Theatre History
Take Notes now…because you
will not be able to use them
on the test at the end…
Greek and
Roman
Theater
“Drama…an imitation of action not the action itself.”
-Aristotle
The role of “drama” in the ancient Greek culture was a
specific one: it played a significant part in the religious
rites of the period.
How do we know about the Greeks?
While the Greeks were great at writing plays, they were not so
great at keeping them for future reading, most of the early
great works were lost.
Thank you to Lycurgus who, aside from giving us that great name which I
will probably give to my first born son, also established a library in 330BC
which was the only way in which we have any record of any of these early
Greek works.
I am a “Thespian”
Thespis, was the earliest recorded theater practitioner. He was the
first recorded winner of the competition for the performance of
tragic plays. It is unclear whether he was an actor, a playwright, a
priest, or all or some of these.
His name lives on in the word “Thespian,” which is the name for
someone who practices the art of the theater.
Greek Theater
DIAGRAM OF AN ANCIENT GREEK THEATER SPACE
You might wish to copy this down, this looks strikingly similar to the
diagram that you will be drawing and labeling on the test. Only if you
want…I don’t want to bother you…
The Ancient Greek Theatre Space
Skene: A building behind everything in which the actors changed costumes
Orchestra: a circular area with an altar in the center where the performances took place
Proskenion: a raised platform that supported a small stage.
Audience: Usually the theatre spaces were built into hillsides and the seating was
arranged in a large semi-circle
The Ancient Greek Theatre Space
Periaktos: Triangle prisms which could be pivoted to reveal three different backgrounds
Eccyclema: a platform on wheels used to display the effects of violence within a play
Deus ex Machina: (god from the machine) a crane-like machine that was used to lower
an actor, playing the part of god, onto the stage in order to fix the problems at hand
THE CHORUS
a group of actors onstage who often spoke in unison to prepare the audience for what is
about to happen or what has just taken place.
http://www.youtube.com/w
atch?v=r0nRJC4rPEg
The Mask
The mask was designed to be oversized in order to better convey the expressed
emotion to an audience in a large theater.
Some masks were designed with a megaphone-like mouth-piece in order to help the
actor “project” his voice.
Masks also allowed for one actor to play many different parts in the course of one
play.
What does it mean to “project” your voice?
The Ancient Greek Plays & Playwrights
THE TRILOGY
The Tragedy: A play in which the main character(s) struggle against an outside force, and
usually comes to a disastrous conclusion. Most of the successful surviving Greek plays
were in the “tragic” form.
Comedies: conventionally divided into three periods, Old Comedy,
Middle Comedy, and New Comedy. Old comedy was the favorite
because it poked fun at politics.
Tragedies were often presented in threes, connected by a theme or storyline, and then
followed by a comic piece called a “satyr play”
The Satyr play: These plays were used to “sugar the pill” of the tragedy and would often pick up
the same story-line and poke fun at it. Sometimes these would be indecent or base.
The Ancient Greek Plays & Playwrights
Sophocles (496-406 BC)
•Introduction of the third actor
•His works became more actor-lead rather than choric-lead – “characterization by action”
•Wrote 123 plays – 20 won him first prize
ONLY SEVEN TEXTS SURVIVED
THE THEBAN LEGEND: His only remaining trilogy consists of “Oedipus Rex,”
“Oedipus at Colonus,” and “Antigone.”
What is the “Oedipus Complex?”
Oedipus Complex…
For Freud, the childhood desire to sleep with the
mother and to kill the father. Freud describes the
source of this complex in his Introductory Lectures
(Twenty-First Lecture): "You all know the Greek
legend of King Oedipus, who was destined by fate to
kill his father and take his mother to wife, who did
everything possible to escape the oracle's decree and
punished himself by blinding when he learned that
he had none the less unwittingly committed both
these crimes"
Oedipus Rex
http://youtu.be/oXyek9Ddus4
Long story short…a man that becomes the king of Thebes
and was always destined from birth to murder his
fatherLaius and marry his mother Jocasta…gross right?
The Ancient Greek Plays & Playwrights
Euripedes (480-406 BC)
**Known for Medea**
•Late start – studied philosophy and didn’t win a festival until age 40 (next at
54)
•Developed the Prologue
•Emphasis on personal life – daily living
•Wrote over 90 plays – 5 won him first prize
18 TEXTS SURVIVED
His plays often dealt with serious, controversial issues in society: roles of
women and illegitimate children.
Many of his plays deal with a central female character that was shown as very
strong
Medea
The play tells the story of the revenge of a woman
betrayed by her husband, who he leaves her for a young
Princess…named Glauce
*
“Forgive what I said in anger! I will yield to the decree, and
only beg one favor, that my children may stay. They shall take
to the princess a costly robe and a golden crown, and pray for
her protection.”
*She kills Glauce, and her father King Creon by
poisioning robes…this chick is Cray ya’ll…
*To even make her more Cray she kills her son’s and
cook them, feeding them to her ex-husband…
The Ancient Greek Plays & Playwrights
Aristophanes (445-380 BC)
•He used his plays to poke fun at Euripedes
•Old Comedy: poked fun at period-specific events, people, and places
•Wrote over 40 comedies
11 TEXTS SURVIVED
The Clouds (mockery of Socrates & philosophy) The Frogs (mockery of Euripedes)
Many of his plays poke fun at the poor and democracy. It is said that he was desperately
trying to fit in with “high class” people.
The Ancient Greek Influence
Aristotle (384-322 BC)
•Philosopher and scientist
•“Cathartic Effect” – it allows the viewer to watch the experience without being to
involved
Aristotle Quote:
“Drama is an imitation of action not the action itself.”
ARISTOTILEAN CASE
Roman Theater
Ancient Roman Theater
ROMAN MASKS
The Roman masks were now more specific to archetypal characters:
the handsome youth, the father, the prostitute, the parasite, the miser, the
mother, the clever slave, and the braggart soldier
(you do need to know these archetypes)
The Ancient Roman Plays & Playwrights
Terence (190-159 BC)
•A freed slave
•All of his plays were re-workings of Greek plays
•Four of his surviving plays are carbon-copies of Meander’s Greek comedies
Beginnings of “stealing” or “borrowing” works
•His works were characterized as “light and witty” with a sophisticated plot
ONLY SIX TEXTS SURVIVED
Andria, Hecyra, Heauton, Timorumenos, Eunuchus, Phormio, Adelphi
The Ancient Roman Plays & Playwrights
Plautus (254-184 BC)
•Roman comic actor
•Plays based on Greek works
•Plays included debauchery, songs, jokes, and topical allusions
•Wrote over 130 plays - 20 TEXTS SURVIVED
Seneca (4 BC – 65 AD)
•Only example of Roman tragedy to survive
•His father was a famous rhetorician so he was often referred to as “Seneca the Younger”
•Became tutor to Nero (emperor of Rome) – 65 AD he was implicated in a plot to assassinate
Nero and was condemned to death but he took his own life
Words to know…
Chorus – a group of performers who functioned as a commentary on and as an accompaniment to the action of the play
Choragos – the head chorus member who could enter the story as a character able to interact with the characters of a play
Comedy – one of two principal dramatic forms of theatre in ancient Greece – divided into three periods: Old Comedy, Middle
Comedy, and New Comedy
Comedy and tragedy masks – used to show the emotions, switch between roles, and play characters of a different gender
Dithyramb – an emotional choric hymn or speech sung by a group of men to honor Dionysus
Dionysia – a festival in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus where a theatrical competition between 3 playwrights was the
main event.
Last page I promise…
Satyr Play – a genre that deals with the mythological subject matter of the tragedies, but in a purely comedic manner
Skené – changing hut (the source for the word “scene”) which eventually became the backdrop/setting
Theatron – slope – “watching place” – from which the word “theatre” was derived
Thespis – credited as the first writer of tragedy (won the first playwright contest at Dionysia) as well as the first actor (stepped out of
the chorus and impersonated a character)
Thespian – a common term for “performer,” derived from “Thespis”
Tragedy – (literally "goat-song") is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure