Theatre thru the Ages
From how theatre began to theatre
today
Theatre vs. Theater
• What is Theatre? Theatre is any interpretive
performance for an audience
• TheatRE refers to the study of
• TheatER refers to the building
PRIMITIVE MAN
• Used theatre as a form of storytelling,
communication, and worship
• Before there was formal language man
needed to communicate – he used theatrical
conventions to do so
Dance
• Dance evolved from ritual and is still closely
related to the roots of drama
Greek Theatre
• Ancient Greece was the beginning of truly
formal theatre
• Tragedies were performed at the Festival of
Dionysus (The God of wine and fertility)
• Tragedies get their name from the word
“Tragodia” which means “goat song”
• A tragedy refers to a play where the
protagonist was overcome
Greek Theatre
• The Hero of is known as the protagonist
• Greek tragedies used a chorus to tell the story
• The person who opposes the hero is known as
the antagonist
• The Chorus often sang “Dithyrambs” or choral
hymns
• Eventually one actor stepped away from the
chorus to play a part…Thespis is the first known
actor (this is why actors are called Thespians
today
Playwrights of Greek Theatre
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Sophocles
Euripedes
Aeschylus
Aristophanes (known as the Father of Greek
Comedy
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKdbLiaGvU
In come the Romans
• As the Roman Empire began to conquer the
world, so did their forms of theatre
• Very bawdy and rough
• The Coliseum
• The downfall of theatre
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTbGawBvc4
The Dark Ages
• As the church rose to power, theatre was
banned
• Eventually it reappeared as a method to teach
the common man about the bible
• Tropes- short biblical scenes
• Pageant wagons – double decked moving
stages
Dark ages-Medieval plays
• Focused on biblical stories
• Fell into one of three categories
– Miracle Plays: portrayed lives of saints
– Morality: taught right from wrong
– Mystery: reenacted bible stories
The most famous of the surviving morality plays is
Everyman
Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxdDoUoFQhM
Japan
• Noh drama
• Combined words, dance, and music to tell
classic Japanese tale
• Very stylized and can sometimes seem very
slow
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu5Vn1vQ
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Renaissance
• The renaissance period of history brought
about a re-birth of all arts. Especially in
theatre
• This re-birth began in Taly and spread across
Europe
• The most popular form of theatre in Italy at
this time is known as Commedia Dell’ Arte
Renaissance Theatre- commedia
• This style of theatre was often improvised
• The plot outline for the story was called the
“scenario”
• The actors in these plays often played stock
characters (i.e. the hero, the young damsel,
the evil man, the clown)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqlfTG40
RUI
Meanwhile in England
• Elizabeth the First was queen, and she was a
great supporter of the arts. This was the
Elizabethan period (also part of the
Renaissance)
• The best known playwright of this period is
William Shakespeare
• Most of Shakespeare’s plays were introduced
at the Globe Theatre
In come the Puritans
• And they banned the theatre. They felt it was
vulgar
• Are you beginning to see a pattern?
Charles II
• Came to power and restored not only the
Monarchy, but the arts as well
• This is known as the “Restoration” period
• This period of Theatre History introduced the
witty “comedy of manners”
• “Raked” stages were introduced
The late 1800’s
Henrik Ibsen introduces realistic dialogue and
characters (A Doll’s House)
• Ibsen is called the Father of Realism
• Realism spreads to Russia and a director at the
Moscow Art Theatre named Stanislavski
• He creates the Stanislavski Method or
“Method” acting which is a popular method of
training actors
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dvr1xjruP
LU
The Early 20th Century
• Is known as the Modern Period
• Many great playwrights used this new realistic
style to create plays of substance
• Eugene O’Neill, Thornton Wilder, Tennesee
Williams, Arthur Miller, Lillian Hellman
The later 20th century
• Is known as contemporary theatre