Theater of the Ancient Greeks. Where is the evidence? Vases

Theater of the Ancient Greeks

Where is the evidence?Vases

Where is the evidence?Plays

Where is the evidence?Architecture

Dionysus, the god of wine and the cycle of the seasons, became associated with the theatre festival of the Greeks, called the City Dionysia.

Theatre in Athens

A complete event: civic, religious, historic, entertaining, social, competitive

The height of Greek theatre was in the 5th Century BC

Theatre at Epidauros

Plays performed outdoors

All male cast

Actors wore masks, costumes, raised shoes

Competition for best play

A minimal number of featured performers on stage at a time…2, 3, or 4

A large chorus of about 15 performed songs and dances

Aristotle (384-322-BCE)

Wrote an important description of the theatre of the generation before him: The Poetics

We only have a fragmentHe deals only with tragedy, which he says derives from “goat song”.

A great tragedy has unity of action

Sophocles: Oedipus Rex

Euripides: Electra

Aeschylus: The Oresteia

Important Figures from

the

Theatre of the Greeks

Oedipus and the Sphinx

Theatre words from the Greek

Skene: the building behind the acting areaParados: the procession of the chorus

Orkestra: the acting area

Chorus: the group of actors commenting on the action

Theatron: the seating area

Antagonist and Protagonist

Thespis: the “first” actor (534 BCE)

Producing Greek Theatre Today