2: Part Varieties of Theatrical Experience
Oscar Brockett
Author of The Essential Theatre, Eighth Edition
Awareness of past theatrical practices: Enriches current and future practices Enlightens us to cultural assumptions and values of various times and places
Chapter 4: Festival Theatre
Greek, Roman, and Medieval Theatrical Experiences
Until the 16th century, Western Theatre: Performed primarily at festivals Financed by community Performed by community Occurred for brief periods each year Presented as offering to a god Presented for enjoyment of general public Flourished in Greece, Rome, medieval Europe
The Theatre of Ancient Greece
Origins of Western Theatre traced to Ancient Greece Ancient Greek Beliefs:
Humans can make significant decisions Democracy Not all people are equal: Greeks kept slaves and denied women any public role in society Happiness depends upon harmony between human and supernatural forces Numerous gods: conceived of as immortal human beings with flaws
The Theatre of Ancient Greece
Greek Drama:
Emphasizes attempts of humans to control own destinies Tragedies often focus on results of attempting to escape fate Presented exclusively at festivals honoring the god Dionysus
Dionysus = god of wine and fertility Festivals:
By 5th century, Athens held 4 festivals per year in honor of Dionysus 3 of 4 festivals including theatrical performances Major Festival = City Dionysia
City Dionysia
Religious and Civic celebration 534 B.C. = first recorded contest for Best Tragedy
Winner = Thespis 3 dramatists compete Each presents 3 tragedies and 1 satyr play
Competition =
satyr play = short, comic play poking fun at a Greek myth using a chorus of satyrs (half-man/half-goat characters) 5 days of performances Performances started at dawn and probably lasted all day Plays open to everyone, but primary audience = men and boys
City Dionysia
3 tragedies x 3 playwrights = 9 tragedies per City Dionysia 9 tragedies x 100 years = 900 tragedies during 5th century B.C. 32 plays have survived All 32 plays written by 3 dramatists: Aeschylus (523-456 B.C.) Sophocles (496-406 B.C.) Euripides (480-406 B.C.)
Sophocles Oedipus often considered the best
The Theatre of Dionysus
Location: slope of hill beneath Athenian Acropolis Theatron = seeing place
Stadium-like stone seats Capacity = 14,000-17,000
Orchestra = dancing place
Main performance space Circular 65 ft. in diameter
The Theatre of Dionysus
Thymele = alter to Dionysus
Originally located at center of orchestra Scholars believe it was later moved to behind the skene
Skene = hut or tent
Located on side of orchestra, opposite the audience May have been used for costume changes Gradually developed into large structure 75-100 ft. long Possibly 2 stories high Possibly had 3 doors
The Theatre of Dionysus
Paradoi = spaces between skene and auditorium
Used for choral entrances and exits
Eccyclema = wheeled platform
Used primarily since acts of violence could not be shown onstage Rolled or pushed into the performance space to show consequences of violent acts (such as slain characters)
Machina = crane-like device
Used to fly god characters into the performance space Visible to audience
The Performers
4 Categories of Performers: 2. Actors 3. Chorus 4. Supernumeraries 5. Musicians
The Performers
Actors:
All performers were male By 430 B.C., only 3 speaking actors allowed in competition Actors played multiple roles Each playwright was assigned a Principal Actor Principal Actor eligible to win Best Tragic Actor
The Performers
Chorus:
Composed of 15 men Playwright applied to government official for a chorus Playwright was assigned a choregus choregus = wealthy citizen who paid for training and costuming; high civic honor; wealthy citizens required to take turns serving as choregus Chorus assigned approximately 11 months prior to festival Trained like athletes
The Performers
Choral Conventions:
Chorus as one of the distinctive features of Greek Theatre Usually performed in unison Sometimes broke into 2 subgroups that responded to each other Chorus leader sometimes had solo lines Chorus entered after Prologue Chorus performed Choral Odes
The Performers
Functions of the Chorus:
Treated as a group character that expressed opinions, gave advice Often seemed to express the playwrights point of view Served as the ideal spectator, reacting as the playwright wanted the audience to react Helped to establish mood and to heighten dramatic effects Added color, movement and spectacle through singing and dancing
The Performers
Musicians:
Principal musician = flute player Entered before chorus and remained onstage throughout performance Used a clapper on one sandal to keep time Was likely the composer of the music
Virtually no music has survived
The Performers
Masks:
All performers except musicians wore masks Distinctive convention of Greek Theatre Masks covered entire head and included hair/headdress Function of Masks: Facilitated rapid change of roles Enabled male performers to embody female characters more easily Helped actors to assume different types of roles Assisted communication by capturing and emphasizing essential character qualities
The Performers
Costumes:
Variety of clothing used Costume likely determined by appropriateness to role Use of chiton = ankle-length or knee-length garment that served as usual dress in Greece Soft, flexible, high-topped boots
Oedipus the King and its Performance
Play Structure: Prologue: devoted to exposition Parados: chorus enters 4 Episodes: move forward in present, while continuing Choral Odes: used to separate episodes 5th Episode: divided into 2 parts
Messenger Scene Final Scene
to reveal elements of exposition
Oedipus the King and its Performance
Characterization & Acting:
Concerned primarily with Psychological and Ethical aspects of character Characterization drawn with a few bold strokes All speaking roles performed by 3 actors
Probable distribution of roles:
Actor #2 Actor #1 Oedipus Creon 1st Messenger
Actor #3 Priest Tiresias Jocasta Herdsman 2nd Messenger
Oedipus the King and its Performance
Characterization & Acting:
Many supernumeraries required Chorus size = 15 Total cast size = 35 minimum
Oedipus the King and its Performance
Themes: Themes of the play have universal relevance Uncertainty of human destiny Limited ability of humans to control their fate Blindness versus sight (physical sight and inner sight)
Finding a scapegoat with Concern moral taboos: incest, patricide
Greek Comedy
Became official part of festivals about 50 years after tragedy Performed at 2 festivals: City Dionysia and Lenaia 5 playwrights competed annually at Lenaia, each presenting 1 play
Greek Comedy
Conventions:
Usually concerned with current issues Sometimes used mythological material Chorus size = 24 Not always identical in appearance Sometimes depicted as citizens, sometimes as nonhumans Male characters made to appear ridiculous Costume suggested partial nakedness Wore large phallus Wore masks
Greek Comedy
Playscripts:
Only 11 Old Comedy plays have survived All surviving plays by Aristophanes Old Comedy plots revolve around a happy idea Time and place may change frequently Unity through idea rather than through causally related events Characters may speak to or about the audience
Greek Comedy
Play Structure:
Prologue: introduction of happy idea Parados: entrance of chorus Agon: debate over merits of the happy idea Parabasis: choral passages Episodes: showing happy idea put into practice Komos: exit to feasting and revelry
The Roman Theatre Experience
Ludi = games
religious festivals that included theatrical performances
Theatrical performances honored several gods Theatrical performances considered diversions, like sports Borrowed from Greek drama, but adapted it to Roman tastes Romans preferred variety entertainments
short comic plays dancing, singing juggling, acrobatics gladiatorial contests
The Roman Theatrical Context
Production Expenses: paid by state Performance Spaces:
Tiered seating, capacity of several thousand Semicircular orchestra, not used by performers Long, narrow stage, 5 ft. high Stage enclosed by scaenae frons = faade 3 doors on back wall; 1 door at either end Second story with windows Open seating, free admission
Costumes: Greek costumes and masks; color symbolism Performers: all male
Roman Comedy
Plays: Surviving comedies = 26 All surviving plays by Plautus and Terence Deal with everyday domestic affairs Plots turn on misunderstandings Most famous character = clever slave Include music; some characters sing
The Menaechmi
Written by Plautus Perhaps most popular surviving Roman Comedy Basis for Shakespeares Comedy of Errors Characters as types rather than individuals 10 roles, performed by 6 actors; doubling of roles as common
Other Roman Drama and Theatre
Roman Tragedy:
Surviving tragedies = 9 All surviving plays by Seneca Favorite form of entertainment First time women were permitted to perform No masks Dramatic action centered on sexual encounters Gladiatorial contests
M i me :
Blood Sports:
The Revival of Drama in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages: Early = A.D. 900-1050 High = A.D. 1050-1300 Late = A.D. 1300-1500
liturgical drama
vernacular d ra m a
Early
90 0 95 0 10 00 10 50 11 00
High
12 00 13 00
Late
14 00 15 00
The Revival of Drama in the Middle Ages
Liturgical Drama:
Performed primarily in churches or monasteries Earliest example = A.D. 970 Dramatizes Biblical episodes Text sung in Latin Financed by church
Religious plays performed outside of church = A.D. 1200
Vernacular Drama:
Religious drama independent of church = A.D. 1375 Written in vernacular language Text spoken Financed by community
Trade Guilds and the Corpus Christi Festival
Outdoor religious dramas in England Connected to Trade Guilds Church created new feast day in 1311: Corpus Christi All Biblical events could be connected with this festival
Trade Guilds and the Corpus Christi Festival
Central feature = procession through town, like parade People of all ranks and professions involved Plays dramatizing the Bible from creation to doomsday = Cycle Plays
Watch a simulation of the procession and the plays performed.
Conventions of Medieval Theatre
Time: Contrast of eternal versus earthly time Stage: Depicts heaven at one end and hell at the other end Could be fixed or mobile Scenic structures to indicate place = mansion Undifferentiated space = platea Costumes: Distinguish inhabitants of Earth, Heaven, Hell Earthly characters = contemporary clothes Heavenly characters = church garments Special Effects: Gruesome hell mouth Realistic miracles
The Wakefield Cycle
Manuscript contains cycle of 32 plays: Creation through Last Judgment Playwrights: multiple, anonymous Production as community effort, involving: town council, church, trade guilds Processional staging, using pageant wagons that each carried one or more mansions All actors were male Guilds were assigned plays related loosely to their professions
The Wakefield Cycle
Performance started at 5:00 am Performance required all daylight hours for completion All work suspended on performance day Most spectators stood to watch performance Atmosphere as festive but reverent
Noah and His Sons
3rd play in Wakefield Cycle Story of Noah and the Ark Action divided into 3 parts:
Opening scene: exposition Noah and wife bickering Ship building and onboard
9 roles: 3 major, 6 minor One mansion required: ship Simple costumes
Other Medieval Theatre and Drama
Morality Plays:
Allegories of moral temptations Most famous play = Everyman Served as transition between medieval religious drama and secular drama of Shakespeares time Secular comic drama: emerged 13th century Not encouraged officially Emphasized ridiculous aspects or human behavior Example: Pierre Patelin Nonreligious, serious or comic; performed between parts of celebration
Farces:
Interludes:
Making Connections:
Chapter 4 covers Greek, Roman, and Medieval Theatre. These theatre experiences were both similar and different.
Activity: 2. Make a list of some characteristics shared by Greek, Roman, and Medieval theatre. 3. Make a list of some differences between these three types of theatre.
Making Connections:
Activity, continued: Similarities:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Occasional Ceremonial Financed by state, by organizations, or by wealthy citizens Open to all audiences All male performers Use of musical accompaniment Large audience spaces Formalized scenic backgrounds Masks
Making Connections:
Activity, continued: Differences:
1. Music:
Greek: chorus sang and danced Roman: music throughout play, associated with actors Medieval: music followed no fixed plan
2. 3.
Theatre Structures:
Architecture and scenic components varied
Function:
Greek: moral values and significant issues Roman: popular entertainment Medieval: Christian teaching