1. The highly abridged version!!!!!
The Origins of Drama

2. Ancient Greek Drama
Drama festivals began in Athens Greece about 5th century B.C.
Athens
City-state
Democracy
Educated citizens
Slave labour = leisure society

3. 4 festivals honouring Dionysus--god of wine and vines
Ancient Greek Drama
4 festivals honouring Dionysus--god of wine and vines
4th festival was a 6 day festival of drama:
1st two days—choral dance
3rd day—five comedies (satirical and obscene
4th-6th days—three tragedies in competition. Each tragedy involved a trilogy and a satyr play.
1st winner—Thespis 534 B.C.

4. Ancient Greek Drama
Each set of three tragedies was followed by the performance of a satyr play, a short spoof of a myth related to the theme of at least on of the tragedies.
The ordinary human characters in these plays wore tragic masks and costumes, but the chorus of half-human satyrs wore pug-nosed, pointy-eared, bearded masks, furry shorts, and normal sized erect phalluses (probably made of leather).

5. Ancient Greek Drama
Satyrs danced a special kind of dance called the sikinnis, in which they pranced like horses.
The illustration is take from the Pronomos Vase, which shows the entire cast of a satyr-play.

6. Ancient Greek Drama
The
Pronomos Vase

7. The Theatre of Dionysus in Athens
Ancient Greek Drama
The Theatre of Dionysus in Athens

8. Ancient Greek—Pompeii Theatre

9. Ancient Greek Drama
Greek playwrights wrote, performed in, directed, and choreographed their plays
The Chorus developed the action
At first one actor performed all the roles and wore masks to indicate character changes
Chorus young men about the neter military service
Dancing and singing part of Athenian education
Effort of acting in three tragedies and a satyr play = the competing in the Olympics

10. Aeschylus Three important playwrights Aeschylus
Oresteia—the only surviving trilogy
It is the story of Agamemnon’s murder by his wife, Clytemnestra
Clytemnestra’s murder by her children, Orestes and Electra
Eumenides (Furies) decide on the fate of Orestes
All characters are idealized
The gods set things right.
Introduced a second actor—allowed 2 actor to talk to chorus or each other and allowed for more plot variation

11. Plot of Oresteia
During the ten-year absence of Agamemnon, Clytemnestra nursed her anger over the slaughter of her daughter. She took as a lover Aegisthus, son of Thyestes, and the two ruled the city and plotted vengeance on Agamemnon. When the king returned triumphant from Troy, bringing Cassandra with him as a concubine, Clytemnestra waited until he was unarmed in the bath, entangle him in a robe, and struck him down with an axe. After killing Cassandra as well, she gloated over the bodies, symbolically characterizing herself as the matriarchal earth goddess made fertile by the bloods of sacrifices.

12. Plot of Oresteia
Many years later, Orestes (who had been sent away by Clytemnestra to a foreign kingdom when he was a child), returned in disguise with his companion Pylades to find Electra continually mourning beside the tomb of her father.
After a poignant recognition scene, Orestes told her of the command to avenge the death of his father by the god Apollo. Together, they formed a plan to catch Clytemnestra and Aegisthus off guard and slay them.
With the help fo Electra, Orestes stabbed Aegisthus before the eyes of his mother and then caught and killed Clytemnestra.
However, as soon as he appeared with the two corpses to justify the killings, Orestes is driven off by the Furies—blood sucking underworld goddesses who hunt down and destroy those who shed kindred blood, especially matricides.

13. Orestes pursued by the Furies

14. Sophocles Introduced a third actor Closer to ordinary life
More of a psychological study
Oedipus Rex—Oedipus unknowingly kills his father and marries his mother
Oedipus at Colonus—Oedipus and his daughter, Antigone, live in the country after Oedipus blinds himself
Antigone—Antigone struggles with uncle to have her brother’s body properly buried.

15. Oedipus Rex

16. Euripides
Where Aeschyulus and Sophocles emphasized the plot by adding an actor each, Euripides added intrigue—an element complicated by the omnipresent, know-it-all chorus.
He also created the love-drama.
New Comedy took over the more effective parts of Euripides’ technique.
During his lifetime, Euripides’ innovations met with hostility. To him, traditional legends portrayed the more standards of the gods unsuitably—as lower than those of virtuous men.
Although Euripides portrayed women sensitively, he had a reputation as a woman hater.
The comic poet Aristophanes criticized Euripides for the following:
Put beggars in rags on stage
Determined to make tragedy less lofty
Decadent, poetic innovator
Misogynist
Subverter of received morality
Unorthodox religious views.

17. Roman Drama Roman plays Seneca—major roman playwright of tragedies
Spectacles of blood and gore
Imitation of Greeks
Seneca—major roman playwright of tragedies
Rewrote Oedipus Rex
5-act tragedy
Violence
Revenge
Plautus and Terrence
Major Roman playwrights of comedies
Ancestor of sit-coms

18. Medieval Theatre Medieval History
After the fall of Rome the 600’s A.D., came a period known to us as the “dark ages.”
Much political turmoil—no reliable political structure
The Church was the only stable “government”
The church exerted increasing influence. In the 4th Century, the Bishop of Rome, claiming to be the successor to St. Peter, established supremacy in church matters and in secular concerns.

19. Medieval Theater
Feudalism—the manor was the chief non-church political entity.
The manor (large estate), headed by a nobleman, had absolute authority over the sefs, (peasants) who worked the land.
Lords of manors were vassals, or subjects, of a king. The king’s knights protected the lords and their land.
Serfs (servants)owed allegiance to their lord.
There are many church edicts against mimi, histriones, ioculatores—terms for secular performers.

20. Medieval Theater
Little is know about the theatre between A.D.
There are refereneces to actors (histriones), juggles, rope dances in nomadic tribes, remnants of Roman mimes, popular pagan festivals and rites.
Teutonic minstrels or troubadours (scops [pronounced shope]) became the primary preserver of tribal histories, but the Teutonic tribes converted Christianity after the 7th or 8th century, and the scops were denounced, branded as bad as mimes.
There was little written drama; none that survives, and almost no other surviving references to it.

21. Medieval Theater
Hrosvitha of Gandersheim,, a nun, wrote religious plays based on Terence’s plays, but they were probably “closet dramas.”
Christian ceremonies are where the theatre seems to have been reborn.
Between 925 and 975, drama becomes re-introdued into the church services. Theatre was “reborn” within the very institution that helped to shut it down.
Perhaps the church had little choice—it couldn’t stop the pagan rites—too popular—so many aspects of pagan rites found their way into Christian ceremonies.

22. Medieval Theater Earliest extant drama from the middle ages:
925 A.D. “Quem Quaeritis”
A four-line dramatization of the resurrection, with direction for its performance. Comes from an Easter trope (interpolation into existing text, originally lengthened musical passages with words eventually added).
Sung by a choir at first.
“Whom seek ye in the tomb, O Christians?
Jesus of Nazereth, the crucified, O heavenly beings,
He is not here, he is risen as he foretold;
Go and announce that he is risen from the tomb.”

23. Medieval Theater
The Three Marys (Mary, the mother of Jesus; Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus of Bethany; and Mary Magdalene) come to the tomb of Jesus, and the angel asks them who they are looking for.
By 975, it had become a little drama within the service, probably played by altar boys.

24. Medieval Theater
The practiced blossomed—many playlets developed dealing with biblical themes—mostly Easter, Christmas, the 12th Night (Feast of the Epiphany).
Usually serious, but at the Feast of Fools and the Feast of the Boy Bishops, much dancing and foolishness and parodies of church practices.
At first, the church had control of the drama outside of the church, but then it gradually became more controlled by secular groups.
The Guilds (tradesmen or Confraternities) took over in some cities, and it was common for certain Guilds to retain control over certain plays/stories, all of which were based in some way on the Bible or religious teachings.
For instance, the Bakers’ Guild would control the play about the Last Supper, and the Shipwrights’ guild would get plays about Noah’s Ark, etc.
Municipalities took over in some cities, but the church still needed to approve the scripts, even when its role diminished.

25. Medieval Theater—Liturgical Drama
Before 1200, most were still being done inside the church as part of the liturgy. Most were probably still in Latin, the language of the Church.

26. Medieval Theater—Liturgical Drama
Staging:
Mansions—small scenic structures for indicating location (for instance, a throne might equal the palace of Pilate).
In more complex plays, there were many mansions.
Machinery was also used to fly Christ up to heaven, have angels come down, etc.
Costumes were probably ordinary church vestiments.
By 1200, soime of these plays were begin performed outdoors.

27. Medieval Theater—Liturgical Drama
By 1350, plays were in the vernacular, rather than Latin.
Laymen were the actors (male members of the community, unpaid—though there were some women on stage in France), no longer clerics and priests.
The stories began to range even further than when they were part of the liturgical services.
The church seemed to support these dramas.

28. Medieval Theater—Secular Drama
By 1350, plays were in the vernacular, rather than Latin.
Laymen were the actors (male members of the community, unpaid—though there were some women on stage in France), no longer clerics and priests.
Stories began to range even further than when they were part of the liturgical services.
The Church seemed to support these dramas.

29. Medieval Theater—Secular Drama
With diminishing church control, secularization lead to some changes.
Mastercopy of the script was call the Register
sometimes the producing company/guild could monopolize or censor it or band it
The Keeper of the Register was an important position and had much control.
The Master of Secrets was in charge of machines (secrets)—the special effects.

30. Medieval Theater—Secular Drama
The special effects were often very intricate
17 people needed to operate the “Hell” machinery in Belgium in 1501.
Flying was a major technique and used commonly—angels, resurrection
Almost all scenes had Heaven on the right, Hell on the left, and Earth on the middle.
Platforms covered with cotton (the “glories”) held the angels.
Trap door—appearances and disappearances (Lot’s wife turning into salt, etc.)
Fire—the hellmouth—a fire breathing monster representing hell.

31. Medieval Theatre—Staging
Two major kinds of stages: Fixed and Moveable
Technical tricks would be more extensive on fixed stages.
Mansion and platea were borrowed from liturgical drama
Simultaneous staging was a distinctive characteristic of medieval theatre.

32. Medieval Theatre—Staging
Fixed Staging—on the Continent (except Spain and parts of Italy)
Mansions set up in available spaces (courtyards, town squares, etc.)
Moveable Staging—pageant wagons—like parade floats—moved through the streets
The term “pageant” is used to refer to the stage, the play itself, and the spectacle.

33. Medieval Theatre—Staging

34. The Medieval Drama—the plays
The plays seem naïve if we don’t understand the period.
People had little sense of history—reflecting the limited knowledge
Anachronisms were very common
Comic elements appeared in plays that were otherwise very serious, and had, as their purpose, to teach Bible stories and principles to the people.
The medieval mind looked at the temporal world (Earth) as transitory: Heaven and Hell were the eternal realities.

35. The Medieval Drama—the Religious Plays
Performed in cycles
Three kinds:
Mystery Plays—about Christ or from the Old Testament—usually done in cycles. (Second Shepherds’).
Miracle Plays—lives of saints, historical and legendary figures
Morality Plays—didactic allegories, often of common man’s struggle for salvation (Everyman—only his good deeds accompany him in death.)

36. The Medieval Drama—the Religious Plays
Characteristics in common:
Aimed to teach or reinforce Church doctrine
Melodramatic: good rewarded, evil punished
God and his plan were the driving forces, not the characters.
To us, these play seem to be episodic, confusing sequences of time, and an odd mixture of comic and serious—unnerving.

37. The Medieval Drama—the Secular Plays
Latin comedies and tragedies were studied in schools and universities.
Farce—very popular, particularly in France where it is well-developed. Pierre Patelin—15th centure—clever knaves outwitting each other.
Moralities—secularized allegories based on classical gods and heroes, often with some political content.
Mummings and Disguisings—given at wealthy homes on holidays.—pantomimes, danced and narrated stories.
Interludes and Masques—between courses at a banquet, masques were allegorical compliments to the guests—with intricate dances and spectacle.
Town Staged Pageants—the plays were often put on in celebrations in honour of dignitaries.
Performed by professional actors attached to noble houses.

38. The Decline of Medieval Theatre
Increased interest in classical learning—affected staging and playwriting.
Social structure was changing—destroyed feudalism and “corporate” nature of communities.
Dissention within the church led to prohibition of religious plays in Europe.
Queen Elizabeth, the Council of Trent, —religious plays outlawed.
By the late 16th century, drama of medieval period lost its force.

39. The Decline of Medieval Theatre
Results of the decline:
Professional actors still needed, but not amateurs.
Professional theatre rose, became commercial (no longer a community venture).
No longer religious plays—returned to the classics for new ideas for stories.

40. From Medieval to Elizabethan Periods (England)
The Renaissance/Neoclassical was less binding in England than the rest of Europe.
Classics gradually went to England, as is reflected in some of the early English Renaissance plays:
Ralph Roister Doister—Nicholas Udall, a headmaster at Eton Academy ( )
Plot—about a boastful coward—indebted to Plautus’s The Braggart Warrior—foolishness of boastful coward and his courtship of a widow. This play advanced the dramatic construction.

41. From Medieval to Elizabethan Periods (England)
Gammer Gurtons’ Needle—written at Cambridge University by Mr. “S.” (some believe Thomas Sackville) between 1552 and 1563.
Plot—two households disagree/misunderstand about the loss of a needle.
Fuses subject matter and characters similar to medieval farce with the technique of Roman Comedy.

42. From Medieval to Elizabethan Periods (England)
Inns of Court—residences and training for lawyers produced plays for self and important guests, like schools.
Gorbuduc—Thomas Sackville and Thomas Norton—1561—The “first English Tragedy”—with a “political” statement to make (about leaving the order of succession of the throne unknown—support for Elizabeth’s reign)—Queen Elizabeth attended.

43. Forces Shaping English Drama from Medievalism to Elizabethan
Religious and political controversies
Henry VIII, Mary Queen of Scots, Puritans.
Queen Elizabeth granted NO religious dissention.
1588 defeat of Spanish Armada—gradual supremacy of English as major world power.
Elizabeth became queen in 1558, died She outlawed religious drama (her father was Henry VIII, who in 1534 separated from the Catholic Church to form the Anglican Church or Church of England, with the English monarch as the head of the church.

44. Forces Shaping English Drama from Medievalism to Elizabethan
Medieval influences
Dramas and interludes
Before, during, and after Elizabethan theatre—a sometime bizarre mixture of classics and native drama (of “sophisticated” and “simple” theatre).

45. Forces Shaping English Drama from Medievalism to Elizabethan
Acting became a legal profession in 1570’s
English theatre was under control of the government.
Acting companies had to have a license, AND the patronage of a noble.
Provincial troupes were deprived of legal status, so theatre was concentrated around London.
Merchant class disliked the theatre (most were part of growing Puritan population), while the aristocracy liked it.

46. Forces Shaping English Drama from Medievalism to Elizabethan
Until 1608, theatre buildings were illegal in the city limits of London, so theatres were built outside of the city limits.
The first theatre—build by James Burbage, head of the first important troupe, the Earl of Leicester’s men, license in 1574—was called “The Theatre.”
By 1580, two or more companies were playing around London.

47. The Renaissance
The Renaissance had its beginnings in the 1200’s but really took hold around 1300 in Italy.
Renaissance = Rebirth
There were new ideas, based on classical teachings.
By the 16th century, the Renaissance had permeated most of European thought.

48. The Renaissance--Influences
Weakening of the Church influence
The Papacy was moved to Avignon, France, in In 1405, Constantinople (present-day Istabul, Turkey) fell to the Turks. Scholares fled West with valuable manuscripts, including some Greek Drama.
1465—the Printing Press is invented. The Bible and some manuscripts were printed (classical plays, ancient architecture, Aristotle’s works, Horace, etc.)
, the printing press and printed manuscripts get to Italy, and classical plays become staged at Universities and Courst or Academies (club-like learning organizations).
In Italy, the nobility patronized the arts; playwrights were often under noble patronage

49. The Renaissance—Contributions to Theatre
Neoclassical ideal in playwriting and criticism
Italianate Staging and Architecture.
Commedia dell’Arte
Pantalone – the old man, a fool
Dottore – the doctor, a drunk or glutton
Capitano – braggart soldier
Inamorati – the young lovers – the only "normal" characters
"zanni" -- foolish servants; Harlequin (or Arlecchino) was the most popular

50. Neoclassicism: “New Classicism”
Interest in the ancient "rediscovered" classics – based more on Roman (where Italy now stood) than on Greek
Central concepts of neoclassicism:
Verisimilitude: "truth seeming" – what is truth?
In drama – could represent only what could be reasonably expected in real life
Decorum: characters were expected to display traits normally held by members of their class, or to suffer ridicule or punishment if not.
Good was to be rewarded, and evil punished – there was an eternal truth.

51. Neoclassicism: “New Classicism”
Purity of Genres:
Comedy and tragedy were not to be mixed – NO element of one should be in the other.
Tragedy was to have:  characters of high station, deal with affairs of state, have elevated language, have an unhappy ending.
Comedy was to have:  lower and middle-class characters, deal with domestic affairs, use less elevated language, have a happy ending.

52. Neoclassicism: “New Classicism”
The Three Unities: -- for verisimilitude.
Neoclassicism focused on:
Unity of Time: --required a reasonable time – no more than 24 hours – or actual time (This was to cause some disagreement: did this mean that the play had to occur in actual time [just as Oedipus Rex takes place in only an hour and a half – the actual length of the play], or could it be extended to a full day [daylight, or a 24-hour day?].
Unity of Place: --no more than one room, place [as Oedipus took place in front of the palace], or a town [or country, etc.]
Unity of Action: --no sub-plots, counter-plots, secondary plots--not as important an influence as the other two unities

53. Neoclassicism: “New Classicism”
Five act form: --probably derived form Horace and Seneca
Two-fold purpose: --to teach and to please.
Moral precepts: a justification for theatre – partly in order to mollify those who still thought theatre was immoral [such as the Church], theatre took on an very important societal function—to teach as well. Not just an art form. Perhaps Plato would have approved.
By 1600, Renaissance thought had moved to other parts of Europe.
Remained dominant for over 200 years, especially among upper classes.

54. The University Wits
Acting companies needed new plays. Some of these new plays came from The University Wits – an informal group of scholars applying classical standards to the needs of a vigorous contemporary stage.
Robert Green ( )
Thomas Kyd ( )– The Spanish Tragedy – c Most popular play of the 1500’s.
John Lyly (c ) – prose comedies
Christopher Marlowe ( ) – Dr. Faustus, Edward II

55. The University Wits The University Wits all helped develop:
elegant prose
romantic comedies
complex protagonists
humanism and neoclassicism combined
blank verse – iambic pentameter, not rhymed (called a "couplet" if rhymed)

56. The University Wits Christopher Marlowe
the most critically acclaimed of the four – Cambridge educated.
focus is on the protagonist; episodic story illuminating his complex motivations
development of the "chronicle" play – History Play – (i.e.: Edward II) – rearranging, telescoping, and altering events to create a causal sense...
helped perfect blank verse
Iambic pentameter, no rhyme. "Couplets" were rhymed.
Tamburlaine parts I&II, 1587 & 1588
Dr. Faustus c. 1588
Edward II c. 1592
Marlowe died in a fight at 29.

57. Pre-Shakespearean Acting Troupes
Many before 1570’s, but little known about them. Noblemen probably paid a fixed yearly sum, and they probably did additional public performances for extra money.
By 1570, government decrees made acting more secure, daily performances stimulated building permanent theatres and assembling larger companies.
First important troupe: Earl of Leicester’s Men, licensed in 1574, headed by James Burbage – builder of the first theatre in London.
Lord Chamberlain’s Men – with the Burbage family, Shakespeare’s troupe.
A plague of forced many troupes to dissolve or combine.
In 1603, Lord Chamberlain’s Men became the King’s Men, until 1642.
Actors were paid by the court, yearly fee plus other expenses.
Most troupes worked on a sharing plan – risk and profits shared. Democratic, self-governing,
Some troupes or members of troupes owned theatre buildings—they were know as "householders.“
Troupes were all male, men or young boys playing women’s roles, some specialized in particular types of roles.
Large repertories: a different bill each day.

58. The Elizabethan Theatre
Two kinds:
Outdoor or "public"
Indoor or "private“
Both were open to anyone who could pay, but the private theatres cost more, were smaller, and had a more select audience.
Nine Public playhouses were built between 1576 and 1642.The three most important – were all outside the city limits of London:
The Globe (1599)
The Fortune (1600)
The Swan (?)

59. General features of public playhouses
Varied in size – largest seated 2-3,000.
Varying shapes: round, rectagonal, octagonal
Had a "pit" or "yard" – where the "groundlings" were – un-roofed space, surrounding the stage on three sides, enclosed by three tiers of roofed galleries. The yard cost less (general admission), the Gallery cost more. There were probably some private galleries.
The stage was raised, 4-6 feet, extending to the center of the yard.
A "Tiring house" at the rear of the raised platform – where the actors would wait and change.
The stage was roofed – called "the heavens"—supported by columns. Flying was common, with cranes and ropes.
Traps in the floor, for fire, smoke, other effects.
Two doors in the tiring house—represented widely different locations (France or England, for instance).
A hut above the Tiring House, for equipment and machinery.
Flag on top of hut – to signal performance day.
Musicians’ gallery, below hut, third level.
Perhaps: Two playing levels, upper and lower; maybe a third. Audience may have sat on 2nd level..
Perhaps: a discovery space (probably between the two doors, portable or permanent, 1 or 3 curtains thrusting out.

60. The Globe

61. Indoor / Private Theatres
Less is known about the Elizabethan indoor theatres.
Smaller, roofed.
Troupes did shows in winter when it was too cold to be outside – suggesting that the staging was probably similar.
1576 – Blackfriar’s – a former monastery – was the first one – closed by 1584.
The New Blackfriar’s opened in 1596 by James Burbage. Their company, the King’s Men, used it after 1610 as their winter performance area.
Children’s troupes had been popular for a while until 1610.
By the time of Shakespeare (1595?), actors had achieved a satisfactory level of financial and social stability.
By 1642, there were six private theatres in London.
Private theatre rose in popularity from 1610 to Public theatres were used only during the five warm months.
Size: about ¼ - ½ of the seating capacity of the public theatres.
Spectators sat in the pit or in galleries or private boxes. The stages were probably similar.

62. William Shakespeare (1564-1616) What we think we know….
Between 1590 and 1613, he wrote 38 plays (although, for some, the authorship is still in doubt), some written with others (John Fletcher, for instance).
Histories: (English history, like Marlowe’s Chronicle plays) such as Henry IV, V, VI, VIII, Richard II, Richard III
Tragedies: Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth – generally considered to be his greatest works
Comedies: Twelfth Night, As You Like It, Comedy of Errors
Little known about his life:
Actor and shareholder in Lord Chamberlain’s Company (Later the King’s Men) by 1595.
After 1599, a shareholder at the Globe Theatre.
Actor, playwright, and sometimes director.

63. William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
A fluid and flexible production style is needed:
Small props, small set pieces maybe
Costumes important – they were usually contemporary, except for supernatural characters and conventional costumes (for Turks, Spaniards, animals), and with the addition of drapery to suggest periods (Romans wearing toga-like sash).
Shakespeare’s plays seem to be accepted as the most dramatically effective – he attempted all popular forms and subjects.
But his reputation during his lifetime was lower than Jonson or Fletcher of Beaumont. His fame grew in the late 17th century and reached its peak in the 19th. Has leveled now.
Survival of his plays depended on fellow actors (i.e.: Henry Condell and John Heminges) – Original edition of his plays was in 1623, called the First Folio.
His four greatest tragedies: Hamlet, Lear, Macbeth, Othello

64. Shakespeare and his contemporaries:
General characteristics of the plays:
Early point of attack
Several lines of action (subplots), independent at first, then somehow merge together – unity in apparent diversity (King Lear  is a perfect example).
Large number and variety of incidents; mixing of tears and laughter; gentle and violent passions
Time and space used freely – a sense of ongoing life behind the scenes
Large range and number of characters; 30 is common; rich and poor, all individuals.
Varied language: elegant, ribald, witty, prosaic; all to enhance character and action
Subjects from many sources (mythology, history, legend, fiction, plays) but reworked to become his own.

65. Sources Resource: Various, Wilson/Goldfarb
North Virginia Community College Introduction to Theatre--On line course