From Rome to Realism

1. From Rome to Realism Part I

2. I. Roman Theater • Roman Heritage • Did not make their theaters conform to earth and landscape • Often wrote plays with untraditional values but used Greek settings and characters • Roman drama began when the Romans attempted to adopt Greek theater • Most Roman plays are based on Greek ones • Romans didn’t have success with tragedy but excelled at comedy

3. I. Roman Theater (Continued) • Roman Theaters • Romans built everything free-standing and wanted their work to stand out against the landscape as a tribute to their superiority • Built a large theater, a circus, and a forum all in the same place • Romans added more realistic scenery and setting was often a street in front of some houses • They preferred exterior settings • Altar still present on Roman stages, although seldom used

4. Aspendos, Anatolia’s ancient Roman theater is probably the best preserved in the world

5. I. Roman Theater (Continued) • Roman Theater Conventions • Romans used more speaking actors than the Greeks • Actors only played one part, but still used masks Stock Characters - a series of stereotyped characters, which the audience could easily identify

6. I. Roman Theater (Continued) • Great Roman Playwrights 1. Plautus (254-184 B.C.) Rome’s most popular comic playwright and most influential Roman playwright overall 2. Terence (195-159 B.C.) Had plots that were well developed and subtle with greater suspense and more frequent surprises than Plautus

7. I. Roman Theater (Continued) 3. Seneca (4 B.C.-A.D. 65) Author of Roman tragedies Stoicism- the philosophy that true happiness is achieved through the development of logic and inner peace Seneca liked to rewrite the classic Greek plays

8. II. Theater in the Middle Ages • Early Christianity’s Role in Theater • In the sixth century, the Catholic Church banned theater. In the tenth century, they allowed religious drama to teach Christian doctrine, stories and history. pageant- an elaborate outdoor play pageant wagon- moving stages, similar to parade floats • The Oberammergau Passion Play has been performed every ten years since 1633.

9. II. Theater in the Middle Ages (Continued) B. Secular Theater During the Middle Ages secular- non-religious • No records of secular theater being produced exist until the late Middle Ages. • Underground theater existed to provide secular theater while it was banned. • In the late Middle Ages, royal courts produced secular plays as entertainment for guests. • By the mid-fourteenth century, most larger towns had their own acting companies.

10. III. Theater During the Renaissance • Rebirth of Art Around 1455, Johannes Gutenberg invented the first printing press. This led to the Renaissance and a rebirth of learning and art in Europe.

11. III. Theater During the Renaissance (Continued) B. Renaissance Playwrights Playwriting spread through Europe. Three countries left the greatest legacy of quality plays, Spain, France, and England.

12. III. Theater During the Renaissance (Continued) C. Shakespeare William Shakespeare is considered the greatest playwright ever, both tragic and comic.

13. III. Theater During the Renaissance (Continued) • Italy’s Contribution to Renaissance Theater 1. Opera – a merging of music and drama, supported by art and costuming; Monteverde was opera’s first great composer 2. Commedia dell’arte– professional acting troupes, improvising stories with stock characters slapstick- farce; silly comedy 3. The Proscenium Arch - gives a picture frame effect to a scenic backdrop perspective – objects in the distance appear smaller than objects of a similar size in the foreground; popularly used on scenery and backdrops

14. III. Theater During the Renaissance (Continued) • Europe – From Renaissance to Realism Romantic period authors from many European countries helped to usher in the common man and his Age of Realism.

15. From Rome to Realism Part I