1.western Theatre History

Western Theatre History Greek Theatre Main article: Theatre of Ancient Greece The earliest days of western theatre remain obscure, but the oldest surviving plays come from ancient Greece. Most philologists agree that Greek theatre evolved from staged religious choral performances, durring celebrations to Dyonysus the Greek God of wine and exctacy. The first shows in these celabrations involved two men having a conversation that told the myth of Dyonysus. There are, however, findings suggesting the possible existence of theatre-like performances much earlier, such as the famous "Blind Steps" of the Minoan Palace at Knossos: a broad stone stairway descending to a flat stone courtyard that leads nowhere - an arrangement strongly suggesting that the courtyard was used for a staged spectacle and the stairway was in fact used as seating. Roughly one tenth of Ancient Greek theatrical texts have survived intact. • Aeschylus • Sophocles • Euripides • Aristophanes The above-mentioned playwrights made some of the most renowned Greek plays, but their staging had little or nothing to do with twentieth-century theatre. Their dramas were always part of a series of four performances (a "tetralogy"): the first, second and third plays were a dramatic trilogy of related events staged in temporal order, and the culminating fourth performance was a satyr play, a play on a lighter note, with enhanced celebratory and dance elements. Obviously, performances lasted several hours and were held during daytime. The dramas rarely had more than three actors (all male), who played the different roles using masks. There was a chorus on the stage all the time which sang songs and sometimes spoke in unison. As far as we know, each drama was played just a single time, at the traditional drama contest. Such contests were always held in the context of major religious festivals, most notably those in honor of the god Dionysus, and competed for an honorific prize (such as a tripod and a sum of money) awarded by a panel of judges - usually these were the sacerdotal and civil officers presiding over the particular religious festival. The prize was awarded jointly to the producer, who had financed the staging, and the poet, who was at the same time the author, composer, choreographer and director of the plays. The actors wore large masks, which were very colourful. These masks depicted two things: the age of the character, and their mood. They also amplified sound in the same way that cupping your hands over your mouth does. Actors also wore thick, padded clothing, and shoes with thick soles. This made them seem larger, so the audience could see them better when seated in the uppermost rows of the ampitheatre. The importance of ancient Greek theatre came largely in retrospect, as major playwrights like Johann Wolfgang von Goethe tried to recreate classical theatre unsuccessfully. Another school attempting to revive classical theatre argued that Greek actors did not speak, but sang. From this school came the opera. Roman Theatre Main Article: Theatre of ancient Rome The theatre of ancient Rome was heavily influenced by the Greek tradition, and as with many other literary genres Roman dramatists tended to adapt and translate from the Greek. For example, Seneca's Phaedra was based on that of Euripides, and many of the comedies of Plautus were direct translations of works by Menander. When comparing and contrasting ancient Roman theatre to that of Greek theatre it can easily be said that Roman theatre was less influenced by religion. Also, Roman theatre was more for aesthetic appeal. In Roman theatre war was a more common thing to appear on stage as opposed to the Greek theatre where wars were more

commonly spoken about in Greek plays. This was no doubt a reflection of Roman culture and habits. The audience was often loud and rude, rarely applauding the actors, but always shouting insults and booing. Because the audience was so loud, much of the plays were mimed and repetitive. The actors developed a kind of code that would tell the audience about the characters just by looking at them. • A black wig meant the character was a young man. • A gray wig meant the character was an old man. • A red wig meant the character was a slave. • A white robe meant the character was an old man. • A purple robe meant the character was a young man. • A yellow robe meant the character was a woman. (Needed in early Roman theatre, as originally female characters were played by men, however as the Roman theatre progressed, women slaves took the roles of women in plays.) • A yellow tassel meant the character was a god. Plays lasted for two hours, and were usually comedies. Most comedies involved mistaken identity (such as gods disguised as humans). Medieval European Theatre Main article: Medieval theatre In the Middle Ages, after the fall of Roman civilization, cities were abandoned, southern and western Europe became increasingly more agricultural. After several hundred years, towns re-emerged. The Roman Catholic church dominated religion, education and often politics. What remained of the theatre was based on the Greek and Roman performing arts: mimes, minstrels and traveling jugglers. Theatre was reborn as liturgical dramas, written in Latin and dealing with Bible stories and performed by priests or church members. Then came vernacular drama spoken in the vulgate (i.e the language of the people as opposed to Church Latin); this was a more elaborate series of one-act dramas enacted in town squares or other parts of the city. There were three types of vernacular dramas. Mystery or cycle plays were short dramas based on the Old and New Testaments organized into historical cycles. Miracle plays dealt with the lives of saints. Morality plays taught a lesson through allegorical characters representing virtues or faults. Secular plays in this period existed, but medieval religious drama is most remembered today. Plays were set up in individual scenic units called mansions or in wagon stages which were platforms mounted on wheels used to move scenery. Often providing their own costumes, amateur performers in England were only men, but other countries had female performers. The platform stage allowed for abrupt changes in location which was an unidentified space and not a specific locale. Among the more notable religious plays were "The Summoning of Everyman" (an allegory designed to teach the faithful that acts of Christian charity are necessary for entry into heaven), passion plays (such as the Oberammergau Passion Play, which is still performed every ten years), and the great cycle plays (massive, festive wagonmounted processions involving hundreds of actors, and drawing pilgrims, tourists, and entrepreneurs) York Corpus Christi Play Simulator. The morality play and mystery play (as they are known in English) were two distinct genres. Since many of the more theatrically successful medieval religious plays were designed to teach Catholic doctrine, the Protestant Reformation targeted the theatre, especially in England, in an effort to stamp out allegiance to Rome. [1] Whereas most churches carefully watched over the scripts of their dogmatic plays, in order to ensure that the faithful were being taught the accepted doctrine, by the end of the 1500s Queen Elizabeth was controlling the stage just as effectively through a system of patronage, licensing, and censorship. Hamlet's reference to a frenetic performance that "out-Herods Herod" refers to the tradition of presenting King Herod as a bombastic figure, suggesting that Shakespeare expected his audience to be

familiar with this particular medieval tradition, long after the religious landscape in England had changed. Puritan opposition to the stage -- informed by the arguments of the early Church Fathers who had written screeds against the decadent and violent entertainments of the Romans -- argued not only that the stage in general was pagan, but that any play that represented a religious figure was inherently idolatrous. In 1642, the Protestant authorities banned the performance of all plays within the city limits of London. A sweeping assault against the alleged immoralities of the theatre crushed whatever remained in England of the Medieval dramatic tradition. Commedia dell'Arte Main article: Commedia dell'Arte Commedia dell'Arte troupes performed lively improvisational playlets across Europe for centuries. It originated in Italy in the 1560s, and differed from conventional theatre in that it was neither professional nor open to the public. Commedia dell'Arte required only actors at its heart, no scene and very few props were considered absolutely essential. Plays did not originate from scripts but scenarios, which were loose frameworks of productions providing only the situations, complications, and outcome of the work. The actors improvised most dialogue and comedic muffins(called lazzi). The plays were based around a few stock characters, which could be divided into three groups: the lovers, masters, and servants. The lovers had different names and characteristics in most plays and often were the children of the master's character. The role of master was normally based on one of three stereotypes: Pantalone, an eldery Venetian merchant who wore his pajamas most often; Dottore, Pantalone's friend or rival, a doctor or lawyer who acted far more intelligent than he really was; and Capitano, who was once a lover's character, but evolved into a man who bragged about his exploits in love and war, but was often terrifically unskilled in both. He normally carried a sword and wore a cape and feathered headdress. The servant character type (called zanni) had only one recurring role: Arlecchino (also called Harlequin). He was both cunning and ignorant, but an accomplished dancer. He typically carried a wooden stick with a split in the middle so it made a loud noise when striking something. This "weapon" gave us the term "slapstick." A Commedia troupe typically consisted of 13 to 14 members, a few of which were women. Most actors were paid by taking a share of the play's profits roughly equivalent to the size of their role. Commedia was in its peak from 15751650, but even after that time new scenarios were written and performed. Carlo Goldoni wrote a few commedia scenarios starting in 1734, but since he considered the genre too vulgar, he refined the topics of his own to be more sophisticated. He also wrote several true plays starring Commedia characters. By 1775, however, the genre of Commedia dell'Arte had lost public interest and died out. Improvisation today is very close to the Commedia. Spanish Golden Age Laws on Female Actors In Spain theatre thrived during its Golden Age, a period from about 1550 to 1700. Three types of drama were popular: the religious one acts called autos sacramentales, the secular full- length comedias nuevas, and also the musical zarzuelas (Wilson 211-21). The writers of the comedias nuevas frequently called for female characters to cross-dress as men. In Spain women were first allowed to act in religious plays and later became present in secular performances (Wilson 221). Prior to this men and boys played women onstage. The Catholic Church at the time was against theatre and especially the presence of female performers (Wilson 221). They believed female actors were prostitutes (Shergold 523). The Spanish government passed many laws concerning gender and theatrical performance. In 1587 a law was enacted that made it legal for women to act while simultaneously making it illegal for boys to play women, many attempts to legislate the stage followed this (Heise 385). In 1596 female actors were banned again and shortly after in 1598 the theatres were shut down only to be

brought back in 1599, along with women being allowed back onstage (Heise 358). In 1600 the Council of Castile created a document of recommendations to the King that stated women could be onstage, but again boys could not play women, nor could they wear make-up. It was also stipulated that all female actors must be married and have their husband or father with them at the theatre (Heise 359). In the years following 1600 ordinances were put forth which regulated the types of dancing women were allowed to do onstage as well as how they were to dress (Shergold 519). In 1653 a law said that when the script required women to cross-dress, they could only do it on the upper half of their body (Shergold 520). References: Heise K, Ursula. “Transvestism and the Stage Controversy in Spain and England, 1580- 1680.” Theatre Journal 44.3 (1992): 357-74. Shergold, N.D. A History of the Spanish Stage: From Medieval Times Until the End of the Seventeenth Century. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1967. Wilson, Edwin, and Alvin Goldfarb. Living Theatre: A History. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2000. Neoclassical Theatre Further information: Neoclassicism Neoclassicism was the dominant form of theatre in the eighteenth century. It demanded decorum and rigorous adherence to the classical unities. Neoclassical theatre as well as the time period is characterized by its grandiosity. The costumes and scenery were intricate and elaborate. The acting is characterized by large gestures and melodrama. Theatres of the early 18th century – sexual farces of the Restoration were superseded by politically satirical comedies, 1737 Parliament passed the Stage Licensing Act which introduced state censorship of public performances and limited the number of theatres in London to just two. Late Modern Theatre Main article: Twentieth century theatre Late Modern, especially twentieth century theatre often continues the project of realism but there has also been a great deal of experimental theatre that rejects the conventions of realism and earlier forms. Epic theatre, absurdist theatre and postmodern theatre are examples. Key figures from the century include Bertolt Brecht, Antonin Artaud, Konstantin Stanislavski, Harold Pinter, Steven Berkoff, Eugene O'Neill, Samuel Beckett, and Tony Kushner. Category:Performing arts The performing arts classically include theatre/drama, music, and dance. Less classically, stand-up comedy, oratory, debate, etc., are also performing arts; and the term also includes all of the various forms, subforms, elements, and variations of the foregoing, such as opera, oral intepretation, marching band, and so on. Film/cinema, television and radio, as media of performance communication, may also be classified as performing arts, though film and television are obviously also visual arts. Dance is also a visual art as well as a performing art, and there is a visual aspect to most theatre performance (i.e., scenery, costumes, etc.). An artist who practices one or more performing arts is called a "performer". Common occupational titles include actor, comedian, singer, dancer, musician, orator, and so on. Oration may be considered a lost art, at least for the present, with such great speakers as Winston Churchill ("We shall fight them on the beaches; we shall fight them on the landing ground ... we shall never surrender!") effectively relegated to increasingly distant history, the art of oratory having been replaced by the sting of the soundbite. 5.1 Dramatic literature The term dramatic literature implies a contradiction in that "literature" originally meant something written and "drama" meant something performed. Most of the problems, and much of the interest, in the study of dramatic literature stem from this contradiction. Even though a play may be appreciated solely for its qualities as

writing, greater rewards probably accrue to those who remain alert to the volatility of the play as a whole. (see also theatrical production) dra·ma (dräm, drm) KEY NOUN: A prose or verse composition, especially one telling a serious story, that is intended for representation by actors impersonating the characters and performing the dialogue and action. A serious narrative work or program for television, radio, or the cinema. Theatrical plays of a particular kind or period: Elizabethan drama. The art or practice of writing or producing dramatic works. A situation or succession of events in real life having the dramatic progression or emotional effect characteristic of a play: the drama of the prisoner's escape and recapture. The quality or condition of being dramatic: a summit meeting full of drama. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------ETYMOLOGY: Late Latin drma , drmat-, from Greek, from drn, to do, perform the·a·ter or the·a·tre

(th-tr) KEY

NOUN: A building, room, or outdoor structure for the presentation of plays, films, or other dramatic performances. A room with tiers of seats used for lectures or demonstrations: an operating theater at a medical school. Dramatic literature or its performance; drama: the theater of Shakespeare and Marlowe. The milieu of actors and playwrights. The quality or effectiveness of a theatrical production: good theater; awful theater. Dramatic material or the use of such material: "His summation was a great piece of courtroom theater" (Ron Rosenbaum). The audience assembled for a dramatic performance. A place that is the setting for dramatic events. A large geographic area in which military operations are coordinated: the European theater during World War II. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------ETYMOLOGY: Middle English theatre, from Old French, from Latin thetrum, from Greek thetron, from thesthai, to watch, from the, a viewing WORD HISTORY: Theories about the development of the theater in the West generally begin with Greek drama; this is etymologically appropriate as well as historically correct, since the words theory and theater are related through their Greek sources. The Greek ancestor of theater is thetron, "a place for seeing, especially for dramatic representation, theater." Thetron is derived from the verb thesthai, "to gaze at, contemplate, view as spectators, especially in the theater," from the, "a viewing." The Greek ancestor of theory is theri, which meant among other things "the sending of theroi (state ambassadors sent to consult oracles or attend games)," "the act of being a spectator at the theater or games," "viewing," "contemplation by the mind," and "theory or speculation." The source of theri is theros, "an envoy sent to consult

an oracle, spectator," a compound of the, "viewing," and -oros, "seeing." It is thus fitting to elaborate theories about culture while seeing a play in a theater.