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Theater History

Theater History. History (ritual) History (Greek Tragedy) History (Satyr to Comedy) History (Greek To Roman). Theater History 600 B.C. – 1500 A.D. Greek Theater : Types – Tragedy and Comedy Main Playwrights – Sophocles, Aeschylus, Euripides, and Aristophanes

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Theater History

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  1. Theater History • History (ritual) • History (Greek Tragedy) • History (Satyr to Comedy) • History (Greek To Roman)

  2. Theater History600 B.C. – 1500 A.D. Greek Theater : Types – Tragedyand Comedy Main Playwrights – Sophocles, Aeschylus, Euripides, and Aristophanes Well Known Plays – Antigone, Oedipus Rex, The Birds, Medea, The Frogs Theater Styles – large outdoor Thespis – first person recorded on stage winning awards (word Thespian from him) Greek Theater

  3. Greek Theater is a theatrical culture that flourished in ancient Greece between 550 BC and 220 BC. The city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political and military power during this period, was its centre, where it was institutionalized as part of a festival called the Dionysia, which honored the god Dionysus. Tragedy (late 6th century BC), comedy (486 BC), and the satyr play were the three dramatic genres to emerge there. Athens exported the festival to its numerous colonies and allies in order to promote a common cultural identity. Western theatre originated in Athens and its drama has had a significant and sustained impact on Western culture as a whole.

  4. Main Playwrights Tragedy Aeschylus (525 – 456) • The Persians • The Supplicants • Seven Against Thebes • The Oresteia Euripedes (480 - 407) • Alcestis • Medea • Hippolytus • Andromache • Hecuba • Cyclops • Heracles • The Suppliants • Ion • The Trojan Women • Electra • Iphigenia in Tauris • Helen • The Phoenician Women • Orestes Sophocles (496 – 406) • Ajax • Antigone • Oedipus Rex • Electra • Trachiniae • Philoctetes • Oedipus at Colonus

  5. Playwrights Comedy Antigone Chorus Aristophanes (448 - 380) • The Acharnians • The Knights • The Clouds • The Wasps • Peace • The Birds • Lysistrata • The Thesmophoriazusae • The Frogs • The Ecclesiazusae • Plutus

  6. The Theater Greek tragedies and comedies were always performed in outdoor theaters. Early Greek theaters were probably little more than open areas in city centers or next to hillsides where the audience, standing or sitting, could watch and listen to the chorus singing about the exploits of a god or hero. From the late 6th century BC to the 4th and 3rd centuries BC there was a gradual evolution towards more elaborate theater structures, but the basic layout of the Greek theater remained the same. • Orchestra • Theatron • Skene • Parodos

  7. Orchestra: The orchestra (literally, "dancing space") was normally circular. It was a level space where the chorus would dance, sing, and interact with the actors who were on the stage near the skene. The earliest orchestras were simply made of hard earth, but in the Classical period some orchestras began to be paved with marble and other materials. In the center of the orchestra there was often a thymele, or altar. The orchestra of the theater of Dionysus in Athens was about 60 feet in diameter. • Theatron: The theatron (literally, "viewing-place") is where the spectators sat. The theatron was usually part of hillside overlooking the orchestra, and often wrapped around a large portion of the orchestra (see the diagram above). Spectators in the fifth century BC probably sat on cushions or boards, but by the fourth century the theatron of many Greek theaters had marble seats.

  8. Skene: The skene (literally, "tent") was the building directly behind the stage. During the 5th century, the stage of the theater of Dionysus in Athens was probably raised only two or three steps above the level of the orchestra, and was perhaps 25 feet wide and 10 feet deep. The skene was directly in back of the stage, and was usually decorated as a palace, temple, or other building, depending on the needs of the play. It had at least one set of doors, and actors could make entrances and exits through them. There was also access to the roof of the skene from behind, so that actors playing gods and other characters (such as the Watchman at the beginning of Aeschylus' Agamemnon) could appear on the roof, if needed. • Parodos: The parodoi (literally, "passageways") are the paths by which the chorus and some actors (such as those representing messengers or people returning from abroad) made their entrances and exits. The audience also used them to enter and exit the theater before and after the performance.

  9. Theater History Roman Theater Based on entertainment (usually rough and barbaric) Playwrights – Plautus and Seneca Theaters – coliseums Theater of Pompey ------------------------------------------------------- Church banned all theater productions in 692 A.D. thus ending theater in Western culture.

  10. Theater History China (618 – 906) Dance, song, and comic pantomime ------------------------------------------------------- India (? – 200 A.D.) Sanskit drama written by Kalidasa “Good versus Evil” where good triumphs

  11. Theater History Medieval Theater Started around 925 A.D. Singing of hymns and telling of Christ’s Resurrection Source of mystery play and morality ------------------------------------------------------- Elizabeth I banned all religious plays in 1500s leading to the secularization of plays and into the Renaissance.

  12. Theater History(1500-1700) Shakespeare(1564-1616) greatest playwright in English language such plays as MacBeth, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet Globe Theater Moliere (1622-1673) French playwright inspired by Commedia dell’arte (professional form of improv) play were controversial, died on stage Other forms from around the world – Kabuki, Neoclassical, Masques, Restoration drama

  13. Theater History1700-1850 In America First playhouse in 1716 but professional theater did not begin until 1752 Melodrama – 1800s celebrated virtue In Europe David Garrick – considered greatest British actor of 1700s Ballad Opera – (Italy) combined dialogue and popular songs Laughing comedy – swift paced In Asia China – Peking opera (all male actors, rigorous training)

  14. Theater History1850 - 1900 Henrick Ibsen – father of modern drama (Norway) Bernard Shaw – wanted theater to explore controversial issue Pygmalion is his best know play (London) Moscow Theater Arts – most influential company in Theater history (started American style “Method Acting” (Russia) Edmond Rostand – playwright “Cyano de Bergerac” (French) ----------------------------- Cinema – Thomas Edison and George Eastman invented a toy for moving pictures Special Effects – illusions, stage lighting (David Belasco)

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