Roman Vs. Roman Theater

Ancient Greek theatre performed when there were special occasions also known as festivals. Ancient Greek theatre actors were played

Ancient Rome is one of the greatest and most influential societies in the history of the world. From the basic rules of how the Roman Empire is set up to the infrastructures in the city, the strict hierarchy of Roman social structure can be reflected clearly all over the whole ancient Rome. In fact that “public architecture presents people with the official view of a society and provides the background against which its individual markers live their lives.”1 With the great desire of Roman for entertainment and their special taste for blood, the amphitheatre is considered as the most popular and most representative type of the entertainment building in the ancient Roman culture. And

Comedy has played a great role in the history of literature. It has created a professional entertainment which includes jokes, humorous plays, and comic characters to make audience laugh. In early Roman republic, slaves used to take parts in comedy. They used to represent the relationship between slaves and masters by creating hilarious skits or sketches. The comedy was invented as a Greek art form. The Greek comedy was later adapted by Roman Empire. The Roman Empire started with the earliest settlement in the Tiber River that flows through the city called Rome. Roman Empire was founded by twin sons Romulus and Remus in 753 BC. There are many famous Roman comedy playwrights like Plautus and Terence. Plautus was Roman playwright that has written different types of comedies.

Roman culture was based on cultures of its neighboring societies mainly the Greeks and Etruscans, with such a blended culture the Romans took everything that that had learned and adopted and became one of the most advanced societies of it time. Using its advance knowledge and vast empire to spread the roman culture around the globe.

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)

Along with the paintings, Romans had a wide variety of other arts ranging in many different fields of interest. For example, the wealthy owned papyrus scrolls and other documents that they read (Nardo, 70). Music also spread joy and was even played at special occasions, like weddings, as it is today in addition to formal concerts and theaters. Moreover, plays and theatrical arts were performed on stages by prominent actors of the field and written by even more famous writers, like Plautus and Terence (Hinds, 31). Art also played a role in advancing the society through architecture, like the famous arches found along theaters, bridges, and other great structures. But most importantly, the Romans cherished

In the Roman Empire, culture was almost solely dependent on the several forms of entertainment, which consisted of various sports along with theatre. Panem et circenses, meaning “bread and circuses”, was penned by the Roman poet Juvenal who wrote that those were the only two things the people “anxiously desire”. The phrase is used by Juvenal to deplore/condemn the declining heroism of the Romans after the Roman Republic ceased to exist and the heavy-handed Roman Empire began. The government kept the Roman populace happy by disrupting free food (bread) and staging huge spectacles (circuses). Spectacle, or spectaculum - meaning “a show”, is a term of art in theatre, referring to an event that is memorable for the appearance it creates. Playwrights would use humour in their plays to connect with the audience as a chorus of laughter meant that the audience were attentive. As a playwright’s main focus was to entertain and teach, the attention of the audience was essential. Roman dramatists like Plautus incorporated humour in many of his plays to achieve the praise of audiences.

I never took myself as much of an actress, even though I chose the role. Every day, I go in the dressing room and put on my costume. My hair and makeup were done, and it’s show time. The bright spotlight comes directly onto me. The curtains open and it begins. I give the performance of a lifetime. It’s amazing how much the audience believes the story they’re being told. They’re gullible, but they’re not dumb. They know when the show goes sideways and that’s when they begin to ask questions. As always, I reassure them nothing is wrong, and the act is a hit. The curtains close, I return to my dressing room, and I take off the costume. I wish I could give the role back.

Throughout this report, the uses and the importance that the arena had on Roman society will be discussed as well as the various factors in which it was allowed to do so. Using historical documents and sources the goal is to inform the reader in why the arena was so important to Roman society. The Colosseum, known as the Flavian Amphitheater and located just east of the Roman forum, is a massive stone arena that was commissioned around A. D. 70-72 by Emperor Vespasian. The iconic arena would not have been as popular as it is today if it wasn’t for the gladiatorial combats and wild animal fights which took place. The arena had a very important role in Roman society having a huge influence on the political side of Rome; the social ranking system and it gave the people a source of entertainment.

For example, two essential forms of Roman architecture that presents the Romanitas cultural ideas are the Roman theaters and the Roman baths. The famous Roman baths were very common among the entire empire, and was an important evolutionary form of architecture because it was the first dome structured architectural building in the Roman culture. The Roman baths were essential to their culture and belief system because they helped express the history of Rome and the art of architecture. Another form of architecture that is important to Romanitas is the Roman theaters that held shows, political practices, and entertainment to the Roman community and gave the people of Rome the opportunity to express their political and social emotions. Although the Roman baths and the Roman theaters are designed differently and include different cultural practices, both buildings are an advancement in architecture and the Roman

The Ancient Roman’s had a wicked idea of entertainment. The Colosseum or Coliseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, is an elliptical amphitheater in the center of the city of Rome, Italy. Built of concrete and stone, it is the largest amphitheater ever built and is considered one of the greatest works of architecture and engineering. The Roman Colosseum, constructed in 79 AD, is a visual representation of the importance of physical strength and military proficiency in Ancient Roman civilization, this is because it was constructed to revel Rome’s military accomplishments and to provide entertainment for Roman citizens. Many events prompted the construction of the Roman Colosseum.

Mythology and domestic life also had major impacts on the way Roman theatre evolved over years. Each influence had their own special thing about them that when added to Rome 's theatre, slowly created a wonderful art that still remains today.

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

This new building type differed in striking ways from the traditional Greek theater. The latter consisted of two separate structures: a horseshoe-shaped seating area and a freestanding stage-building. The Roman theater, in contrast, was a fully enclosed edifice, unroofed but often covered with awnings on performance days. The seating area in the Greek theater was supported against a natural hillside, whereas the Roman theater was carried at least in part on concrete vaults, which provided access from the exterior of the building to the cavea. In the Hellenistic world, the stage-building was a relatively low structure, ornamented with painted panels but rarely with large-scale sculpture.

Madam shall we go to the theatre now so that we can get good seats?"