The Seeing Place

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Designed by Michael Rasbury Resources
used Barranger, Milly. Theatre- A Way of Seeing.
5th edition. Chapter 2, Thomson Learning, Inc.,
2002. Brockett, Oscar G. History of the Theatre.
8th ed. Boston, MA Allyn Bacon,
1999. Leacroft, Richard and Helen. Theatre and
Playhouse. Methuen London, Ltd, 1984. Great
Architecture of the World.Mitchell Beazley
Publishers Limited, 1982
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The Seeing Place
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Ritual and Theatre The Evolution of
Actor-Audience Relationship
Agrarian and Fertility Rites- Early cultures
tried to find ways to appease the seemingly
supernatural or godlike forces that controlled
the food supply. Stories began to grow out of
the "performance" of the ritual to explain why
the ritual was important.
As humanistic thought and knowledge developed,
rituals became less important for ensuring food
and fertility for the society.
Like modern Theatre, these rituals contained
enactment, imitation and seasonal performances
photo by Melissa Byrd
Entertainment is a bonus for the ritual audience
the goal is to gain prosperity from the gods.
Modern Theatre must entertain.
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Ritual Performance differs from Modern Theatre in
several ways
Actors now create fictional characters.
Actors use the playwrights words to create a
sense of life and place.
Modern Theatre tends to provoke thought rather
than provide concrete answers.
Ritual and Theatre employ some of the same
characteristics
Music- early ritual used rhythmical
music. Dance- ritual incorporated pantomimic
dance. Speech- vocal sounds were used
more than
formal speech. Masks- many felt that masks had
the ability to attract the spirit of the
character.
Costumes- costumes were looked upon the same way
masks were. Performers- ritual enforced highly
trained actors that did not change the
ritual. Audience- spectators came to watch the
ritual. Stage- most spaces were circular but not
all were.
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Theater was first officially recognized in 534
B.C. when the Athenian Government began to
subsidize drama. Some of the first accounts of
Greek Drama are documented by the Greek
philosopher Aristotle in his book Poetics.
A dithyramb is a hymn that was sung and danced
for the god of wine and fertility. Worship of
Dionysus was achieved through intoxication,
sexual orgy and sacrificial offerings- sometimes
human. The Greeks created the first permanent
theatre structure called Theatre of Dionysus in
honor the fertility god. It is located in Athens.
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Two major performance areas-
The Orchestra or Dancing Circle served as the
primary acting area
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The Skene (scene building)- consisted of a
building behind the orchestra probably used as a
dressing room, later to be integrated into the
stage action by an innovative playwright.
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Greek Scenic Devices
Periaktoi- a revolving triangular devices with
one scene painted on each side.
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Deus ex Machina- God From the Machine
The Machina- a crane that was used to represent
characters who were flying or lifted off of the
earth.
Tunnel from behind the Skene to the center of
the stage. Scenic wagons revealed through doors
on the Skene. Pinakes painted panels that could
be attached to the skene.
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The chorus was dominant because there was usually
one actor and that actor had to leave the stage
several times during a show to change
characters. The chorus was to be a
representation of society, they often served as
the ideal spectator by providing advice,
opinions, questions to the audience and
actors. The main actor(s) stood apart in the
performance space because they typically played
heroic figure that would realistically be
separated from normal mortal beings. Their
costumes and masks added spectacle and their
movement and dance heightened the dramatic
effect. Great actors were characterized by their
voice quality and the ability to adopt their
manner of speaking to the character.
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A facade stage- actors performed in front of a
neutral background Relationship with religion-
plays were presented as part of a larger
celebration Special Occasion- theatre was held
on special occasions and not often enough to be
taken for granted. Noncommercial environment-
the wealthy citizens or the state picked up the
costs as part of the obligation of
citizenship. Male-only performers- women sat in
the audience only.
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The Liturgical Didactic Drama celebrated the
birth of Christ in the Springtime.
Types of Liturgical Didactic Drama- 1.
Mysteries- dealt with events in Christs life 2.
Miracles- dealt with the lives of historical and
legendary saints 3. Moralities- didactic
allegories portraying human struggle for
salvation.
Medieval Theatre was emblematic and
simultaneous. -Spectators were familiar with
symbolism. -Medieval Theatre was often presented
as a group or cycle of several playlets.and
usually presented simultaneously on different
stages.
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Medieval Theatre began as part of Easter
celebrations held within churches. Church
leaders presented tropes- church dramas in the
form of chanted dialogue performed by Latin
priests. Gradually performances outgrew the
church and moved outside into marketplaces,
replacing the priest with lay performers. Town
councils sponsored the productions, produced by
trade guilds and casted with recruited actors
from the local population.
The outdoor dramas differed from the indoor
ones. 1. Plays presented outdoors were
spoken. 2. Plays were in the vernacular instead
of Latin 3. Laymen were actors instead of
priests and clerics 4. Stories were not wholly
limited to the liturgy 5. Outdoor dramas were
limited to good weather months.
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Medieval stages were either fixed or moveable.
Both types of stages made use of two main areas
Mansions- depicted specific locales
Plateaus- open playing space
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Heaven was usually constructed higher than the
other mansions.
Hell was constructed lower than the other
mansions and called Hell Mouth.
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The Pageant Wagon (the moveable stage) Portable
stage, similar to a parade float It had a
tiring house for actors that also served as
scenery. The plays on Pageant Wagons were
presented much like a modern parade is presented.
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Permanent structures began to be built to house
theatre that was becoming more commercial than
ceremonial. All theatres were built outside the
city limits due to Puritan officials who felt
theatre was sinful because of its secular
subject matter. The theatre building evolved
from U-shaped inn yards where traveling troupes
presented their shows, pageant wagons, etc. The
Globe was highly influenced by Medieval Theatre
due to its many mansions. Since elaborate
scenery was prohibited by the theater structure,
various properties suggested the locale. For
visual stimulation, costumes were relied upon
instead of scenery. There were no women in the
Theatre at this time. Female roles were played
by men and boys.
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Because the proscenium arch allowed the
concealment of the conventions, artists could
paint perspective scenery on large canvases
placed on a raked stage, creating the illusion of
vastness. It was an architect from Italy that
created a new system for changing scenery with
movable two-dimensional wings painted in
perspective. This method, created by
Giambattista Aleotti, is now called a
wing-in-groove system.
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Four Most Prevalent Types of Theatres
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Designed by Michael Rasbury Resources
used Barranger, Milly. Theatre- A Way of Seeing.
5th edition. Chapter 2, Thomson Learning, Inc.,
2002. Brockett, Oscar G. History of the Theatre.
8th ed. Boston, MA Allyn Bacon,
1999. Leacroft, Richard and Helen. Theatre and
Playhouse. Methuen London, Ltd, 1984. Great
Architecture of the World.Mitchell Beazley
Publishers Limited, 1982
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The Seeing Place