Theatre Appreciation- Chapter 11

Stories one might find at cycle plays might be about

Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah's Ark

The Oresteia, a trilogy about the Trojan War hero Agamemnon, was written by

Aeschylus

In Ancient Greece, this group of performers sang and danced and often commented on the action in the play.

Chorus

True or False: Regardless of the characters they played, the Greek chorus was made up of only women.

False

The convergence of many forces, such as the developments of democracy and philosophy; mathematical and scientific discoveries: and the development of the arts, including sculpture, make this the ______ ______ of Greece.

Golden Age

That tragedy should deal with royalty and that comedy should be about common people, and that comedy and tragedy should be distinct genres comes from his Ars Poetica.

Horace

______ ______ is thought to have originated from priests or choir members who chanted in Latin text from the Bible.

Liturgical drama

Which entertainers were popular in Greece and traveled extensively presenting domestic and sexual situations in a highly bawdy manner?

Mimes

Similar to modern ballet but unique to Roman stages, ______ relied heavily on gesture and movement because dialogue and speech were not used.

Pantomime

The popular stock character, the parasite, who lives off of others and is motivated by sensuality, is most associated with the Roman comic playwright ________.

Plautus

How do Roman tragedies differ from those of the Greek playwrights?

Roman tragedies used supernatural characters such as ghosts. , Roman tragedies showed violence on the stage.

_________ plays included a chorus of half-men and half-goats and satirized Greek mythology and history.

Satyr

________ wrote this kind of Roman comedy that emphasized verbal wit rather than slapstick or farce; he wrote Phormio.

Terence

Which Roman amphitheater was built to house many popular entertainments of the time but now holds occasional performances and has a new floor to enhance its appeal as a tourist attraction?

The Colosseum

Written by Aristotle, which one of these works was the first and most important example of dramatic criticism

The Poetics

This form of theatre was preformed outside the church in town squares or some other public space using everyday speech rather than latin.

Vernacular drama

The Circus Maximus is now used for

a public park, popular music concerts, public celebrations

During the Hellenistic Age, a new emphasis on the performer led to the establishment of the Artists of Dionysus, a guild for _______.

actors

Unlike its counterpart Greek tragedy, Old Comedies have a scene between two faces representing opposite sides of an issues which is called

agon

Spectacular entertainments held in circuses and amphitheaters that were popular with Roman audiences included

chariot races, animal battles, gladiator battles

Rituals performed by the masked Dogon dancers in West Mali reflect strong theatrical elements. These elements include:

dance, masks or costumes, music

The head of a Roman acting troupe, charged with making all the financial and artistic arrangements, is called the ______.

dominus

The christian church issued edicts that declared that anyone who went to the theatre instead of the church on holy days would be

excommunicated

King Oedipus

feared the prophecy that he would kill his parents, was written by Sophocles

At Mons, in 1501, the stage area where the cycle plays are to be performed are bookended by two permanent stages. These two mansions represent

heaven and hell

This rendering of the original stage area at Valenciennes, France is a good example of medieval, outdoor staging wherein the action moved from one scene to the next. These individual scenic stages are called ______.

mansions

Also known as cycle plays, ______ ______ are short dramas that depict religious events from the Old and New testaments such as The Second Shepherd's Play about three shepherd's and the birth of the Christ child.

mystery plays

A story or legend passed along from one generation to the next is called a

myth

Unlike the Greeks, Romans were noted for

practical achievements, comedy and popular entertainments, military might and conquest

Often acting as ordinary citizens, the Greek chorus in a tragedy

provided background information or exposition necessary for understanding the plot, made observations about the action of the play, was a moderating voice of reason or balance between the extreme behaviors of the central characters

While we do not know where or when theatre originated, we do know that many elements related to its origin include

ritual or religious ceremonies, imitation, costuming

Many theatre festivals revolve around:

specific playwrights like Shakespeare

The fall of Byzantium in 1453 led to the transference of Ancient Greek plays and manuscripts to the Western world that, in turn, helped directly influence

the Renaissance.

The Oberammergau Passion play has been performed regularly since 1634 because members of the community promised to stage a play about the life of Christ if they were spared from

the bubonic plague

We know, using this photograph, that the structure in Orange, France is a Roman theatre because

the structure is a single unit connecting the audience, the stage, and the stage building. , of the elaborate stage house that is several stories high and has a facade with niches.

The early Christian Church found Roman theatre objectionable because

the use of evil characters on the stage taught immorality to audiences., the use of sexual content was offensive to church leaders. , of the connection between theatre and pagan religious practices.

Much of what we know about early Greek theater is because Byzantium preserved

the works of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristotle.

The audience in the amphitheaters observed the play from the

theatron

The most widely admired form of drama during Ancient Greek festivals was

tragedy