1. Elizabethan Times and Romeo and Juliet
Mrs. Fleming
English I

2. Elizabethan audiences differ from today’s audiences in the following ways:
Audiences participated in the experience.
Actors directly addressed the audience; sometimes the audience answered back.

3. Elizabethan Theater
Performances were given everyday except Sunday, from two to five to take advantage of the sunlight.
Theatre managers could not advertise to draw customers. Instead, they flew flags as show time neared: black for tragedy, white for comedy, and red for history.

4. Elizabethan Theater
Theaters did not have restrooms or intermissions. Playhouses usually smelled of urine, ginger, garlic, tobacco, and sweat (few Elizabethans bathed).

5. Elizabethan Theater
Rehearsal time was minimal. Actors learned their parts in about a week. A leading man would learn and retain over seventy different roles in three years.

6. Elizabethan Theatre
There was no producer or director; the actors were in complete control of the production.

7. The Stage
There were three tiers to the stage, corresponding to earth, heaven, and hell.
Behind the stage were the tiring (attiring) or dressing rooms.

8. The Stage
Scenery and props were minimal. Actors described the setting through dialogue called “scene painting.”
Costumes were often the castoffs of the aristocratic patron. Actors also wore make-up, an abomination to the Puritans.

9. The Actors
Since women were forbidden to act on the public stage, female roles were played by prepubescent boys.

10. The Theatre (that’s its name)
Built in 1576 by James Burbage.
The first theater in England.
First time the word was used to refer to a building used specifically to stage plays.

11. The Theatre (that’s its name)
Lost its lease in Burbage’s sons demolished the building on December 28, 1598 and transported its timbers across the Thames River. They later reused that wood to build The Globe.

12. Shakespeare Born April 23, 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England.
Received an excellent education.
Married Anne Hathaway when he was 18 and she was 26. They had three children together: Susanna, Hamnet, and Judith.

13. Shakespeare Moved to London to become an actor.
Became known for acting, as well as writing.
Wrote a total of 37 plays: 17 comedies, 10 histories, and 10 tragedies.

14. Shakespeare
Prospered under Queen Elizabeth I, who supported the theater.
Retired in approximately 1613.
Died April 23, He is buried in Stratford-upon-Avon at the Holy Trinity church.

15. Romeo and Juliet Among the earliest plays that Shakespeare wrote.
Based upon Arthur Brooke’s The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet.
Most of the Elizabethan audience knew that the story would end tragically.
This play is often listed as a frequently censored book because of sexual content and the age of the main characters.

16. The Feud House of Capulet Juliet—daughter of Capulet
Tybalt—nephew of Lady Capulet, Juliet’s cousin
Nurse—Juliet’s nanny
Capulet—Juliet’s father
Lady Capulet—Juliet’s mother
House of Montague
Romeo-son of Montague
Mercutio—a relative of the Prince of Verona and friend of Romeo
Benvolio—nephew of Montague and friend of Romeo
Lord Montague—Romeo’s father
Lady Montague—Romeo’s mother

17. The Feud Other Characters
Paris—a young noble and relative of the Prince. Juliet’s suitor
Prince Escalus—ruler of Verona
Friar Laurence—Romeo’s confidante and spiritual leader, the two lovers’ co-conspirator.