 By 265 BCE, Athens had fallen out of power and the Roman Empire was expanding.  The Romans absorbed much of Greek culture, including its theatre

 6 th Century BCE Ludi Romani festival Similar to the City Dionysia festival but with variety entertainment - circus, boxing, chariot racing, beast hunts, gladiatorial contests, etc. Dramatic performances added in 364 BCE Latin adaptations of Greek Tragedy and Comedy added in 240 BCE  Audiences were lively, if not very sophisticated

 For centuries, Romans used old theaters that the Greeks had built – their own theaters were built and torn down for each festival  In 55 BCE, the Romans built their first stone theater  Built on flat surfaces instead of into the hillsides  Superior architecture allowed massive theaters to be built

 Lower in status than Greek actors, often slaves  Wore linen masks and used stock costumes and props  Because of increased role of music, especially in comedies, actors had to be good singers

 Stock characters Grumpy old man Young lovers Tricky servant Braggart soldier  Chorus was eliminated  Ironic or satirical songs opened most scenes

 Similar to Greek tragedy but much more violent  Also eliminated chorus

 By the first century, formal theatre had lost its popularity  Replaced by: Atellan Farce: Improvised comedies, built around stock characters Mime: troupes of men, woman and children, unmasked, performing short, satirical pieces of theatre. Focused on contemporary subjects and scandals. A favorite subject was to ridicule the new religious sect – Christianity. Pantomime: Masked narrative ballets based on mythology.

 Began around 190 CE ended 476 CE Vain, ineffective Emperors Empire was so large that central leadership became impossible. Attacked from Turks, ect.

 After the fall of Rome, no stable government besides Church  Church closed down all Roman theaters in 6 th Century – theatre was associated with paganism and vice  Yet, revival of theatre in the late10 th century was supported by church.

935 – 1002 CE  First known female playwright  Nun  Wrote about strong women resisting temptation

 Liturgical Drama: enacted as part of the liturgy during Mass  Cycle plays – illustrating the history of the scriptures Enacted in different areas of the church, called Mansions  When taken out of the church, called Mystery Cycles Performed by craft guilds  Miracle Plays: Based on the Saints lives

 Somewhat secular, but with Christian message  Used allegory  EveryMan – most famous example  Always anonymous  Acted on Pageant Wagons which traveled through town

The expression by means of symbolic fictional figures and actions of truths or generalizations about human existence.  Merriam- Webster Dictionary

 Existed from roughly 1000 CE to 1600 CE  Grew from simple liturgical plays to great cycles and court pageants  Professional actors begin to appear in late 15 th century  Church weakened by internal conflict  Rise of Universities  When Elizabeth I came to the throne she forbade all religious plays Religion was too controversial

 When religion was outlawed as a subject in theatre, dramatists needed other subjects to write about  They looked back to the Greek and Roman playwrights!

 Renaissance theatre is a blend of classical and medieval styles  The church had never officially lifted their condemnation of professional actors, so they now enforced again  Theatre used to be for religious and civic functions now, for the first time, actors had to hustle for recognition based purely on their entertainment and artistic value  Renaissance theatre is a blend of classical and medieval styles  The church had never officially lifted their condemnation of professional actors, so they now enforced again  Theatre used to be for religious and civic functions now, for the first time, actors had to hustle for recognition based purely on their entertainment and artistic value