History of Theatre: Greek Theatre – artists in charge



History of Theatre: Greek Theatre – artists in chargeGreek Drama Served 4 Functions in Greece:Religious RitualEntertainmentArtistic CompetitionMoral Framework for SocietyAll plays derived from Greek DramaCommon Theme: In attempting to avoid our fate, we fulfill our fate.Theatre = that which is seenDrama = an acting outDionysus = son of Zeus and Semele; keep in mind that Zeus is married to Heraraised by satyrs (? men, ? goats); was killed, dismembered, and resurrectedassociated with the cycle of seasons, the rebirth of spring, and fertilitygod of wine and fertility (“the party god”)Three Day Annual Festival in City of Dionysia (534 BCE = 1st use of drama in festival)Religious Origins in the emergence of Theatre:At harvest, grain brought to city where slaves ground grain ground between 2 large, round stones; created large, round worn patch of groundWorn circle became altar area for sacrifices to the gods, in particular to DionysusCult of Dionysus – drunken revelers engage in sexual revelries, often dismembering and eating sacrificial victims (animal and human); remember: as religious acts.Entertainment and Contest:Festival began incorporating choral presentations, similar to spoken prayer, to Dionysus, thanking him for the harvest, and offering sacrifices as act of gratitudeLater, Greeks incorporated dramatic interpretations of Dionysus’ life or the importance of Dionysus in their society in these choral presentations.With the more complex structure of the growing festival, one person was selected to be in charge of the festival.Thespis, in charge 534 BCE, became 1st person to take a character’s part = the birth of an actor. Actors = Thespians.Selected 4 playwrights to appear at each fest; drama became large part of fest.Each playwright wrote a trilogy - 12 plays in 3 days; (1 per playwright per day)Resurgence of Religion:Athenians became worried/concerned that harvest was losing religious significance to Dionysus and made it mandatory that each playwright include one satyr play (comic focus on drinking and sex)Satyr = ? man, ? goat; servants to Dionysus who lived in woodsNymphs = female counterparts to satyrsTheatrical Conventions of the GreeksTheatrical Convention – something accepted because participants became used to it.Amphitheatre – an outdoor arena where seating was carved into a hillside; 3 main sectionsTheatron – audience area carved into the hillsideOrchestra – round area, formally the altar area, later performance areaSkene – building or scene behind orchestra (palace or house) AUTHOR Amy MonsonPage 1 DATE \@ "M/d/yyyy" 11/19/2012Theatrical Conventions of the Greeks (continued)Duex ex Machina: literally “god from the machine”Crane was used to fly actors (gods, supernatural beings) in and out of scenes, often to solve the problems of the characters.Offered a magical qualityChorus: Choral presentations evolved from religious rituals, maybe like choral readings; improvised story or traditional refrain sung or chanted in verse.Functions:Agent in play: gives advise, expresses opinions, asks questions, at times involved in actionEstablishes ethical or social framework of the events and sets up a standard against which the action may be judgedIdeal spectator, reacting to events and characters as dramatist hopes audience wouldSets overall mood, heightens dramatic effects (like music does in a movie)Adds movement, spectacle, song and danceRhythmical function, time for the audience to reflect on the previous sceneCostumes – to be seen and heard, to appear “larger than life”Large masks w/ built in megaphones (wood or paper machete)Elevated/platform shoesPadded shoulders on robesExtended arms, large glovesMusical Accompaniment: flute (oboe), lyre, trumpet, percussionParticipants in Greek TheatreAll actors and audience = Male. Must be a citizen (male), which was a position of status.ActionViolence occurred offstage. Messengers (chorus, later individuals) delivered news of violence with gory details, though the imagination was often worse than what could be portrayed onstage.Greeks respected and admired playwrightsEvidence of lofty status in official records of sanction and financial support (c 6 BCE)Granite statues in honor of playwrightsNumerous surviving amphitheatres; sometimes carvings of playwrightsAristotle’s Poetics – Unities of Time, Place, and ActionReal Time – no artificial lapses of time; no flashbacksSingle Setting – no jumping from place to placeAction must Flow – one event to another; tag team events occurring “off stage” with those on stage; causal relationship of the action AUTHOR Amy MonsonPage PAGE 2 DATE \@ "M/d/yyyy" 11/19/2012“The Four-Most” Greek PlaywrightsAeschylus (523-456) 80 titles known, 7 survive; The Persians; The Seven Against Thebes; The Oresteia (containing a trilogy): Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, Eumenidies; Prometheus Bound.Introduced 2nd actorUsed spectacle: large casts, chariots, horses, mythological characters, lavish costumes.Acted, choreographed, and taught chorus.Sophocles (496-406) wrote approx. 120 plays, 7 survive: The Theban Plays: Oedipus Trilogy ( …Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone); Ajax, Electra, Trachiniae, Philocletes.Introduced 3rd characterFixed a chorus size at 151st to use scene paintingWon 24 of the contestsMajor Theme: human tragedyCitizen, statesman, general, poetEuripides (480-406) approx. 90 plays,18 survived: Alcestis, Medea, Hippolyus, The Children of Hercules, Andromache, Hecuba, Heracles, Ion, The Trojan Women, Electra, Iphigenia in Taurus, Helen, The Phoenician Women, Orestes, The Bacchae, Iphigenia at Aulis, Cyclops.Not popular – questioned traditional values and mythsAccused of undermining the bases of society – ControversialAristophanes (448-380) 40 plays, 11 survive: Archarnians, Birds, Clouds, Wasp, Lysistrata, Knights, Peace, Frogs, Plutus, Thesmophoriazusae, Ecclesiazusae.Only surviving Greek comic authorCommentary and satire on contemporary society, politics, and literature.Original Meaning of “Tragedy” unsure:“goat song” – chorus perhaps danced for a prize of a goatgoat sacrificed as ritualistic worship to DionysusAristotle’s POETICS says tragedy evolved from improvisations by leaders of dithyrambs (hymns sung and danced to honor Dionysus)evolved from the rites of heroes’ tombssatyr plays: burlesques of mythologyComedy - According to Aristotle, comedy developed from improvisations by leaders of phallic songs in fertility rites. AUTHOR Amy MonsonPage PAGE 3 DATE \@ "M/d/yyyy" 11/19/2012History of Theatre: Roman Theatre -- popular people in chargeI. Different From GreeksA. Built on Flat Ground instead of hillside (more slaves than Greeks to build seating)B. Elaborately DecoratedC. Focal Point on high, elevated stageD. Disappearance of ChorusE. Vitruvious’ Ideal 12 Pointed Star12 = magical number to RomansF. Renovated Greek theatres – cutting & paving orchestra- float ships for naval battles- study war, combat, & weapons- when Romans conquered others they absorbed their cultures into their ownG. Almost all Roman plays were translations of Greek plays; few rare originals- “racier and more robust”- no tragedies performed; only comedies- lost mythical vitality; focused more on realistic portrayalII. Etruscan InfluencesA. Before 240 B.C.E. Etruria held sacred festivals that included acting, dancing, flute playing, juggling, prize fighting, horse racing, acrobatics, and competitive sports. (similar to our Saturday TV)B. 2 Historians credit Etruria as origin of Roman theatre.1. Horace (65 - 8 B.C.E) wrote ARS POETICA = prescriptive manual of rules for playwrights.a. Latin drama originated from Fescennine Verses (short, improvised, often obscene dramatic sketches)b. Fescennium = town on the Etruscan border2. Livy (59 BCE – CE 17) credits 364 BC when Etruscan musicians & dancers were imported to appease gods & end plague.III. Oscan Influences (4th century BCE)Attellan farce (improvised sketches with riddles & obscene sight gags)A. Possible source for Comedia Dell’arte (Italian Renaissance)B. Stock Characters with stock costumes & masks1. Mandacus: a chewer, monster with great jaws2. Pappus: a foolish old man3. Maccus: fool, a stupid guzzler4. Bucco: fool, a boastful buffoon5. Dossenus: hunchback, wise foolSomething about these characters makes us feel superior. AUTHOR Amy MonsonPage PAGE 4 DATE \@ "M/d/yyyy" 11/19/2012IV. Roman PlaywrightsA. Titus Maccus Plautus (254-184 BCE)Falsely credited with 130 plays – POPULAR!21 for certain still in existenceAll adapted from Greek new comedy, but “racier & more robust”THE MENECHMI – basis for Shakespeare’s “The Comedy of Errors”B. Caedilius Statius (219-168 BCE) transition from Plautus to Terance.42 titles, no complete scripts.C. Publius Terentius (Terance) (185-160 BCE) – 6 plays, all still exist- Carthinian slave- more sophisticated than Plautus* began plot and sub-plot(contaminatio: combination of elements from several Gr. plays all put into one. )Lucius Annacus Seneca (5 or 4 BCE- CE 65) - closet drama – translated Greeks tragedies, never performed by Romans - 9 plays, including Oedipus, Medea, Agamemnon- Nero’s Tutor, committed suicide after a falling out with NeroEven Nero knew secretly that there was artistic value in Greek tragedies, but he found them culturally invaluable to his brutal society because they preached morality.Fall of the Roman Empire.Middle Ages, Feudalism, Plagues } focus of civilizations becomes survival, not art AUTHOR Amy MonsonPage PAGE 5 DATE \@ "M/d/yyyy" 11/19/2012 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download