Roman Theatre Design Theatre in Aspendos on Turkeys

Roman Theatre Design Theatre in Aspendos on Turkey's south coast, the best preserved Roman theatre in the world

Comedy and Tragedy • Included more than dramatic plays : • • acrobatics gladiators jugglers athletics chariots races naumachia (sea battles) Boxing animal fights

Roman Theatre Design • First permanent Roman theatre built 54 A. D. (100 years after the last surviving comedy)

Roman Theatre Design General Characteristics • Cavea could seat up to 25, 000 • Larger then Greek Theatres • dressing rooms in side wings, Aditus Maximus Scaena =skene

Roman Theatre Design General Characteristics • Stage raised to five feet • Stages were large – 20 -40 ft deep 100 -300 ft long

Roman Theatre

Roman Theatre Design General Characteristics • trap doors • cooling system – air blowing over streams of water • awning over the audience to protect them from the sun

Roman Theatre Design Scaena • “stage house” • joined with audience to form one architectural unit

Roman Theatre Design Scaena frons • front/façade of the stage house • was painted and had columns, niches, porticoes, statues

Theatre at Orange, France

Roman Theatre Design Orchestra • becomes half-circle • was probably used for gladiators and for the display and killing of wild animals • if entertainment permitted, people were sat here

Roman Theatre Design Vomitoria • corridors under the seats that lead onto the orchestra

Roman Theatre Design Pulpitum • the stage Cavea • the auditorium

Roman Theatre Design Other structures included: Circus Maximus Ampitheatres

Roman Theatre Design Circus Maximus • Primarily for Chariot racing • Permitted 12 chariots to race at once

Roman Theatre Design Ampitheatres • For gladiator contests, wild animal fights, and occasionally naumachia • Had space with elevators below to bvring up animals, etc.

Actors and Companies • Festival under control of local official who hired acting troupes • Troupes led by dominus • Dominus bought plays, hired actors • Actors = historiones, • Mostly male – women were in mimes

Roman Actors • some believe actor were slaves. • “Star" performers however could achieve great fame and wealth

Roman Actors Style of Acting • Mostly Greek traditions – masks, doubling of roles • Six male actor, no 3 actor rule

Roman Actors Style of Acting • Movements likely enlarged, large parts of the play may have been sung • Actors probably specialized in one type of drama and role

Dramatic Criticism in Rome • Like Roman drama, Roman dramatic criticism was based on the work of others, especially Aristotle • The best-known writer of dramatic theory and criticism in the Roman world was Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) Horace © 2012, The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights 1 -25 (Culver Pictures)

Horace • Chorus – set high moral tone • 5 acts, 3 speaking actors • No gods unless necessary • Drama – profit and please- entertain and instruct.