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Exploring Historical Church Drama and Dance Traditions

Dive into the world of ancient church drama and dance through this informative text, exploring how liturgical drama unfolded as an extension of Roman Catholic Mass and the evolution of theatrical expressions in religious contexts. Learn about mystery plays, miracle plays, and morality plays depicting characters like Lust and Pride, as well as the unique portrayal of Hellmouth in performances. Discover the origins of the wagon stage in England, France, and the Netherlands, and delve into the fascinating history of dance traditions, from spontaneous movements to courtly performances that evolved over time. Unearth the roots of these captivating art forms and their significance in historical contexts.

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Exploring Historical Church Drama and Dance Traditions

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  1. Bell Ringer – 9/16 • None Today • Mrs. B is presenting at a conference and will be back tomorrow. We’ll finish the notes from Friday

  2. Drama

  3. Theater • Wandering Entertainers • Mimists, jugglers, acrobats, wrestlers, and storytellers • How? • Acting out the story silently or the reading of a play/script • NOT a formal presentation of “theater”

  4. Theater Examples • Fire Dancers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1BrlXxuSEE • Jugglers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60xJuyJLKng • Storytelling/Reenacting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evb5U0uiUS0

  5. Theater • Liturgical drama began as an elaboration of the Roman Catholic Mass, probably in France first • Tropes: elaborations of the Catholic Mass, took place on ceremonial occassions • Easter, the dramatic highlight of the Church year • Theatre was adopted by the Church and became an instrument of God in an age of faith and demons • Mystery Plays: Bible Stories • Miracle Plays: Lives of the Saints • Morality Plays: Didactic Allegories • Characters such as Lust, Pride, and Hatred

  6. Drama – Mystery Plays • Included written dialogue • Included Scenery, Costumes, and Gestures written into the Latin instructions • Example: “Paradise shall be situated in a rather prominent place, and is to be hung all around with draperies and silk curtains.” • Example: The Creation of Adam & Eve • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9xG7pt_LGE&feature=related

  7. Church Drama • At first, only priests performed the roles • Soon after, laymen are allowed to act in liturgical drama • Female roles were still mostly portrayed by boys

  8. Church Drama • Comic characters appeared, even in the Easter trope. • The most popular comic character of all was the Devil

  9. Church Drama - Hellmouth • Hellmouth: the mouth of hell into which sinners were cast • Descriptions of devils amid smoke and fire, pulling sinners into the mouth of hell, often the jaws of a dragon-like monster are common • Audiences demanded more and more realism and complexity in the depiction of hellmouth

  10. Church Drama - Hellmouth

  11. Church Drama - Hellmouth • Some Hellmouths were so complicated that they took 17 people to operate • Some plays were clearly intended to be frightening • Most, even vividly depicted, seemed to have been comic in their intentions rather than fearsome • Plays of this period are humorous and compassionate

  12. Church Drama – Wagon Stage • In England, France, and the Netherlands, another stage style developed – the wagon stage • Rather than move the audience or set up all the locations in different places on the mansion stage, theatre was brought to the audience on wagons • Similar to the floats of a modern parade

  13. Church Drama – Wagon Stage • Each wagon carried the set for a specific part of the play cycle • Very elaborate – two stories tall and curtained for entrances and exits like modern theater • Some cases, a flat wagon was combined with an elaborate background wagon to provide a playing area • Narrow wagons needed to navigate narrow streets

  14. Church Drama – Wagon Stage • At intersections, wagons were coupled and crowds gathered to watch a segment of a play • When the segment finished, the wagon moved on and was replaced by another wagon, creating the setting for another short play in the cycle

  15. Church Drama – Wagon Stages

  16. Dance

  17. Dance • Church writings condemned dancing to the 11th century and beyond • St. Augustine said it was better to dig ditches on the Sabbath than to dance a “round dance” • Dancing continued, however, because it gave people pleasure

  18. Dance • Dances were not planned, they were largely spontaneous • No audience – for fun, not performance • Dancing was a response to a chaotic and frightening world • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBv5My9CGLc

  19. Dance – Courtly Tradition • Performed to instrumental accompaniment • Spontaneous and expressive, but increasingly they conformed to specific rules • Performances depended on the guiding hand of the dancing master – like a square-dance caller • Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiE17pvisBg

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