Chapter 14 The Renaissance Public Theatre Elizabethan Theatre

Chapter 14 The Renaissance

Public Theatre • • • Elizabethan Theatre Elizabethan, Shakespeare, Public theatre Architecture and clientele - crosscut of society - Public • Shakespeare most notable playwright • Elizabethan era - mid 1500’s to early 1600’s

Public Theatre - Background • English theater booms with national pride after the defeat of the Spanish armada in 1588. • Passion for national history. • Royalty patronized theatre which made it reputable

Tudor Influence • Actually start with the reign of Henry VII and follows on through Elizabeth I and all of the house of Tudor. • Following the 100 year war and the War of the Roses the House of Tudor brought political stability and a strong central government to England.

Tudor Influence • Henry VII rise of cycle plays • Henry VIII breaks from catholic church to form his own church • Religious drama becomes increasingly inflammatory.

Public Theatre - Background • 1572 Elizabeth I bans all religious drama. • The first public theatre is built by James Bambridge in 1576 • This is the foundation for Shakespeare and his cronies to take off.

Elizabethan Theatre • Theatre as a recurring event develops. • Theaters of this era are similar to the cinemas of today • Theatres open to the sky above, and plays performed in midday sunlight. • Work began early and the afternoon was not suitable for work either mentally or physically.

The Globe • Octagonal with three galleries surrounding large open yard or pit. • In the pit a raised area of 4 to 6 feet high. Pit open to heavens • 2500 Patrons Thrust space.

The Globe • Lower-class - in the pit - groundlings - penny stinkers. • More expensive for the galleries and private boxes. • Dynamic staging - scene flows from one scene to another, scenery is indicated in dialogue • Proscenium staging of Shakespeare in traditional sense leads to problems. • Acting space, Inner-below and inner above.

William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616) • Biography – – – Born in Stratford-upon-Avon Married Anne Hathaway 3 children – Susanna, Judith, and Hamnet • Plays – 37 -38 plays • Connections – Movies, television shows and musicals ( i. e. West Side Story and Kiss Me, Kate)

Everyday Shakespeare • • Brave New World • Miranda: How beauteous mankind is! • O brave new world, That has such people in 't! (The Tempest) Foul Play Gloucester: Good my friends, consider; you are my guests. Do me no foul play, friends. (King Lear) • • Fair Play • Troilus: When many times the captive • Grecian falls Even in the fan and wind of your fair sword, you bid them rise, and live. Hector: O, 'tis fair play. (Troilus and Cressida) Into Thin Air Prospero: Our revels now are ended. These our actors, As I foretold you, were all spirits, and Are melted into air, into thin air. (The Tempest) • • Foregone Conclusion Iago: Nay, this was but his dream. Othello: But this denoted a foregone conclusion. (Othello)

Shakespeare is filled with clichés • Hamlet: – "The lady doth protest too much. " (Act III, Scene II). – "Neither a borrower nor a lender be. " (Act I, Scene III). – "To be, or not to be: that is the • question. " (Act III, Scene I). – "To thine own self be true. " (Act I, Scene III). – "What a piece of work is man!" (Act II, Scene II). • Julius Caesar – "Beware the ides of March. " (Act I, Scene II). – "The dogs of war. " (Act III, Scene I). – "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. " (Act III, Scene II). – "It was Greek to me. " (Act I, Scene II). The Merchant of Venice – "All that glisters is not gold. " (Act II, Scene VII). – "If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? ” (Act III, scene I).

Follow the Money • Income – Ticket Sales – Concessions • Expenses – Fixed – Percentage – Special

Theatrical Conventions • Not a realistic theatre - highly stylized and symbolized • Rich with poetic language and relied heavily on the imagination of the audience. • Conventions of acting, costuming and scenery support this notion. • All male actors

Theatrical Conventions • All characters dressed in Elizabethan dress - no historical accuracy. • Accessorized to indicated historical nature or foreign home. • One doorway served many purposes scenes flowed seamlessly from one scene to another - change in function is covered in the dialog. • Focus on the beauty of the language and the skill of the actor.