MODULE 1

• Theater began from myth, ritual, and ceremony
• Theater


  Place of seeing, more than just the buildings where performances take place
• To produce theater

  1. Playwright writes scripts

  2. Director rehearses performers

  3. Designer and technical crew produce props

  4. Actors and actresses perform on stage

  5. Audience witnesses it
• Ancient Greek theater

  • Began around 700 B.C. with festivals honoring the god Dionysus
  • Three types of drama: Tragedy, Comedy, Satyr play
  • Tragedy was the most admired type of play
• Tragedy


  Dealt with tragic events and had an unhappy ending, especially one concerning the downfall of the main character
• Comedy


  Derived from imitation, with no traces of their origin
• Satyr play


  Contains comic elements to lighten the overall mood or a serious play with a happy ending
• Ancient Greek theater terms

  • Theatron - viewing place on the slope of a hill
  • Orchestra - large circular or rectangular area where the play, dance, religious rites, and acting took place
  • Skene - stage
  • Parodos - side entrance
• Roman theater

  • Began in the 3rd century B.C.
  • Varied and interesting art forms such as festival performances, acrobatics, comedies, and tragedies
  • Influenced by Hellenization of Roman culture
• Etruscan actors in the 4th century B.C. were the first experienced theatre actors in Rome
• Roman drama began with the plays of Livius Andronicus in 240 B.C.
• Themes for Roman theater plays were chariots, gladiators, and public executions
• During the Medieval era, theater performances were not allowed throughout Europe
• Medieval theater

  • Minstrels performed in markets, public places, and festivals
  • Churches in Europe started staging their own theater performances during Easter Sundays with biblical stories and events
• Renaissance theater

  • Characterized by a return of Classical Greek and Roman arts and culture
  • Mystery plays, morality plays, university drama, Commedia dell'arte, and elaborate masques were formed
• Queen Elizabeth I was a prominent supporter of the theater
• William Shakespeare


  Regarded as the greatest writer and dramatist in the whole world, often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"
• For the first time, ballet was performed in public during the Renaissance period
• Innovations of the Renaissance stage

  • Proscenium was developed - the area of theater surrounding the stage opening
  • Perspective scenery was introduced - creating the illusion of depth on a flat surface
• Plays/Works

  • patra
  • Julius Caesar
  • Much Ado about Nothing
• William Shakespeare


  Playwright
• This image is in the public domain; PD-Art; This image is in the public domain due to its age; PD-OLD-100
• Ballet


  • Formalized form of dance
  • Originated from the Italian Renaissance courts
  • Developed and flourished from Italy to France with the help of Catherine de'Medici, Queen of France
  • An early example is Le Paradis d' Amour, a piece of work presented at her daughter's wedding, Marguerite de Valois to Henry of Navarre
  • Money of the Aristocrats was responsible for the initial stages of "court ballet" for the Aristocrat's entertainment
  • The first formal ballet "court baller" ever recognized was Ballet des Polonais in 1573
• Innovations of the stage

  • Proscenium was developed
  • Backdrops for scenery were popularized by the art of painting clothes
  • Commedia dell'arte or "Comedy of the Profession" was developed
• Baroque Theater

  • Use of technology in current Broadways or commercial plays
  • Theater crew uses machines for special effects and scene changes
  • Deus ex Machina (a Latin word meaning God from the Machine) solution in which the character gods were finally able to come down from the heavens and rescue the hero in dangerous situations
  • Richly decorated theater
  • Multiplicity of plot turns and a variety of situations characteristic of Mannerism were succeeded by opera
• Neoclassical Theater

  • Grandiosity in costumes and scenery
  • Main concepts of the plays were to entertain and to teach lessons
  • Stages were restyled with dramatic arches to highlight the scenes
  • Multiple entry points on the stage
  • Lighting and sound effects intensified the mood and message of each scene, enhancing the dramatic experience
  • Idea of changing scenery and backdrops became more noticeable, particularly with the invention of pulley systems that allowed parts to move more quickly across the stage
  • Concept of decorum (meaning right and proper audience behavior) was applied
  • Officially established just two types of plays – tragedy and comedy
• Neoclassical Playwrights

  • Pierre Cornielle
  • Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (Moliere)
  • Jean Racine
• The first "spotlight" was used in the U.S. during this period and was called the "Limelight"
• The Theater Regulation Act of 1843 banned drinking in legitimate theaters. Many tavern owners took advantage of the situation and renovated their establishments to accommodate live performances.
• Romantic Theater

  • Melodrama and operas became the most popular theatrical forms
  • Melodrama originated from the Greek melos means "music," and French drame, which is derived from Greek dran to "perform"
  • Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text (called a libretto) and musical score
  • Acting, scenery, costumes, and dance were important elements of theater
• Victor Marie Hugo


  Poet, novelist, and dramatist of the Romantic movement