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History of Theater

History of Theater. Drama Unit Mrs. Bartel. The Acropolis in Athens, Greece. The Theater of Dionysus. What is Drama?. Drama is an art form in which a story dealing with human conflict is acted out on stage. Formal theater : actors follow script (school play)

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History of Theater

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  1. History of Theater Drama Unit Mrs. Bartel The Acropolis in Athens, Greece The Theater of Dionysus

  2. What is Drama? • Drama is an art form in which a story dealing with human conflict is acted out on stage. • Formal theater: actors follow script (school play) • Informal theater: actors rely on their imaginations (mimes)

  3. Greek Theater • Began as a religious celebration associated with the worship of Dionysus, god of wine • Festivals lasted 5-6 days • 534 B.C.-Thespis won first contest • Word “thespian” comes from his name, meaning “actor.” • Presented in an amphitheater setting

  4. www.aug.edu/~cshotwel/2001.Greeks.htm Reove frae

  5. Greek amphitheater at Ephesus http://www.ozturk.com.au/sultanitin1.html

  6. Principles of Greek Drama • Catharsis: release of emotions in the audience • Main character: noble birth • Main character: suffers fall from grace • Written in poetic language • Shakespeare follows all these principles.

  7. Roman Theater • 200 B.C. Rome overtook Athens as the cultural center for drama • Imitated Greek dramas-so considered inferior • Major contribution: modern elevated stage

  8. Middle Ages • Formal theater disappeared for ages • 10th century-church took over • Presentations dealt with biblical events and parables (A simple story illustrating a moral or religious lesson) • Continued until 16th century • Pageant wagons used (movable stages to act out biblical stories)

  9. Middle Ages • Miracle plays: dramatized events from the bible • Mystery plays: presented events from the saints’ lives • Morality plays: presented allegorical stories in which characters personified religious or moral abstractions (Seven Deadly Sins) saved by Mercy, Justice, Temperance, and Truth

  10. Gluttony

  11. Mystery/Miracle

  12. Renaissance Theater • 1300-1600 • “rebirth”-renewed interest in Greek and Roman tragedies • Original comedies, tragedies, and pastoral plays were created and performed • Commedia dell’ arte-popular comedy in which professional actors improvised • Shakespeare-YEA!-Scavenger Hunt

  13. Renaissance TheaterThree important developments • Secular themes (nonreligious) • Rise of professionalism in acting and play writing • Plays preformed in English rather than Latin

  14. French Theater-Renaissance • Moliere (1622-1673) • Considered comic genius • Plays ridiculed people, ideas, medicine, forced marriage • Raised status of comedy to level of tragedy • Quote: “The duty of comedy is to correct men by amusing them.”

  15. Restoration Theater • Restoration of Royal family of Stuart to throne (1660-1700) • Comedy of manners-satirizes social customs. • Women were allowed to act for the first time in England!

  16. Nineteenth Century Theater • Romanticism-the belief that humans should be guided by feelings and emotions • Freed artist from rules, lots of special effects • Experimentation in theater! • operas

  17. Romanticism • Three Main Types of American Romantic Dramas • Quasi-historical characters interacting in a scenically romantic distant locale (affection, sorrow, and romantic longing) • Plays dealing with historical figures • Sinister gothic performances of mysterious and supernatural adventures (horrify and amaze) • modern horror novels and women's romance novels are both descendants of the Gothic romance

  18. Romanticism • Common Themes • Libertarianism: free from convention and tyranny, the Democratic spirit • Nature: unspoiled scenery • Lure of the Exotic: picturesque, romanticized view of the past, mystery, superstition • The Supernatural: folktales, connection of identity of self

  19. Nineteenth Century Theater • Late 19th century, modern drama was born • Henrick Ibsen (Norway) • August Strindberg (Sweden) • Anton Chekhov (Russia) • John Galsworthy (Great Britain) • Bernard Shaw (Great Britain) • Realism-portray people and situations as they really are in everyday life

  20. Contemporary Theater • Experimented with many styles (not one style exists today) • Theater of the absurd-life viewed as meaningless and people’s strivings as absurd, since they cannot do anything to improve the human lot

  21. Theater of the Absurd • Samuel Beckett-Waiting for Godot (1953)

  22. Two types of Drama • Comedy-happy ending, exaggerated or eccentric behavior, goal to entertain, to make people laugh, or to be scornful • Tragedy-sad or disastrous ending, serious story

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