Greek Theatre History Greek Theatre Grew out of

Greek Theatre History

Greek Theatre Grew out of religious ceremonies (rituals), which were prominent features of Greek society n Ceremonies included funeral services, festivals celebrating the seasons, and ceremonies honoring the gods n City Dionysia held a festival in honor of Dionysus, the Greek god n

Festival of Dionysia Many believe that Greek drama originated in the dithyrambic chorus presented to honor Dionysus n Dithyramb – a lengthy hymn, sung and danced by a group of 50 men (chorus) n Chorus – group of men, elders that represented the voice of society n There were 4 plays performed at the festival: 3 tragedies and 1 comedy n

Greek Tragedy – means “goat song” in Greek n The protagonist (main character) in a tragedy, usually does not reach his goal so tragedies have sad endings n Tragedies are based on myths, which are stories or legends sometimes based on fact, which are handed down from generation to generation n Three Greek tragedy playwrights: Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripedes n

Thespis Greek tragic playwright n Is credited with transforming the dithyramb into tragedy n Added the first actor (hypokrite) to the play n Hypokrite – means an actor speaking behind a mask n Thespians (actors) are named for Thespis n

Aeschylus “Father” of tragedy n Added second actor to plays n Reduced the chorus from 50 to 12 men n Wrote about gods n

Sophocles Wrote about heroes n Added the third actor to plays n Added dramatic action and defined plot structure n Wrote 110 plays; 7 survived n Most noted works: n

Oedipus Rex by Sophocles Ideal tragedy n Tragic story of a man in search of truth n Fate has preordained that Oedipus to kill his father and marry his mother n

Euripides Playwright who questioned life n Wrote about man not gods or heroes; more interested in human problems rather than religious interests n Emphasized human relationships and emotions n Reduced importance of the chorus n Most famous play was Medea, a tragedy about a woman who seeks revenge on her unfaithful husband by killing their children n

Medea by Euripides n Most famous play was Medea, a tragedy about a woman who seeks revenge on her unfaithful husband by killing their children

Aristophanes Greek Comedy playwright n Wrote 40 plays n Combined satire, wit and farce (slapstick comedy) to create the Greek comedy form n Nothing was sacred – made fun of everyone and everthing n Most famous play Lysistrata; women try to stop war by refusing to sleep with their husbands until they quit fighting n

Lysistrata by Aristophanes n Most famous play Lysistrata; women try to stop war by refusing to sleep with their husbands until they quit fighting

Aristotle Greek philosopher n Published The Poetics, guideline for the arts n Established six elements of drama: n Plot n Character n Theme n Language (Dialogue) n Music (what you hear) n Spectacle (what you see) n

Conventions of Greek Theatre No violence on stage n Men played all the roles n Only 3 main actors on stage at all times; these actors played multiple roles wearing masks n Audience included all social classes n Audience learned lessons from the plays n Catharsis – purging of emotions – the audience feared the same thing that happened to the protagonist would happen n

More Conventions Masks - Actors wore masks to change characters n Large stylized movements were needed to help audience understand the plot n Periaktoi – 3 -sided scenic unit to change n

More Conventions n Special effects – Ekkylema – a wagon used to bring characters onstage; often to reveal the results of offstage violence n Deus ex machina – crane hidden behind the upper level of the skene; used for the entrance of the actor playing a god n

Greek Play Structure Prologos – opening scene which begins the action and provides background information n Parados – the chorus enters n Choral ode – performed by the chorus n Exodus – final scene in which all the characters exit from the stage n

Theatre and Stage Area Orchestra – the circular playing space where the actors performed n Parados – the entrance way for the chorus n Proskenion – the bottom level of the skene or stage house n Skene – the scene house behind the orchestra; used to present several locales; actors changed their costumes behind the skene n Theatron – “viewing place”; where audience sat n

Greek Theatre