Greek Theatre Essay

The theaters of that time did not use scenery but focused their efforts on costumes and special effects. They consistently used fireworks, trap doors, and dramatic flying entrances. Unlike today’s theaters, they were open-air and used natural light, with performances occurring in the afternoon hours. The theater’s circular structure surrounded a central rectangular stage (Thomas). The behavior of the audience often became very rowdy, joining in on the action occurring on stage, threw rotting vegetables at the actors (Thomas). This theatrical atmosphere forced him to write with an interactive, responsive audience in mind, drawing out emotion and passion in each scene

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 first plays were performed in the Theatre of Dionysus, built in the shadow of the Acropolis in Athens at the beginning of the 5th century, but theatres proved to be so popular they soon spread all over Greece. In 525 B.C. Aeschylus was born, and he grew up in Eleusis. According to Aeschylus, when he dozed off, Dionysus appeared to him in a dream and ordered him to write tragedies. The 26 year old Aeschylus began a tragedy the next morning, but his first play was not his best. There were many different people and contributions that helped theatre evolve but Aeschylus would be the first to bestow new customs to the theatrical world.

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

“Comedy based on Greek life followed the costuming conventions of Greek new comedy, for which Athenian dress was adapted… tragedies on Greek themes probably followed the conventions of the Hellenistic Greek theater…” (Brockett and

With these many events that would change the world forever came changes in the theater that would change it forever, too. James Burbage, a prominent Elizabethan actor, built the first Elizabethan playhouse and called it the Theatre (Yancey 25). The Theatre, built in 1576, would go on to set a precedent in the design of all playhouses of the era (Senn). The building was probably round or octagonal and had no ceiling so as to let in natural light since no efficient artificial lighting had been invented at this point in time (Yancey 25). Because of the need for natural light during plays, most performances took place during the afternoon (Yancey 29). On the inside of the Theatre, the stage extended to be a raised rectangle that took up about half of the ground floor (Yancey 30). Above it was a balcony on which acting could occur, such as the balcony scene from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (Yancey 31). Finally, past the back end of the stage was a concealed room called the Tiring House that served as storage for props and a dressing room for any actors during a performance (Senn).

Among the many inventions of the ancient Greeks, there have been a few that have specifically impacted modern day life for the better. Many of the things that are taken for granted today can be accredited to the intellectual minds of the people of ancient Greece. Our complicated plumbing and sewage systems that manage sanitation in most of the cities in the world have their roots in ancient society. The earliest concept of the crane was also developed during this time. Every successful society thrived on expansion, and one could not expand without the building of new structures; the invention of the crane and its evolution sped up this process of industrialization for societies to come. Despite these great

Our dramas, plays and theatres today are all originally inspired by the classic Greek theatres. The classic Greek theatres can be said as the pioneer in theatricals. As early as 700 B.C., ancient Greek theatre was originated. There are four qualities of ancient Greek theatre which are the occasions for its performance, competitive element, choral element and the basis of the theatre.

The space was a well-constructed thrust stage however, the stage was not raised off the ground and the seats appeared to be mobile which lead to the belief that this is an Environmental Theater. As for the layout of the stage, there was a couch and a table in center stage for the first two acts, a door to the unseen outside front of the house upstage right, there were two large double doors upstage center leading to the backyard garden, and a raised floor upstage left containing a piano, a bookcase

There were two main areas that plays were typically held. One of them being Mansions, which aren’t the mansions we know today. Theses mansions were small scenic structures, for example, a throne may be the palace of Pilate. Another main area they were held was a Platea, which is a general acting area, neighboring a mansion. The mansion and platea were loaned from the church services (Trumbull, 2007).

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.

But before the amphitheatres there were inn-yards. The Elizabethan Inn-yards were a fore-runner to Elizabethan Theatres - such as the Globe Theatre. Elizabethan Inns were always popular. Not only did they provide alcohol but they also provided rooms and lodgings for the Elizabethan traveller. All of these amphitheatres consisted of a large open space in which the audience would stand. This open space was called the pit and was meant for those people who couldn’t afford a proper seat within the theatre itself, this would usually cost only one penny. These audience members were called the “understanders” as they were not as educated and high class. Behind the ‘understanders’ would be three rings of galleries, one above the other, each nine or ten feet high, where the people were prepared to pay a little more for a better seat and cushions. For the upper class there were special seats, or rooms called the “lords rooms” which were positioned above the entrances of the stage. Even though the seats were poor for watching the play itself they were mainly to show the others their privilege. The stage itself was a “proscenium-arch” stage, putting the scenes into a pictorial frame allowing the audience to have a clear perspective of where to look at. Restoration theatres came into existence in 1660. The picture-frame stage is the basis of most modern staging and certainly the model for all cinema and television

Greek theater can be considered to be one of the building blocks for our theater today. The advancements that the Greeks possessed in the early fifth century were the start of western theater. The Greeks were heavily involved with religion and religious festivals, comedies, tragedies, climatic drama, and took the outdoor amphitheater and made many improvements to its structure.