Theater and Drama

Historical Background

Theater – It is executed according to its elements in dance, drama in mask, music and sounds, and costumes and props.

Drama – It is a prose or poetical composition presenting a story of human life through the performance of actors and actresses. It is an experience shared between the participants on stage and the people in the auditorium.

Production is considered successful when a play is staged artistically, when acting is well-emoted, and when the audience is captivated by all these.

Steps in Play Production:Choosing the ScriptDirector Some of the director’s most important duties:Choosing the cast membersTeaching stage businessScheduling rehearsalsDiscussing characterizationPlanning out and determining with the help of

artistDrawing up committees to compose the stage

crew

Casting > it is the first things that director’s do by means of tryouts or audition

Roles- a person’s appearance, size, voice, and diction are the factors to be considered

Casts- the group of people who play the roles

Rehearsals > the first rehearsal is a reading of the whole play done by the director or by the cast reading their own parts

Stage business > in a play, actors and actresses move around, talk, sit, laugh, make phone calls. These things that the players do on stage are called business

Cross- the walking on stageRight crossLeft crossBlockingUpstageDownstage

Characterization > the actors may be asked to interpret their lines after discussions have been held over the attitudes, feelings, reactions, or behavior of the persons in the play which they are impersonating

Scenery > the background or backdrop for the whole play

Properties or props > it include the commonly used items like a sofa, chairs, tables, baskets, and the like, borrowed or made

Costumes > the artistic director contact a couturier or costumer to design the costumes and make them unless the players have their own particular tailor

Curtain call > prolonged applause which a performer acknowledges by appearing on the stage after the end of a play or scene

MEN BEHIND THE SCENESStage manager – job is to oversee everythingMusic and sound effects man Prompters Prop and scenery committeeLights committeeWardrobe mistress

Dress rehearsals > is needed for at least two times

The performance > all participants should remain backstage and not to mingle with the audience unless specified.

Theaterand

History

The Major Periods of Ancient Western Theatre (BCE = BC; CE = AD)

*The Major Periods of Ancient Western

Ancient Greece (800-200 BCE)Pre-Classical Age (to 500 BCE)Classical Age (500-400 BCE)Post-Classical/Hellenistic Age (400-200 BCE)

An Overview of Classical Theatre

Ancient Rome (753 BCE -476 CE)1.Early Roman Native Theatre (to 240 BCE)2.Age of Greek-Based Drama (240-100 BCE)3.Popular Entertainment (100 BCE -476 CE)Theatre (BCE = BC; CE = AD)

3000-800 BCE: Egyptian Civilization800 BCE: Pre-Classical Greek Civilization800-700 BCE: Homer and Epic Poetry (Iliad,

Odyssey)700-550 BCE: Lyric Poetry (Sappho)550-529 BCE: The Tyrant Pisistratus rules Athens534 BCE: The Inauguration of the City Dionysia529-512 BCE: Pisistratus’son Hippiasrules Athens512-508 BCE: Exile of Hippiasand Political Chaos

in Athens508 BCE: Birth of Athenian Democracy

Greek Theatre in the Pre-Classical Age

500-479 BCE: Early Classical Age490; 481-479 BCE: The Persian Wars486BCE: Comedy premieres at the Dionysia479-431 BCE: The Pentakontaetia472 BCE: Aeschylus produces The Persians460-429 BCE: Pericles leads Athensca. 463-405 BCE: Sophocles’career as a

playwright431-404 BCE: The Peloponnesian War455-406 BCE: Euripides’career as a playwright427-386 BCE: Aristophanes writes Old Comedy

Greek Theatre in the Classical Age

404-338 BCE: Greek Civil War371 BCE: Thebes defeats Sparta at Leuctra360-336 BCE: Philip II rules Macedonia385-325 BCE: Middle Comedy338-323 BCE: Alexander the Great338 BCE: Philip defeats Greek at Chaeronea336-323 BCE: Alexander conquers much of

the ancient world322-200’s BCE: The Hellenistic Age423-391 BCE: Menander writes New Comedy

Greek Theatre in the Post-Classical and Hellenistic Age

753-510 BCE: Early Roman Kingdom600-510 BCE: Etruscans rule Rome (gladiators)510 BCE: Founding of the Roman Republic510-264 BCE: Romans conquer Italy400’s and 300’s BCE: Early Italian Drama AtellanFarce, FescennineVerse, phlyaxplays,

hilarotragodiae264-241 BCE: The First Punic War (Carthage)241 BCE: LiviusAndronicus translates The

Odysseyin Latin

Roman Theatre in the Early Republic

241-202 BCE: Early Roman Greek-Based Drama218-202 BCE: The Second Punic War (Hannibal)202-100 BCE: The Romans conquer Greece205-186 BCE: Plautus writes Roman Comedy

(palliatae)166-160 BCE: Terence writes Roman Comedy100’s BCE: Pacuviusand Acciuswrite Roman

tragedy133-123 BCE: The Gracchilead a revolt against

the increasingly corrupt Senate 

Roman Theatre in the Later Republic (The Age of Greek-Based Drama)

100-44 BCE: The Rise of GeneralsMarius, Sulla, Pompey and Caesar44-31 BCE: Civil War between Octavian (later

Augustus) and Mark Antony31 BCE: Octavian defeats Antonyat the Battle

of Actium31 BCE -476 CE: The Roman Empireca. 50-65 CE: “Seneca”writes only extant

Roman tragedyGladiators, chariot races, blood sports, mime,

pantomime, ...

Roman Theatre in the Empire(The Age of Popular Entertainment)

•Webster: "the branch of knowledge that deals systematically with the past"

•Henry Ford: "more or less bunk" •anonymous student: "one damn thing after

another" •Simon Schauma: "the study of the past in all

its splendid messiness"

history

Historiography “the study of historical methods”

historia•the ancient Greek word for “questioning”•i.e. research (into the past)•a term coined by Herodotus•part of the Ionian Revolution•which embraced a search for the

“elements”which underlay all being

historians•are like scientists•dig for new data in mounds or libraries•but cannot repeat an experiment•in that regard, historians are more like

detectives than scientists•they look for “evidence” 

theatre•S. Johnson: “an echo of the public’s voice”•Shakespeare: “a mirror”•Giraudoux: “a trial”•Farquhar: “a banquet” theatron•in ancient Greek literally, “an instrument for

viewing”•i.e. the seats•not the stage or orchestra or parodoi!

theatre•John Cage: “theatre takes place all the time

wherever one goes”•Bernard Beckerman: theatre happens

whenever “one of more human beings, isolated in time and/or space, present themselves to another or others”

•Patti Gillespie: “performances by living actors that take place in the presence of living audiences”

•language: versus movement in dance, song in opera

•impersonation: versus rules in a game, teaching in a classroom

•audience: or, better, “viewers”–n.b. there is a theatre for the deaf, but no

theatre for the blind

 elements of theatre

The Hellenistic Age•general chaos and confusion after Sparta’s

victory in the Peloponnesian War•led to a civil war of sorts inside Greece•the rise of Thebes•the Battle of Leuctra(371 BCE): “the graveyard

of the Spart•the rise of Macedon•especially, Philip II•defeated the combined forces of the southern

Greeks at Chaeronea(338 BCE)•but Philip was assassinated (336 BCE)

Later Greek Comedy

 

•and Alexanderassumed Philip’s throne, saddled up and rode east Alexander’s conquests opened up the East to Greek cultural colonization•the Greek language began to evolve into a vernacular dialect called koine•the Greeks were, in general, richer than ever before–but depressed –and disoriented (get it?)an aristocracy”

•rise of many new philosophies•Stoicism: be unemotional and trust

that the universe has a plan•Epicureanism: retreat behind garden

walls and avoid pain

Philosophy in the Hellenistic Age

Art in the Hellenistic Age•all this led to drastic changes in art•e.g. statuary focuses on violence/pain•technically brilliant but hollow

•tragedy faltered, collapsed and died–though revivals of “old”tragedies from

the Classical Age still had a huge following•comedy survived by inventing the sit-com•also, mimethrived but did not peak —

yet!–still too bawdy and low-brow for most

viewers–drama would not sink as low as mime—at

least,

 

Post-Classical Drama

measures–e.g. fewer choruses (or new odes)–also, the end of the parabasis–and the end of thephallus•also, less direct assault on those in

power•instead, comedies ridiculed figures in

myth

no play extant from 388 to 316 BCE•this period is called “Middle

Comedy”•but we can judge from the outcome

what must have happened–especially, the development of stock

character types–e.g. braggart soldier, greedy

prostitute, young lover, stingy old man, etc.

the “father of New Comedy”•later comic poets used his melodramatic

style, particularly in crafting complex plots•but no choruses (i.e. written by

dramatists)–only four “choral interludes”(> five acts)–Aristotle called these songs

embolima(“throw-ins”)–but were they unrelated to the plot?

Euripides

•greatest author of Middle Comedy was Alexis of Thurii

•no play of his survives entire–but many fragments–and the Greek original of

Plautus’Poenulus?•invented the character of the parasite–parasitos(“priest’s assistant”)

•by late 300’s BCE, New Comedyappears

–many playwrights from outside Greece•based on common domestic concerns–e.g. family, wealth, being a good

neighbor•but built around extraordinary

coincidences, like Euripides’rescue plays

–e.g. recovery of long-lost children

•New Comedy was seen to reflect life in the day realistically

•thus, it also shaped life in Hellenistic Greece

–e.g. offered a more optimistic and hopeful view of life than that of Stoics/Epicureans

•but still another “garden wall”for Greeks desperate to flee from the world at large

New Comedy

•three great exponents of New Comedy–cf. the triad of classical tragedians•Philemon(ca. 368-267 BCE)–won most often at the Dionysia–much reflection on philosophy•Diphilus(ca. 360-290 BCE)–from Sinope(on the shore of the Black

Sea)–famous for farce and physical comedy

An ancient bust of Diphilus

•but the “star of New Comedy”was Menander(ca. 344-291 BCE)

–however, only considered best after his lifetime, cf. Euripides

•his plays, however, were not carried down through a manuscript tradition

–his Greek is later (not classical) so his drama was not used in training medieval schoolboys

Menander

yet much of his work has been found among the papyri unearthed in Egypt

–very popular reading even long after his death

•one complete play (Dyscolus, “The Grouch”) and many sizeable fragments

–more than half of Samia, Epitrepontes, Aspis

–less than half of Sicyonius, Misoumenos, Perikeiromene

Post-Classical Theatre

•evolution toward the inclusion of drama in more festivals

•festivals also became panhellenic•the general collapse of civic pride in

Greece led to fewer choregoi•which, in turn, forced the creation of the

agonothetes(“dramatic-contest official”)

Changes in Festivals

•the rise of mega-stars like Polus–very popular around the known world!•also, the formation of The Artists of

Dionysus, a union overseeing the interests of theatre professionals

–especially those who went on tour– the usefulness of the three-actor rule

and embolimato

Changes in Actors and Acting

•new technical devices–bronteion: thunder–keraunoskopeion: lightning–“Charon’ssteps”: dead rising from

tombs•many different types of theatres–some are larger than the Theatre of

Dionysus (Ephesus)–others are smaller (Delphi)

Changes in Theatre

The Theatre of Ephesus

The Theatre of Delphi

•a low-brow form of entertainment–not popular during the Classical Age,

even though it is attested that far back

–nor even during the Post-Classical Age

•rose to prominence in the Roman period

Mime

highly variable in form and tone–mostly raucous, indecorous, full of

slapstick–but later mime could be philosophical•and may not even have been performed•only one principal performer (archimime)–who played all the speaking parts!•mime was what the early Christian fathers

despised and protested against so much

•we owe a great debt to the Romans in terms of culture, language, politics, DNA

•and also theatre, but only in certain ways–Greek terms: theatre, drama, tragedy, comedy,

critic, theory, program, orchestration

•but the Romans were, on the whole, not innovators in theatre or drama

–they were mostly transmitters of Greek culture•Roman drama was largely dependent on its

inimitable Greek forebear–to the Romans, theatre was a diversion and form

of leisure, cf. neg-otium(“no business”)–not an art to be taken seriously per se

Overview of Roman Drama

the works of only three Roman playwrights have been preserved whole

–Plautus(fl. 208-186 BCE): 19 comedies based on Greek originals by a variety of New Comedy dramatists (Middle Comedy?)

–Terence(fl. 166-160 BCE): 6 comedies, all from Menander and Apollodorusof Carystus

–Seneca(4 BCE-65 CE): 8 tragedies based on Greek tragedy, 1 fabulapraetexta

Native Italian drama Native Italian drama (pre-240 BCE)

–Fescennineverses, phlyaces, AtellanfarceLiterary Drama Literary Drama (240-100

BCE)–Plautus and Terence, Republican

tragediansPopular Entertainment Popular

Entertainment (100 BCE-476CE)–circuses, spectacles, mime (Seneca)

The Phases of Roman Theatre and Drama

•there is a major discrepancy between the textual and material evidence

–the majority of Roman drama comes from the late Republic (late 200’s/early 100’s BCE)

•Seneca’s tragedies are later but it is questionable whether they were designed for performance

–all existing Roman theatres—and depictions of them!—date to after the 100’s BCE

The Evidence for Roman Theatre and Drama

•the earliest attested forms of Roman entertainment come from the Etruscans, e.g. gladiatorial combat

–Etruscan ister> Latin histrio histrio (cf. histrionics)

–Etruscan phersu> Latin persona persona (cf. person, personality)

Native Italian Drama

scenes of merriment on Etruscan tombs

–crude clowns improvising alternating verses

–cf. early Greek komos—is this a “history”concocted in the absence of real data? hilarotragodia hilarotragodia (or phlyaces/phlyaxplays)

–no scripts preserved–and only one author’s name and play titles

are cited: Rhinthon Rhinthon of Syracuse of Syracuse

Fescennine Fescennine verses verses (from Fescennium Fescennium)

•no permanent (stone/concrete) theatre in the city of Rome until 55 BCE

–the Theatre of Pompey•before that, all theatres were “temporary”–i.e. made of wood, but not necessarily

cheap!–these are now impossible to reconstruct•all the same, theatres existed throughout

the rest of the Roman world

Roman Theatre

•all extant theatres date to the first century BCE and later

•when the Romans began to use concrete

•thus, they could be situated downtown