Difference between Greek and Modern Theatres

These shaped the way these immaculate plays were executed. The theater was always set up using a very specific format. The plays that were performed, usually only during late Winter and early Spring, always took place in an open air theater that was built into the side of a hill. These theaters could seat up to 15,000 people, (“A Trip to the Theatre”). The seats were set up along the hillside in an arrangement called the theatron, (“Structure of the Greek Theater”).

Throughout the history of Greek Theatre, the ekkyklema is considered as one of the most important devices used in Greek tragedies. Literally, translated to “thing that rolls out” (didaskalia.net), it was presented ‘to the Attic Stage during the 5th century’ and served an important function of displaying dead bodies of fallen characters. The ekkyklema proved to be a crucial component to the stage environment because it ‘provided directors a mean of clarifying the action’ (britannica.com). In Greek theatre, violence was forbidden to be acted out, so directors needed to create a new medium in which the act of killing could be implied. With the help of the ekkyklema, scenes that included death could now be carried out with ease.

This is a must watch Broadway show that makes your fine, terrible, or even boring day, an absolute blast. The Play That Goes Wrong has finally made its way to America and right at the heart of New York City near Times Square at the Lyceum Theatre. Therefore, the experience is a win-win situation for the audience. The Lyceum Theatre’s architecture is astonishing as it is filled with ornaments, I also realized the letter ‘L’ around the theater, but the most interesting fact is that it is a landmark. It has a proscenium stage while the audience is in the orchestra, balcony, or the mezzanine seats, like where I sat, and there is barely any space if you are a tall person. My seat was near the far end of mezzanine, I couldn’t see a part of the left side of the stage, so I found myself bending sideways to see what was going on, but I saw nothing. I found the side stage lights and a side balcony blocking my view and yet I had a great time.

Theatre became important to Greek cultures when it became a part of the festival honoring the god Dionysus (The god of wine and fertility).”( Greek Mythology in Theater by Bruce Tucker October 27, 2016) The theater festival was founded to bring unity among the Attican tribes.( Greek Mythology in Theater by Bruce Tucker October 27, 2016) Athens was the main center of these traditions. Everyone came to sing and dance in hope for a good harvest. At one point, a Greek named Thespis began to sing praises to the god, with others responding, which led to the actor and chorus. During the festival everyone would dance and sing in a circle, in the middle of which was the altar to Dionysus. Over time the festivals started giving thanks to other themes, and eventually had nothing to do with Dionysus or any god, but began to turn into classical Greek plays. (First Ancient History, Oxford University Press 2000 pg.166)

Theatre  represented  a  culture  and  values  found  in  Greek  society.  Theatre  was  also  a  way  for

The Greeks were known for giving offerings to their gods. They decided to build a theater where they could give their offerings. Although the main thing that they used it for was giving offerings, it was also used for some other things. This paper will be talking about Greek drama genres, why theater was so important, and how they make their voices heard.

The scaenae frons was a high back wall of the stage floor, supported by columns. The proscaenium was a wall that supported the front edge of the stage with ornately decorated niches off to the sides. The Hellenistic influence is seen through the use of the proscaenium. The Roman theatre also had a podium, which sometimes supported the columns of the scaenae frons. The theatre itself was divided into the stage (orchestra) and the seating section (auditorium). Vomitoria or entrances and exits were made available to the audience.[2]

The theatre that you are most familiar with today generally comes via the movie version of an originally staged play. But if we go back further, we find that most of the theatre that is written and performed today can be traced back to Greek origins through various

Ancient Greek Theater is the first historical record of “drama,” which is the Greek term meaning “to do” or “to act.” Beginning in the 5th century BC, Greek Theater developed into an art that is still used today. During the golden age of the Athenians plays were created, plays that are considered among the greatest works of world drama. Today there are thousands of well-known plays and films based on the re-make of ancient drama.

A way the greeks past the time was theatre performances. They were a big part of their lives. The theatres were mostly built into the side of a hill.Some of the theatres they made could sit tens of thousands of people.

Roman theater, or Ludi scaenici 1, were originally used to pay respect to the gods at festivals as one of the many attractions available suchh as athletic games and gladiators. This festival was not only to honor gods as aediles used this time to increase their positive standing with the Roman citizens during their time as aediles, although this was apart of their civil duty the resources put into these festivals usually excedded the requirements. These festivals were held all throughout the roman empire allowing theater to become a common thing. Before the grand theater of Marcellus and the Pompeii theater, simple temporary stages that consisted of “ a simple raised platform for performance, and a backdrop of wood or cloth...[, and] Stairs ...

Another important part of ancient Greece’s culture that survives to this day in Greece is the open-air theatre, with the earliest dating back to around 300 BC. The Greek theatre history began with festivals honouring the Greek gods. Athens was the main city in greece for these theatrical traditions. Athenians trveled and spread these festivals to its numerous cities in an attempt to promote their cultural own identity. At the early Greek festivals, the actors and directors were all the same person. After some time, only three actors were allowed to perform in each play. Later in time non-speaking roles were allowed to perform on-stage, but these were mearley to fill space. Due to limited number of actors allowed on stage during a production, this made the actors that were on stage all that bit more important to the spectators, the audience became involved and the theatre meant alot to many people in ancient Greece at the

The architecture of a theater is complicated, especially in ancient times, because the design must allow sound to travel through a large amount of space and allow a large audience to view the scenery. The two theaters have few similarities, such as the staircase style seats where the rows increase in height. The two theaters were built in two different time periods and therefore very different in technology and style. The Henegar Center is laid out in a proscenium style. A proscenium style stage is where there is an arch around the stage allowing the sound to travel in a single direction to the audience in front of the performers. On the other hand, the Theater of Epidaurus was laid out in a semi-circle with the stage at the lowest, most center point.

Theatre is an art that transcends time and builds a new world for the audience atop the stage. A play is defined as “a dramatic composition” or “the stage representation of an action or story” (The Merriam-Webster Dictionary). This refers to drama being performed live by actors on a stage. Ancient Greece is accredited to inventing theatre and drama. In Greece during that time, at the height of popularity, were the stories of the well known flawed heroes and their journeys.

Although now a days all types of stages are used for the performance. But the theatre what we are using now a days is rectangular as suggested in Natyasastra. It suggests the performance in enclosed area because in those days the attacks of demons at theatre were common but now a days the performance takes place in enclosed area due to the reason of technicalities. In enclosed area all the illusionary realistic effects can be created through lights and sounds. In these days the fashion of theatre is of proscenium theatre which demands enclosed area.