Theatre of Ancient Greece

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Theatre of Ancient Greece

• 6th Century BCE

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Why did theatre begin?

• The need to imitate and tell stories
• The need to worship
• Dionysus was the Greek god of fertility. He was
  the son of Zeus and Semele (a mortal).
• According to legend, he was killed and then
  resurrected and so his life is related to the
  cycle of birth, maturation, death, and re-birth
  (the four seasons).
• He is worshipped to ensure the return of spring.

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How Dionysus was worshipped

• Dithyrambs were hymns that related episodes from
  the life of Dionysus.
• They were performed by 50 men led by a priestthe
  chorus
• Later, this chorus dressed as satyrscreatures
  that were half man and half goat
• The worship became known as the goat song
  (tragoedia) from which we get our word tragedy

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The Festivals of Dionysus

• There were three festivals at which drama
  developed in the city of Athens
• City DionysiaMarch
• LenaiaJanuary
• Rural DionysiaDecember

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City Dionysia

• 10 dithyrambs were presented each year
• Following the dithyrambs, there were 3 days of
  plays
• Tragedies
• Comedies
• Satyr plays
• Satyr plays had a comic tone and were a spoof on
  a Greek myth
• This is where we get the word satire

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The first actor

• Thespis was the first actor.
• This is where we get our word thespian (as in
  the International Thespian Society) which means
  actor

• He stepped out of the chorus in 534BCE and spoke
  dialogue
• We know this because he won the first award for
  acting that year.
• There was no conflict because the single actor
  played many parts using masks.

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Greek playwrights

• Aeschylus (525-456BCE)
• He added the second actor.
• He is regarded as the father or founder of
  Western drama
• Sophocles (496-406BCE)
• Added the third actor
• Reduced the chorus from 50 to 12
• Developed the tragic flaw
• Oedipus Rex, Antigone, Oedipus at Colonus

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Greek playwrights continued

• Euripedes (480-406BCE)
• Dealt with the inner conflict of good and evil
• The Trojan Women
• Aristophanes (448-380BCE)
• Old comedy
• Lysistrata, The Clouds, The Birds
• Menander (342-292BCE)
• New comedy
• Wrote about middle class citizens

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Greek Theatre Architecture

• Orchestrathe dancing place, circular, at the
  base of a hill with seating terraced up the
  hillside
• Thymelean altar to Dionysus located at the
  center of the orchestra

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More Greek Theatre Architecture

• Skenescenehouse, used as a dressing room and
  eventually in the action, had one or more doors
  and was two stories for the appearance of gods

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More Greek Theatre Architecture

• Theatronthe seeing place, the auditorium
• Originally, patrons stood.
• Then, wooden seating.
• Then stone seating.
• Paradoientrances to the orchestra at either end
  of the skene used by the chorus, actors, and
  spectators

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Costumes and Masks

• Chitonan embroidered robe or tunic
• Kothornossoft shoe or boot reaching to the calf
  with a thick sole to add height
• Onkosa high headdress

• All actors and the chorus wore masks that covered
  the entire head.
• In comedies, the masks had exaggerated features.

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Set pieces

• Ekkyklemaa platform on wheels that could be
  rolled out with a body on it to show or explain
  an offstage death
• Pinakespainted panels similar to todays flat,
  false walls

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Set pieces continued

• Periaktoia triangular prism with a different
  scene painted on each side that was rotated to
  show a change in location
• Machinaa mechanical crane used to lower gods.
  Deus ex machina means god from the machine and
  was when a god was lowered down to solve all the
  problems.

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A Greek Critic

• AristotleGreek, wrote Poetics.
• The 3 unities
• Time24 hours
• Place1 place or more than 1 with less than a 24
  hour travel
• Action1 plot and no subplots
• The 6 parts of drama
• Plot (story), character (people), thought
  (theme), diction (language), music (sound),
  spectacle (costume, setting, props, etc)