Medieval Theatre History of Theatre AD

Modern Perspective  International in scope and religious in nature  Began as a springtime religious observance  Celebrated common mythos- the Old and New Testaments of the Bible

The York Cycle  Actors would get in costume and hop on wagons  Crowds were gather in the streets to watch them pass  The wagons would often have two levels to portray heaven and hell

The Procession  The wagons paraded through town, stopping before the homes of dignitaries  Each wagon is responsible for the telling of a biblical tale  This took place every year on Corpus Christi Day  Began with “The Creation and Fall of Lucifer  Ended with “The Judgment Day”

Corpus Christi Day  A feast day that celebrates The Last Supper  Primarily came about from a nun named Juliana of Liege  actual date of Corpus Christi changes each year

Conditions of Performance  It was a religious theatre, therefore its bookings, costumes, dialogue and staging came from the Church calendar

Background  After the fall of Rome, and before the renaissance, the time is called Middle Ages.  A very active time as cathedrals were built, the crusades occurred, and kingdoms were divided and conquered  The foundations for modern languages were laid during this time

Background continued  The Church was extremely opposed to any other type of theatre due to the mimes. They still did exist though.  The Church developed its own dramatic ceremonies to combat the appeal of pagan rights  Pagans believed in multiple gods. (i.e.. The Ancient Greeks)

Religious and Civic Purposes  The Church felt dramatized episodes made moral lessons more graphic and easier to understand.  The Church calendar provided several holidays to develop theatre  Drama remained inside the Church Walls for 200 years  The first ever play was called Quen Quaeritis

Quem Quaritis  3 women looking to dress the corpse of Christ  Find out from an angel that Christ has risen  Shows grief turning into joy

Management  Some major changes began to take place by 1400  Short religious plays were put together to make longer plays  Were staged during Spring and Summer  Everyday language replaced Latin  Regular people replaced clergy as the actors and producers

Festival Theatre  The church still had to approve  Between Medieval theatre flourished  Clergy began to reduce its participation  Towns began to finance and produce the festivals  Producers oversaw everything, they got choirs, nobles loaned costumes, meals were prepared and lodging was provided. Laborers built the staging. Basically the whole community helped

Playwriting  Anonymous  Clergy wrote the four-line playlets  Later the dialogue was expanded  As it became more elaborate, more playwrights were recruited  This opened the door for professional playwrights

Acting and Rehearsing  Rehearsals took place over months  Held between dawn and beginning of the work day  Actors were fined for lateness, not knowing lines or being drunk  Multiple playlets were rehearsed at the same time

Actors  Some received fees  At first it was to reimburse the actors  Late 1600’s began to see professional actors  Very few women performed in medieval plays  Only exceptions were for female Saints  There were two reasons: male hierarchy and trained choir boys had better projection

Visual Elements

Staging  Were performed on fixed or movable stages  The fixed stage was usually against buildings on one side of town square, or in an amphitheatre  The movable stages were wagons  Usually broken into three parts from left to right Hell, Earth, and Heaven  Nothing was depicted in its entirety. Very little illusion of a real place.

Special Effects  Producers gave great attention to “secrets”  Examples included Hell issuing fire, smoke and cries of the damned, trapdoors, pulleys and ropes.  Due to this we began to see semiprofessionals begin to develop for scenery and special effects

Costumes and Props  Two types of garments: ecclesiastical robes and everyday clothes  Accessories such as wings were added  Props were used to identify characters i.e. sword, mirror, snakes etc..)  Heaven reps dressed to awe  Hell reps dressed to scar  Common humans dressed according to rank  Great detail went into designing the devil

Music  Music was prevalent in medieval theatre  Heavenly scenes featured beautiful choruses  Trumpets’ announced god  Vocal and Instrumental music bridged intermission.  Singing was down by choirboys and actors  Instruments were played by professionals

Popular Entertainments

Mummings  Masquerade balls  Related to drama due to disguise, processions and need for a spokesperson  In time it included music, song, dance, scenery, and texts.  Usually a mumming play would end with the collection of money to pay for refreshments and local charities

Street Pageants  When dignitaries would come to town they would set up stages all along the street  Clerks and children would then address them with songs and speeches  This provided a sense of civic pride

The Audience  Spectators came from surrounding towns and countryside – all classes came  Posters were put up on city gates and invitations were sent out to neighboring towns  A trumpeter rode through town announcing the events  Work was forbidden during performance time  Most were free, however in some of Europe there was a fee