Ancient theatre - Theatre I

Ancient TheatreAncient TheatreEgyptian, Greek, and RomanEgyptian, Greek, and Roman

How do we know history happened?

Someone thought it was important enough to write down.

First recorded performance

Passion Play of Abydos

Ancient Egyptian Myth of Horus

Ikhernofret Stela

2500 BCE

Greek Theatre

City Dionysia - 600 BCE

Honored the God DionysusGod of Wine

Dionysian Festival

Started as a singing competition between tribes.

Tragos - Goat; Ode - Song (literally Goat Song)

Eventually evolved toward play performance competition.

Mask of Dionysus

Thespis

Credited as the first actor.

Stepped out the Chorus and began responding to them.

As the festival evolved the rules limited the number of actors outside of the chorus.

Three Major Tragedians

Sophocles - Theban Plays

Aeschylus - Agamemnon, Prometheus Bound, Libation Bearers

Euripides - Madea, Trojan Woman, Hippolytus

Euripides added intrigue to stories

Greek comedy

Made fun of society. Comes much later than tragedy.

Aristophanes - The Clouds, The Birds, Lysistrata

Greek Theatre Architecture

Usually an outdoor amphitheater.

Aristotle

Greek Philospher

Poetics - Outlined what makes a good story and in turn what makes a good play.

Six elements of Drama - Plot, Character, Theme, Language, Rhythm, Spectacle

Elements of Drama

Plot - The events of a story

Character - Persons or things involved in those events

Theme - Idea the story represents

Elements of Drama

Rhythm/Music

Language/Diction

Spectacle

PaperMan

Roman Theatre

Mostly copied the greeks.

Surviving playwrights

Terrence - Comic Playwright, Adelphoe(The Brothers)

Plautus - Comic Playwright, Manaechmi

Seneca - Tragedy, adapted greek tragedies for Roman Audience.

A Roman Culture evolved

Rome moved from a Republic to an Emperor

As this happened their tastes moved from live theatre toward more violent entertainments

Bloodsport, gladiators, and Chariot races.