William Shakespeare

Born on April 23, 1564, in Stratford-on-Avon, England

Worked as an actor and eventually began writing his own plays

Worked for different theaters until 1599 when he settled in the Globe Theater

Wrote 37 plays before retiring to Stratford wealthy and respected

Died on April 23, In his will, he left his wife “the second best bed, with the furniture.”

Lived during the Elizabethan Period- Queen Elizabeth ruled England. She supported the arts, including plays, and Shakespeare was one of her favorites.

King James took the crown in 1602 and became an official patron of Shakespeare’s theater company. They became known as the King’s Men.

Popular forms of entertainment included bull- baiting, bear-baiting and public executions.

Many theaters were built outside of the city to avoid trouble with the local authorities.

Authorities disliked the theaters for moral and political reasons, but also because of the danger of spreading the plague (a deadly, contagious disease).

Plays could only be held during the day and during good weather since they had open air theaters and had no lights. Plays took about two hours.

Admission was one penny (about 60 cents today) for the “pit”. This is where the rowdy peasants could eat, drink, brawl, yell, and watch the play. They were called “groundlings”.

The best seats were up in the balconies and cost one shilling (about $7). Here the rich people could avoid the groundlings.

All parts were played by men, except female roles which were played by boys. Actresses were not allowed by law.

There was little or no scenery, so the audience had to use its imagination.

Actors dressed in Elizabethan outfits instead of costumes from the period of the play.

A “full house” was about 800 groundlings and about 1500 in the galleries.

The Globe Theater, where most of Shakespeare’s most well known plays were produced, was built in It burned to the ground in 1613 during a performance of Henry VIII. This is obviously not Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, but it is the “Old Globe Theater” in Balboa Park, San Diego, which burned in 1978 (not during a performance of Henry VIII).

These were works which were meant to be performed, not just read.

Not many of his plays were published in Shakespeare’s lifetime. Because the written copies were taken from many sources, different versions of his plays exist today.