves around a secret known to the audience but not to the characters.
 The opening of the play carefully spells out the needed background information, or exposition.
 Throughout the play the dramatic action is clearly foreshadowed, and each act builds to a climactic moment.
 In the major scene, sometimes called the “obligatory scene,” the characters in conflict confront each other in a showdown.
 The plot is carefully resolved so that there are no loose ends.
Acting Styles
 Classical Actors – dignified, carefully planned, detailed performances
 Romantic Stars – emotional outbursts; they punctuated dramatic moments with strong physical gestures, made “vocal points” (that is, they emphasized specific speeches and lines), and relied on inspiration.
 There were many popular melodramatic and comic performers, who portrayed specific character types and emphasized physical and emotional display. o In American theatre, many actors played a comic “Yankee,” a country bumpkin with noble values who would eventually outwit a city slicker
 Actors who specialized in specific types of roles throughout their careers were very popular in England and the United States. Some of these stars could never transcend their popular image and continued to play the same role over and over again.

 Some actors, however, prepared the way for a style of performing which has become more the norm in modern theatre. They used stage movements, vocal patterns, and characterizations that were based on everyday life.
William Charles Macready
William Charles Macready was an important figure in the 19 th century English theater as both an actor and a director, and his career has been closely examined by scholars because of his innovations in many areas of production. A number of his innovations built on the foundation laid by David Garrick a century earlier.
 Macready was a dignified, studious actor who thoroughly researched and rehearsed each role.
 He was a pioneer in stage realism and introduced the “Macready pause” – he would pause momentarily during the delivery of his lines to give the impression that he was thinking.
 He was one of the first directors to impose blocking – planned stage movement – on his actors.
 He also made them act during rehearsals rather than go through the motions lifelessly.
 The scenic elements of his productions were united by an image or theme from the play and were carefully researched and elaborately executed.
 Macready retired from the stage in 1851, devoting the rest of his life to his family and his literary friends. His work had paved the way for the realistic acting and staging of the late 19 th century.
Long Run & Decline of Repertory Companies
At about the same time that touring stars and combination companies were becoming prevalent, the long run became more common: a popular play might run for 100 consecutive performances or even more. This too was occurring because of expanding audiences in major cities, and also because of the proliferation of smaller theatres, which began to cater to specific segments of the larger audience.
By the close of the century – as in today’s commercial Broadway theater – a cast would be hired to perform a single play for the length of its run.

This movement away from repertory companies was a significant change for actors. Today, performers in commercial theatre are usually freelancers; they are hired for individual shows. If a production is unsuccessful, they must audition for something else.
Many critics suggest that the demise of the repertory company made the lives of actors and actresses more unstable because they were no longer hired for a set time. Furthermore, in a repertory company young performers could be trained by actually performing, since beginners were hired to play minor roles. Today’s performers have more difficulty finding opportunities to learn through actual stage experience.
The shortening of the typical evening’s bill also diminished the need for repertory companies. The bill had previously included a full-length play, a curtain-raiser or afterpiece, and entr’acte entertainments. (A curtain-raiser preceded the main play; an afterpiece was a short play following the main play; entr’acte entertainments were variety acts – such as songs, dances, and acrobatics – presented during breaks in the main play.) As of 1900, however, the bill consisted only of the full-length drama.
The demise of the repertory company also led to the development of actor training schools and conservatories. In New York City, the first acting school was opened in the late 19 th century.
The Rise of the Star
The 19 th century was an era of star actors and actresses, performers who were idolized by the audiences that flocked to see them. Some of these performers amassed – and frequently lost – fortunes. Major changes in the art and business of acting were caused in part by the rise of the star.

Theatre Architecture
There were several developments in theatre architecture between 1800 and
1875 which led to the building of playhouses much like those in today’s commercial centers.
 Early in the 19 th century, playhouses were enlarged to accommodate expanding working-class urban audiences.
 The Bowery Theatre in New York City – nicknamed “The Slaughterhouse” because it offered sentimental “blood and guts” melodrama – is an example of a huge 19 th century theatre for lower-class audiences. o In its first year of operation, 1826, the Bowery held 2,500 spectators and was the largest playhouse in NY; 19 years later, it was enlarged to hold 4,000.
 The traditional proscenium arch and pit, box, and gallery dominated theatre buildings in the 19 th century.
 English and American theatres became more like continental theatres o The proscenium doors began to disappear and the apron continued to diminish
 The comfort of the audience became a greater concern. o Early in the century a few innovative theaters had comfortable individual seats instead of backless benches in the pit, so that this area became the equivalent of modern orchestra.
 Booth’s Theatre o Booth’s Theatre, completed in 1869 for the renowned American
Shakespearean actor Edwin Booth, is often said to have been the first modern theatre in NYC. o Instead of a pit and galleries, it had a modern orchestra area and balconies. o The seats were individual armchairs, although there were boxes in the proscenium arch. o The stage in Booth’s Theatre was also revolutionary: it was not raked and was not designed for traditional wing-and-shutter scenery. o Scenery could be raised from the basement by elevators or lowered
(“flown in”) from above, and scenic pieces were often supported by braces. o By 1875, with theatres like Booth’s the modern proscenium-arch theater had been established.

New Technology
 During the 19 th century, the technology of the industrial revolution was applied to theatre
 Many historians believe that the popularity of melodrama, with its emphasis on stage spectacle and special effects, accelerated these technological innovations. o For example, Dion Boucicault was responsible for the introduction of fireproofing in the theatre when one of his melodramatic plays called for an onstage fire.
 Moving panorama – painted settings on a long cloth which could be unrolled across the stage by turning spools. o Created an illusion of movement and changing locales.
 By the close of the century, the elevator stage and the revolving stage were perfected. o Elevator stage – allows sections of a stage floor, or even the entire floor, to be raised or lowered. o Revolving stage – a large turn-table on which scenery is placed; as it moves, one set is brought into view as another turns out of sight.
 19 th century technology revolutionized stage lighting, which until then had been primitive. o The introduction of gas lighting was the first step.
 In 1816, Philadelphia’s Chestnut Street Theatre was the earliest gaslit playhouse in the world. o By the middle of the century, the gas table – the equivalent of a modern dimmer board – allowed a single stagehand to alter the intensity of lighting throughout a theatre.
 This new control of lighting allowed significant changes in architecture and staging. o Thomas Edison’s electric incandescent lamp, invented in 1879, was the next step.
 By 1881, the Savoy Theatre in London was using incandescent lighting, though some other playhouse may actually have been the first to introduce it.
 Electricity, of course, is the most flexible, most controllable, and safest form of lighting.
 In the 20 th century, it would make stage lighting design a true art.