Elizabethan Theater
How is theater of the Elizabethan Era different from theater today?
What modern day theater districts do you know of?
Theater District• Made up of 9 play houses
or theaters
• Located outside of London’s city
• Pubs
• Taverns
• Bawdy Houses or Brothels - prostitutes.
• Seedy area: pick-pockets & thieves
The Globe: Stats.•Plays produced for the general public•No Roof•Round•No artificial lighting (no electricity)
•Several sections: courtyard with pit surrounded with galleries
The Globe: Seating• Cheapest seats = standing room only
• Groundlings stood in the pit- Tickets only a PENNY!
• Royalty & patrons sat in the galleries
Advertising• Flags were
used to advertise the type of play
• They couldn’t use fliers or posters because most people were illiterate.
Today: An advertisement for the Globe
might look like this
Actors
• Vagabonds or vagrants - traveled
• Perceived a threat - spread disease
• Little time to rehearse - 3 weeks
Props, Effects, & Costumes
• Trap doors
• Pig’s blood & guts
• Harnesses & wires
• Sheets of metal
• Canons
• Elaborate costumes - royal hand-me downs
Main Patrons of the Globe
of the GlobeDo whatever you want, as long as it’s what I want.
Lord Strange Lord Chamberlain King James I Queen Elizabeth I