theatre final
The spring festival is called
"City of Dionysia" honored Dionysus - incorporated tragic drama and comedy
Actors are often called
"Thespians"
Horace dramatic technique
- argued comedy and tragedy should distinct genres. - tragedy should deal with royalty - comedy should depict common people - drama should teach a lesson
Golden Age Background
- birthplace of democracy - Socrates and plato trying to explain world around them - herodotus transformed history into social place -Pythagoras developed a theorem that is still used geometry today - Hippocrates formulated an oath for physicians used today - remarkable artist and architects produced sculpture and buildings like parthenon
Sophocles
- built on the dramatic form that Aeschylus had begun. - raised chours to 15 - added third actor - Wrote Oedipus Rex
Seneca tragedies
- chorus is not integral part of the dramatic action. - violence emphasized and seen on stage - supernatural beings in dramatic action
Aeschylus second actor
- could play different parts with different masks. - allowed truly dramatic change
Dominus
- financial arrangements - brought dramas from playwrights - hired musicians - obtained costumes
Terence
- more literary and less exaggerated style - in his Phormio there is less slapstick and more emphasis on verbal wit. - spoken dialogue
Plautus comedies
- most dialogue was meant to be sung. - comedies are farces and use lots of farcical devices like mistaken identity and complicated plots. - example- The Menaechmi
Origins of Theatre
- no one knows how theatre began or when it originated. - people have used elements of theatre to communicate educate and entertain
Two elements of theatre
- story telling - imitation
Euripides "modern"
- sympathetic portrayal of female characters - increased realism - mix of tragedy with melodrama and comedy - skeptical treatment of Gods
Playwrights functioned as directors
- they would choose the actors - supervise the production - work with the the chorus
The Golden Age of Greece
-5th century B.C. -known as "The Classical period" or "The golden age"
Tragedy was the most admired form at the Greek Festivals
-900 tragedies were produced in Athens during the 5th century B.C. - only 31 have survived by (Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides)
Theatre flourished in Rome for nearly seven centuries the works of only three playwrights survive
-comedies of Plautus and Terence -tragedies of Seneca
Performer- Thespis
-credited with transforming these songs into drama by becoming an actor - moved from reciting story to impersonating a character and engaging in dialogue with member of the chorus
Festivals were government sponsored events
-eleven months prior to a festival the city state choose plays to be presented appoint a choragus (producer) for each playwrite
Golden age outstanding achievements in
-politics -philosophy -science -The Arts - theatre
Aristotle 6 elements
1. plot 2. character 3. thought of theme 4. language 5. music 6. spectacle
Master of Triology
Aeschylus. Three tragedies make up a single unit. (Oresteia)
Old Comedy two scenes not included in Tragedy
Agon and Parabasis
Greek drama was staged in
Amphitheaters cut out of a hillside. (first thrust space)
Plautus
Based almost all of his comedies on greek new comedy. - domestic situations and particularly the tirals and tribulations of romance. - used a lot of stock character types
Agon
Debate between two forces representing opposite sides of a political issue
For Roman festivlas the local government would hire a
Dominus- head of a troupe, who was usually the lead actor.
Decline of roman theatre
Fall of roman empire and the rise of Christianity
Greek theatre is intimately bound up with
Greek religion
Greek comedy became known as..
Old comedy. but now known as New Comedy
Seneca influenced
Shakespeare. Hamlet specifically
Ceremonies honoring Dionysus
The God of wine, fertility, and revelry
The Poetics by Aristotle
The poetics is so intelligent and so penetrating that it remains the single most important piece of dramatic criticism in existence
In certain societies, rituals, religious ceremonies, imitation and storytelling have been..
combined and transformed into theatrical events. in western culture first place where this occurred was ancient Greece
Aeschylus
considered the first important greek dramatist. - he wrote when there was a chorus of 50 and one actor - he called for second actor
Myths also dealt with...
extreme family situations or were great adventures where the hero has to accomplish a series of tasks - Hercules - Odysseus
Dithyrambic chorus
group of 50 men who sang and danced a hymn praising Dionysus
Later greek theatre
guild called The Artists of Dionysus was formed. much like actors equality today
Menander
had the play "Dyskdos" (the grouch)
Horace
outlined his theory of correct dramatic technique in Ars Poetica (art of poetry)
Roman acting technique emphasized detailed
pantomime, broad physical gestures, beautiful vocal delivery for size of theaters.
catharsis
purging of emotion, for the people. - partied hard for days and through that experience were cleansed and able to continue lives
Aeschylus reduced..
size of the chorus to 12 to make it more manageable. - dealt with noble families, lofty themes and praised for their lyric poetry
Myth
story of legend handed down from generation to generation. - often attempt to explain human behavior of natural events
Roman theatre
strongly influenced by the Greeks as were sculpture and architecture - borrowed freely from greek theatre
Satyr plays
take off on Greek mythology and history. chorus was made up of satyrs, half man and half goat
Oresteia
tale of Agamemnon, hero of the Trojan war who returns home and is murdered by his wife Clytemnestra. she is killed by children
There were annual festivals to honor the gods and...
theatre had become a central feature of certain festivals
Euripides
third great dramatist of the period. - more of a rebel and considered "modern"
Parabasis
which is addressed to the audience making fun of them in general and even specific audience members
