Greek, Roman, and Medieval Drama

History of the Theatre

http://youtu.be/vNAM3PzGcow

Western drama began to develop in the 6th century to worship the god Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility.The first theatre consisted of a group of chanters (the chorus) dancing around a sacrificial goat.Their song was called the tragos – where the word tragedy comes from.

Greek Drama

Ceremonies honoring Dionysus evolved into contests.

Legend states that Thespis won the first competition. History remembers him as the first actor.

The term “thespian” has been given to actors ever since.

The First Dramatic Competitions

The Festival of DionysusDramatic contests

became part of a festival to honor Dionysus.

These festivals lasted five or six days.

Each playwright presented four plays: a tragic trilogy (three plays related by theme, myth, or characters) and a satyr (satirical, comic) play.

The first theatres began as circular or semicircular areas called orchestras, surrounded by a hillside on which the audience sat.

Eventually, stone seats and a stone building called a skene were added.

The Theatre of Dionysus

The skene (origin of our word “scene”) was where they built masks and costumes.

Scenery was painted on the front.The roof was called the “god walk,” for actors

playing gods.

The Skene

The Greeks used the machina, a crane-like hoist that allowed actors to “fly.”

Usually characters lowered by the machina represented gods come to earth to solve the problems of man.

From this comes the term “deus ex machina,” meaning “god from the machine.”

This term is still used to refer to an artificial plot device introduced by an author late in a play to resolve difficulties. (Examples: Unexpected inheritance; long-lost letter, etc.)

The Machina

The chorus was a very important part of Greek plays.

The chorus served to explain the situation and to comment on the action.

The chorus also interacted with the actors.

The Greek Chorus

The Greek chorus is alive and well in theatre and film today!

There are many modern examples, including:The Stage Manager in Our Town by Thorton

WilderEl Gallo in the musical The FantasticksThe Muses in Disney’s animated HerculesAn actual chanting Greek chorus in Woody

Allen’s Mighty Aphrodite

The Greek Chorus Today

The Greek tragedies, considered classics of Western literature, involve conflicts that come from the clash between the will of the gods and the ambitions and desires of humanity.

They show us how to fight fate.

Greek Tragedy

AeschylusNoted for the majesty of his writingWriter of the only surviving Greek trilogy,

The OresteiaSophocles

Ranked with Shakespeare as one of the great playwrights of all time

His balance between the power of gods and the importance of humans created some of the strongest characters ever to walk on a stage.

Wrote Oedipus Rex; Antigone; etc.

The Great Writers of Greek Tragedy

EuripidesEmphasized human relationships and became a

master of pathos (mixture of sorrow and compassion)

Wrote The Trojan Women; Medea; etc.

The Great Writers of Greek Tragedy

AristophanesConsidered nothing sacredSkilled satirist“Old Comedy” style – wild comic fantasyWrote The Frogs; The Clouds; Lysistrada

Menander“Middle Comedy” style – every day lifeWrote Dyskolos

The Great Writers of Greek Comedy

Primarily an imitation of Greek theatre

Two notable comic writers were Plautus and Terence

Seneca, a writer of tragedies, created “closet dramas”

Theatres expanded into amphitheatres, large circular arenas that were surrounded by tiers of seats.

The Roman Theatre

Sung in Latin, the liturgical drama began as a question-and-answer song performed by monks on Easter.

Saint Plays are based on the legends of saintsMystery Plays tell stories based on biblical historyBy the late fourteenth century, plays were largely

presented by craft guilds that traveled through the country with pageant wagons, or stages on wheels.

Medieval Drama

A drama about the last week of Christ’s life is called the Passion Play.

Folk dramas were usually performed outdoors during planting time, harvest time, and Christmas. (Ex: Robin Hood!)

Morality Plays dealt with the principles of right and wrong. (Ex: Everyman, still performed today.)

Medieval Drama

Closet dramas plays meant to be read rather than acted

Cycle An entire sequence of plays

Miracle plays Plays based on the lives of Saints

Mystery Plays Plays based on stories from the Bible

Morality play Plays about the differences between right and wrong

Skene Greek “scene shop” where scenery was painted; located behind the stage

Machina Greek machine used to “fly” an actor playing a god

Thespis The first actor, from whom the term “thespian” was derived

Vocabulary