Creating a Professional TheatreElizabethan England, Italian Commedia dell’Arte, and

Seventeenth-Century France

COM 103 NCSU

JOHN T. HALL, JD

Creating a Professional Theatre

• Renaissance: revived interest in classical theatre of Greece and Rome

• Decree in 1558: plays on religious and political subjects banned

• New subjects: classical literature, historical chronicles, legends

• Patronage: church and state withdraw support; theatre becomes commercial enterprise

Commercial Theatre

Professional Groups:– Had to perform often– Had to have a large stock of plays to

sustain audience interest– Had to play in space large enough to

accommodate sizeable paying audience; had to control access to space

– Had to control all production elements– Had to assemble company that could

work full time

Commercial Theatre

Professional Groups:

– Acting was not considered an acceptable profession

– Because acting did not fit into the guild system, actors were considered “masterless men”

– Companies petitioned noblemen to serve as patrons

• Patronage legitimized companies to an extent

• Patrons provided little financial support

• Companies had to be licensed

• Plays had to be approved

A “PATRON” THEATRE

Elizabethan Theatre

Companies:

– Always two to four active companies in/around London (1580s-1642)

– Performed six days per week - afternoons

– Usually changed show bill every day

– During the 1590s, a London company averaged a new play every 17 days

– Average life of play = 10 performances

– Writers sold plays to companies for one-time fee [No royalty system]

• 1596

Drawing of

the Swan Theatre

The Globe Theatre

• Used by Shakespeare’s company after 1599• Round with exterior diameter of 99 ft.• 3 levels of roofed galleries enclosing open

space• The yard = open space enclosed by

galleries; 74 ft. in diameter• The stage = 41 ft. 3 in. wide x 24 ft. 9 in.

deep x 5 ft. above yard; extended to middle of yard; viewed from 3 sides

The Globe Theatre

The Globe Theatre

Theatrical Conventions:

Properties brought onto stage when needed (throne, bed)

• Façade served as backdrop for all performances; location clarified by dialogue: “spoken décor”

• Most characters were costumed in contemporary Elizabethan dress

• Companies composed of approximately 25 members:

– Shareholders

– Hired men

– Apprentices

The Globe Theatre

Theatrical Conventions:

• All roles male actors• Performance style somewhat realistic –

representational?• No masks, except as disguises• Music: Marked entrances of royalty,

Attention to important announcements, Signals in battles, Accompanied songs, dances

• Most performances concluded with jig = short, lively music-and-dance piece

The Globe Theatre Theatrical Conventions

Admission fee = viewing location– Cheapest = pit [One penny –

income to players]– Moderate = galleries [Two pennies

– to owner]– Expensive = boxes, “lord’s rooms”

[Three pence – owner] [Place to be “seen]

• No intermissions• Vendors sold wine, beer, ale, nuts,

fruit, playing cards• Atmosphere like modern sports

events

“SWEAR!’On battlements after seeing ghost. Note costuming

“THE PLAY’S THE THING…”“The mousetrap”

“Alas, poor Yorick ….”In Ophelia’s grave

Laertes and Hamlet DuelNote modern backdrop, portrait of King Claudius

Theatre in Renaissance Italy

• Beginning in the 14th century, Renaissance = revived interest in theatre of Greece and Rome

• Early 16th century, plays imitating classical forms were written in Italian

• Performed at court festivals

• Reliance on classical sources, especially De Architectura by Vitruvius

Theatre in Renaissance Italy

Principles of perspective drawing (developed in 15th century) added to scenery (in 16th century)

Movement away from formal stage to representational, pictorial stage

One Picture painted on 3 elements: wings, backdrops, overhead borders

Floor of stage raked towards back –Gave us “up stage,” down stage”

Intro. proscenium arch, a frame to complete the picture – 4th wall

Need mechanisms to shift scenery

Theatre in Renaissance Italy

• Intermezzi = interludes performed between the acts of regular plays [Think “Satyr”]• Suggested parallels between

mythological figure and the person being honored at the festival

• Features music and dance• Elaborate special effects

• Opera = combined drama, music, dance, spectacle, special effects - Originated in the 1590s

Commedia dell’Arte

• Commedia dell’Arte = comedy of professional artists

• Actor as most essential element of this form• Adaptable: could perform virtually any

space, with or without scenery• Scenario = summary of situations,

complications, outcome; functioned as script [No actual script]

• Improvisation: the distinguishing feature of commedia

• Lazzi: bits of comic business

Commedia dell’Arte

• Troupes averaged 10-12 members

• Performers were both male and female

• Troupes traveled frequently

• Most popular from 1575 to 1650, but continued into late 18th century

• Numerous scenarios have survived

Commedia dell’Arte

Stock Characters1. Lovers: Most realistic roles - did

not wear masks - Dressed fashionably

2. Masters: 3 recurred most often• Pantalone: elderly merchant -

Dottore: lawyer or doctor - Capitano: braggart - coward

3. Servants = zanni - Minimum of 1 clever and 1 stupid• Most popular = Arlecchino

(Harlequin) Acrobat and dancer - Wore black mask and hat – Diamond pattern -Used slapstick

• CLOWN– ARLECCHINO– Note: Mask– Colors in costume– Diamond pattern– SLAPSTICK!

• PANTALONE– Note: Mask– Beard– Gown

The Servant of Two Masters

• Written in 1745 by Goldoni, from last days of Commedia dell’Arte [Based on observed improvisations] - More than a scenario & lacks most of commedia’s improvisational elements

• Conveys other key elements of commedia

• Characters: - 2 pairs of Lovers - 2 Masters - 3 Servants

• Plot relies on disguise, coincidence, misunderstanding

• Divided into 3 Acts, with a total of 10 scenes; requires 5 settings

“Servant of Two Masters”

The French Background

The Neoclassical Ideal:

• Only 2 legitimate forms of drama: tragedy and comedy: Tragedy - about kings and nobles; Comedy – about middle and lower classes

• All plays must be written in 5 acts

• Neoclassical Unities: Time: all play’s action should occur within 24 hour period - Place: all play’s action should occur in the same place - Action: there should be only 1 plot - Ending of play should uphold “poetic justice”

• Purpose of drama = to teach and to please

Moliere - Seventeenth-Century French Theatre Practice

• French companies included both male and female actors

• Each actor played a limited range of roles, eventually organized into “lines of business”

• Actors furnished own costumes; blend of contemporary fashions and some historical dress

• Plays were set in one place; no scene changes

• Plays performed indoors, using candles and oil lamps for lighting

A French Play: Moliere’s Time

• Moliere’s “The Miser”– Note: Female actor

– Costume

– Allusion to classical

art composition

MOLIERE’S “THE MISER”

• Note: Costuming, wigs, setting, use of male and female actors.