1. History of Theatrical Arts Part 1: Roots of Theater

2. Greek and Roman Theater 600 B.C. through 700 A.D. Dithyramb- ▫hymn sung and danced in honor of Dionysus ▫Chorus of 50 men ▫Related episodes from the god’s life. Golden Age of Grecian and Roman Drama ▫Invented Western drama ▫500-400 B.C. ▫Myths and heroic legends ▫Greek-Reflected contemporary issues and helped people confront current political or religious problems ▫Roman-Based on Greek forms, but used more for entertainment

3. Greek and Roman Theater (cont.) Golden Age of Grecian Drama (cont.) ▫Famous playwrights  Tragedy: Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides  Comedy: Aristophanes, [Plautus, and Terence]- Roman ▫Staging  Large choruses telling the story  Masks-exaggerating facial expressions  Amphitheaters  Etc.

4. Greek and Roman Theater

5. Greek and Roman Theater (cont.) End of Classical Western Theater ▫During Byzantine Era, Church firmly opposed the theater ▫Church council passed resolution to forbid theatrical performances in 692 A.D.

6. Medieval Theater Origin ▫Grew out of religious ritual ▫925 A.D., singing of hymns telling Easter story ▫Dramatic dialogue delivered by priests impersonating an angel and the three women visiting Christ’s tomb ▫Source of the Mystery Play

7. Types of Medieval Drama Mystery Plays ▫Depicts stories from the Bible Miracle Plays (Saint Plays) ▫Depicts stories about the lives of saints and martyrs Morality Plays ▫Depicts moral struggle of the soul ▫All usually had a narrator

8. Medieval Theater

9. English (Elizabethan) Drama Origins ▫1500’s Queen Elizabeth I bans all religious plays ▫Secularization of theater Shakespeare ▫Greatest playwright in the English language ▫Also actor-manager of professional company ▫Wrote 38 plays in different genres: comedy, tragedy, and history ▫Incorporated long verses of poetry ▫No narrator in most cases, relied on purely acting to tell and express the story.

10. Globe Theater Built in 1599 by Lord Chamberlin’s Men, the troupe Shakespeare belonged to Accidently burnt in 1613 during cannon mishap in Henry VIII Rebuilt in 1614 Closed by Puritans 1643 Demolished in 1644

11. French Neoclassical Theater Origins ▫Based on theories of Aristotle and Horace ▫Most popular during the mid-1600’s ▫The French Academy evaluated plays entirely on how closely they adhered to neoclassical principles Moliere ▫French playwright who incorporated neoclassical rules in his comedies ▫Controversial writer of his times ▫Church forced him to rewrite Tartuffe twice (most famous play studying religious hypocrisy)

12. Genres of the 1700’s and 1800’s Ballad Opera ▫Early 1700’s ▫Burlesque form of Italian opera in England ▫Combined spoken dialogue and songs set to popular tunes ▫John Gay-Beggar’s Opera ▫First sign of crossover between opera and musical theater Sentimental Comedy ▫Emphasis on virtue triumphant, not laughter Laughing Comedy ▫More realistic and humorous Melodrama ▫More realistic and more humorous than sentimental ▫Swiftly paced, witty dialogue

13. Genres of the 1700’s and 1800’s German Romantic Drama ▫Romantic movement called Sturn und Drang (Storm and Stress) ▫Idolized Shakespeare ▫Dismissed neoclassical dramatic unities ▫Johann Wolfgang von Goethe-Faust

14. Influences on American Acting Meiningen Troupe ▫Duke of Saxe-Meiningen from Germany ▫Late 1800’s made his court theater most highly respected touring company of the period ▫Influenced innovators such as Stanislavski and Antoine ▫Long rehearsals, technical advances in stagecraft, actor preparation

15. Influences on American Acting Moscow Art Theater ▫Founded by Konstantin Stanislavski and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko in 1898 ▫“Artistic Truth” rather than external effect ▫Influenced by movements in naturalism and realism ▫Stanislavski method brought to US where it is the American “Method” style of acting

16. Stanislavski 1863-1938 Born Constantin Sergeivich Alexeiev Stanislavski was a stage name to hide activities from parents Believed in “living the part” emphased the actor's use of imagination and belief in the given circumstances of the text rather than her/his private and often painful memories. Opened studios in Russia, classes available in US An Actor Prepares, Building a Character, Creating a Role

17. Stanislavski

18. Theater in America Origins ▫First playhouse built in Williamsburg, VA in 1716 ▫1752 English acting troupe headed by William Hallam marked beginning of professional theater in America ▫Easier to produce than orchestras

19. Famous American Playwrights Tennessee Williams ▫Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ▫Known for creating fully developed in characters that challenged actors Arthur Miller ▫Death of a Salesman ▫Combined realism and symbolic expressionism ▫Personal wealth vs. personal value

20. Famous American Playwrights Thorton Wilder ▫The Skin of Our Teeth ▫Applied contemporary theatricality to simple parables on nature of life Lorraine Hansberry ▫A Raisin in the Sun and The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window ▫Female African American dramatist ▫Created believable black characters rather than comedic roles

21. Famous American Playwrights Neil Simon ▫Barefoot in the Park and The Odd Couple ▫Comedies ▫Catered to entertaining audiences instead of challenging art form August Wilson ▫Portrayed African Americans realistically and sensitively to “raise consciousness through theater” ▫Seven plays set in different decades, form cycle presenting African American life in the 20 th Century