Theatre Tradition In The Renaissance Theatre

The Renaissance, which is French for the word “rebirth” or “revival”, was the cultural bloom for Europe. Before this era, life was an everyday battle, facing warfare, poverty, and disease. Starting in around 1400 C.E and lasting until about 1700 C.E, the Renaissance brought about new philosophies, lifestyles, and ideas that changed the world forever. The Renaissance changed the way people saw the world and their place in it by focusing more on education and decreasing religion’s importance.

The Renaissance occurred in Europe between 1400 and 1600. This event began in Italy during the Medieval period and then expanded to the rest of Europe, marking the start of the Modern age. The Renaissance began in Florence Italy in the 14th century. It was a cultural movement that had an enormous impact in Europe during the early modern period. The Renaissance’s influenced politics, science, literature, art, philosophy, religion, music, and other aspects. Around the 13th century in Italy started the Renaissance’s art influence. Leonardo da Vinci, was known as the "Renaissance man," because of his art masterpieces and his studies in other fields during this time. Italy wasn’t a political concept in the

The Renaissance was a time of change. It began in Italy during the 14th century, and spread throughout the North. People all over Europe were affected, for the better and for the worse. Some people finally had a chance to

The Renaissance period began in Italy around 1300 and spread throughout Europe during the 1400 and 1500’s. This period signified the beginning path to incredible change in customs, ways of life and institutions that had existed in Europe for almost a thousand years. Many of the new ideas of this period still influence our lives today.

Renaissance is a French term meaning rebirth or revival. Renaissance period in the history of Europe starts from the beginning of 15th century to the end of 16th century. The Renaissance manifested the transitional phase from the medieval ages to the modern era. It was a time of social and cultural changes in Europe. It is believed to be the beginning of the modern world and hence the new phase of the political system arrived. Along with society and culture, politics also changed.

the Renaissance, the first period, emerging as a distinct style in Italy in about 1400, in parallel with developments which occurred in philosophy, literature, music and science. Renaissance art, perceived as a royalty of ancient traditions, took as its foundation the art of Classical antiquity, but transformed that tradition by the absorption of recent developments in the art of Northern Europe and by application of contemporary scientific knowledge. Renaissance art, with Renaissance Humanist philosophy, spread throughout Europe, affecting both artists and their patrons with the development of new techniques and new artistic sensibilities. Renaissance art marks the transition of Europe from the medieval period to the

The Italian Renaissance is the “rebirth” of new ideas based on classical teachings. The Italian Renaissance gave birth to many innovations in theater architecture and scene design, including the proscenium arch stage, painted-flat wings and shutters, and Torelli’s mechanized pole-and-chariot system. In addition, the Italian Renaissance saw the development of the neoclassical rules of dramatic structure, and of opera and Commedia dell’arte. Between the 14th and 16th centuries Renaissance drama developed in Italy, marking an end to medieval practices and a release of traditional Roman ways of presenting drama. (Web.) The three major Renaissance contributions to Theatre were one, Neoclassical ideal in playwriting and criticism, two, Italianate staging and architecture, and three, Commedia dell’arte. By 1600, this rebirth had moved to other parts of Europe. It remained dominant for over 200 years, especially among upper classes.

The Renaissance was a rebirth of the ideas of ancient Greece and Rome that began in the City States of Italy during the 14th century. The cultural resurgence began a new style of living in Europe after the horrors of the black death, and is seen as the beginning of the culture of the modern world. As Wassace K. Ferguson put in his book The Renaissance, the Italian artists grew tired of the darkness of Medieval Times and began to turn to the brighter times found in the classical ages (Doc 7). The Renaissance served as the evolutionary bridge between the Middle Ages and the 17th century through art, education, and religion by bringing a rebirth of the ancient Greek and Roman classics that would later define the world’s culture, while continuing the underlying beliefs of Medieval Times.

The Renaissance was a period of great cultural and technological changes that swept Europe from the end of the 13th century. It was integral in developing Europe into a powerhouse. Although, each part of Europe was subjected to different changes, there were two primary renaissances, which were most notable. They were the Italian and the Northern renaissance. Both of these renaissances had a profound impact on Europe. But they also had some typical differences among them and each was unique in its own way.

Roman theatre initially began in 240 BC when Greek theatre was discovered and translated to Latin, then being brought to Rome. The first drama was held at Ludi Romani, the Roman Festival or the Roman Games. This occurred just before Rome became an empire in 27BC. There were many types of these festivals during a year for all sorts of reasons according to history. Theatre was, and is a diverse art form. It ranged from festival performances, street theatre, and acrobatics to eloquent tragedies.

There is a high room where the play was actually performed and a low room where the actors would change in costume. The wagon would be mounted on six wheels and the height of the structure would be 15feet, 9 of which would be used for playing space. Medieval stages and sets were designed to be temporary, meaning upon the completion of the play the stage production was expected to be removed. Plays like the Wakefield cycle or the Digby Magdalene would utilize as much spacing as possible. The actors would move on the wide spaces on the front of the stage which were elevated, and two actors generally moved between them to suggest a scene-change. Another stage that was utilize during this time period was mansions, which originated within churches. They are a small wooden platform with a covering over them when they were inside the church. Their Theatre purpose was to represent specific locations and the actors would move between them. The acting area was called the platea, and the platea would take on a scenic identity. Unlike in church where the mansion was stationary in theatre both the actor and supporters would

The renaissance was considered the rebirth of Europe yet many civilians did not know the importance of what was occurring all around them. Europe has had many conquerors, rulers, kings, and emperors throughout history and with each new powerhouse came a new view that spread like wildfire throughout the continent. From the time of the Greeks and Romans views of intellect and divine beauty of the human body, to the Church dominating Europe through many variations of the “word of God,” views changed and evolved or were eliminated all together. The renaissance spread at different rates through each individual country. For example, Italy produced what may be considered the greatest artists and artworks of all time.

The Renaissance time period took place during the 14th and the 16th centuries it began in Europe. The Renaissance was a time of art, open ideas, and new beginnings. Before this time there was the Middle Ages. Then it was not a good time at all, it was full of sickness, disease, death, and the plague it killed almost half of Europe’s population. After the plague slowly decreased the population in Europe started to grow. Lots of new things started to happen. Like Bankers Merchants, and Tradespeople had a new market for their services. People became wealthier and had more money to spend. People began to build much bigger houses and buy more expensive clothes and people became more interested in the art and liturature.

“In roughly built playhouses and cobblestone inn yards, an extraordinary development took place in England in the 1500s.” (Yancey, 8). At that time, an opportunity combined to produce literature achievement never before witnessed in the history of drama and theater. The renaissance, helped spark this movement by inspiring scientific and artistic creativity throughout the land. Models began writing dramas that portrayed life in both realistic and imaginative ways. This created work later captured the attention of the world that changed the English drama. The many aspects of Elizabethan theater helped to shape the acting and theater world forever.

There were other amenities that were lacking for the theaters. Almost all the lighting for the theater was natural light. This meant that most plays would have to be show during the daytime. The theaters did not have heating either. In the winter months they would have to shut the theater down and be transferred to indoor playhouses. This actually helped boost popularity because it gave the people something to do during the cold winter months since it was inside. There were no microphones or soundboards to be able to hear so actors had to speak loudly and clearly. Unfortunately, there were also no toilets at the theater. “But there were no toilets and the floor they stood on was probably just sand, ash or covered in nutshells” (Shakespeare Globe Education). During the summer hours when it would become real hot the pit would be called the “stinkards.”