Theatre history unit

Origin of theatre: Rituals, which turned into ceremonies

Different rituals or ceremonies incorporate methods of telling stories

Ex. Hakka, could be story about a battle in the old ages

The greek were the first to build a permanent structure like a theatre, they established theatre as an art form. The buildings were small but they built enormous theatres. They built it on a hill side for the acoustics as they didn't have microphones so the hills would amplify the sound in the theatre.

Almost every greek city had a theatre and originally plays were performed to honor Dionysus, the ancient Greek god of harvest and wine. They were build in hillsides, could hold more than 18,000 spectators, built in a semi-circular shape.

The shape gave everyone a could view and could hear well

The chorus was a group of actors that chanted, sang and danced

They performed on a flat circular area called the orchestra

They told the audience about the characters, they commented on the action during the play and the chorus leader could speak to the actors.

The audience sat in the Theatron, the parados were aisles for the chorus to enter, the actors changed costumes in a hut called the skene, the stage was a raised area within the orchestra circle.

Sophocles wrote over 120 plays

Actors wore masks with large holes for mouths to be heard

Gestures had to be clear and dramatic so they could be seen from far

Plays were either spoken or sung in rhyme

They wore masks which clearly showed their feelings

Some actors were hoisted above the stage using a crane called a ‘mehkhane’ if they were acting as gods or a flying creature.

All actors were men or boys

They plays were either comedy (funny or poking fun at rulers) or a tragedy (teaching lesson)

Many of greek plays have been passed down through history and are still acted today

An intro to greek theatre

Have ancient sources about greek theatre and the greek painted theatrical scenes

Greeks loves competition and in the festival of dionysus, the tragic playwrights were performed (sponsored by a rich guy) and the jury would vote for the better play, the better play would have their names inscribed on the walls and be remembered forever,

Characters are ugly in comedy and are beautiful in tragedy

Masks were worn because it was ritual and the mask was part of it and allowed them to change characters.  

The chorus represented the ordinary people of the city and their views

Greek tragedy is fundamentally political