1. Rituals to Renaissance
Theatre History
Rituals to Renaissance

2. Rituals - 38,000-5000 BC Oldest form of expression – storytelling
Used masks, costumes, and visual art
Begins with primitive man as dance and rhythmic movement
These rituals explained tradition, tribal history, religion, why thing happen in nature
Rituals evolved into pantomime - stories shown not told
Gave youth of a culture a guide and plan for their own lives

3. Rituals Rituals are related to 3 basic concerns:
Power – influencing and controlling events
Pleasure – social events, entertainment
Duty – worship, god(s) related
Often times the acting/leadership role was filled by elders and priests.
Acting space (theaters) developed as more elaborate rituals were created.

4. Egypt B.C.
“Pyramid” plays - religious plays about the deceased king’s soul being resurrected
Coronation Festival plays - celebration of the new pharaoh
Passion plays - murder of a king; battle, voyages, and a scary resurrection scene
“Ra” plays - Ra (sun god) fought Apophis (snake god) of the underworld. Ra always won.

5. Potential Test Questions
Rituals are a type of _______________.
Prehistoric tribes were able to communicate ________ through rituals
How have the elements of rituals influences modern theatre?

6. Performance Assessment for Ritual
Get into groups of 3-5 and pick up 1 rubric
Create a ‘ritual’ performance which includes the following
A who, what, where, and conflict
Explain the tribes tradition/history or natural occurrence
Use pantomime and gibberish and facial expressions
Use rhythmic movement and appropriate music
This assignment will be performed the last 30 minutes of class as is worth 15 points

7. Greeks B.C.
Performances grew out of religious festivals in honor of Greek God Dionysis
Festivals (5-6 days) were held once a year in the THEATRON (“watching space”) which is where we get our word THEATRE
All citizens were expected to attend
Largest seated 1400 (1/2 population of Athens)
Theaters were semi-circles built of stone into the hillside

8. Greek Theatre (continued)
Greek Theatre focused on TRAGEDY (issues of life, death, the gods)
Actors all male/wore masks
Chorus (12-50) acted out the
story/life of the Gods together
First producer/director/actor was
THESPIS - “invented” acting when
he steps out of the chorus to
answer them ---
this created stage dialogue

10. Greek Theatre (continued) - Playwrights
Aeschylus - (525?-456 B.C.) “Father of Tragedy”; considered to be the first playwright
Idea of the play is the most important thing - not the character
Adds a 2nd actor
Sophocles ( B.C.)
Writes about right vs wrong, the idea that man can not solve all the problems in the world
Focuses on character -- drives the plot
Euripides (480?-406 B.C.)
First “Modern” playwright
Writes plays of characters in relation to society and mocks them
Characters are realistic
No chorus

11. Roman Theatre - 6th century B.C.
Borrowed from the Greeks and “improved” on them
Less philosophical than the Greeks
Actors/performers were called “histriones”
Encompassed more than drama : acrobatics, gladiators, jugglers, athletics, chariots races, naumachia (sea battles), boxing, venationes (animal fights)

12. Roman Theatre (continued)
Pantomime/Mime - solo dance, with music (lutes, pipes, cymbals) and a chorus.
Used masks, story-telling, mythology or historical stories, usually serious but sometimes comic
Spoken
Usually short
Sometimes elaborate casts and spectacle
Serious or comic (satiric)
No masks
Had women
Violence and sex depicted literally
Scoffed at Christianity
Needless to say, the Church did not look kindly at Mime.

13. Roman Theatre (continued)
Theaters are free-standing buildings with stadium seating
Large stages (20-40 deep and feet long)
Could seat 10-15,000 people
Stage covered with a roof (often
Audience covered with a awning to protect them from the sun
Trap doors common
Around 78 B.C. a cooling system put in place --- air blown over streams of water
Sand on the stage floor

14. Potential Test Questions
Who was the 1st actor?
Greek festivals were held in the ________.
Roman festivals were held in the _______.
Greeks used _____ to express emotion.
Who is the chorus?
What are the elements of Tragedy

15. Performance for Greeks/Roman
Get into groups of 5-6 and pick up 1 rubric
Create a performance that has the following:
A who, what, where, and conflict
A character of high status who “falls” because of a fatal flaw
A chorus and at least 2 characters
Dynamic choreographed motivated movement
This assignment is worth 15 points and will be performed the last 30 minutes of class today

16. Medieval Theatre ( )
Theatre is dead in Europe but active in Asia
Traveling Troupes performed on wagons which opened to create a fixed stage - used props and costumes but in Europe no women performers
3 Types of plays performed
Miracle Plays - enacted the lives of saints
Mystery Plays - Bible stories sometimes also called “passion plays”
Morality Plays - taught moral lessons - right vs wrong and the struggle between good and evil for the soul of Man

17. Potential Test Questions
True/False – Woman were allowed to perform in Medieval theatre.
Everyman is a ___________ play.
_____________ stories teach right from wrong.
Stories about the bible are ___________ plays.
How does Medieval Theatre reflect what is going on historically during this time period?

18. Performance Assessment
Get into groups of 4-6.
Create a performance with the following
A who, what, where, and conflict
A type of medieval play (Morality, Mystery, or Miracle) with the proper elements
Appropriate character choices
Choreographed and motivated movement.
This will be performed the last 30 minutes of class today. It is worth 20 points.

19. Italian Renaissance (1470-1550)
Built indoor theaters
Church no longer “calling the shots”
Commedia Dell’Arte - 1st form of improvisation; still traveling troupes that performed for $ from the crowd that gathered; plot summary learned by actors beforehand
Considered to be the 1st “professional” theatre
First in Europe to put Women on stage

20. English Renaissance (1470-1550)
Focused on the plays of Shakespeare, Marlowe, and Jonson
Theatre saw an incredible burst of energy and talent -- 1 in 8 people regularly went to the theatre
Purpose to entertain the rich. They got the good seats in the balcony and the poor stood below
Roles were played by men (including women roles
First time costumes fit the character

21. Shakespeare April 24,1564-April 24,1616
Noted to be the greatest playwright in history, although authenticity is questioned by many.
He was an poet, actor, playwright, and producer
Wrote 38 plays: histories, comedies, tragedies, and fantasies
Balanced plot and character

22. The Globe Theater Built in 1599 - considered “indoor” Thrust Stage
3 Stories high
Audience Sits around the stage
Little furniture
Burned down in during a performance of Henry 8th

23. The Globe today

24. The Globe Today

25. The Globe Today

26. French Renaissance (1550-1700)
Best playwright - Jean-Baptiste Moliere ( ) wrote comedies that focued on social “rules”; also called “Comedy of Manners”
French Theatre had several rules
Unities - time, place, and action had to be 24 hours or less
Purity of Form - no mixing of Comedy and Tragedy
“Verisimilitude” - the appearance of truth with the following categories - Reality (could happen in real life), Morality (teach a lesson), Generality (normal attirbutes), and Decorum (stereotypes)

27. Potential Test Questions
The Lazzi in Commedia Dell’Arte is a
Piece of food
Type of character
Comedic bit
None of these
What elements of modern entertainment do we see being borrowed from the Renaissance Era?

28. 19th Century Theatre (1800-1900) Naturalism (1850-1922)
The relationship between character and enviroment
2 important “creators” - Anton Chekhov (Russian playwright) and Konstantin Stanislavsky ( ). Both men demanded natural reponses from their actors. Psychological reactions of the characters could be more important than the situation itself.
Stanislavsky created “The System” or “Method” acting - actor uses an “emotional memory” to create character/motivation.

29. 19th Century Theatre (1800-1900) Realism (1850-1950)
A style showing life as “it really is” reflects real life
The FOURTH WALL is established as a result - the idea that the actors can see through an invisible wall into the lives of the characters.
Henrik Ibsen ( )
Playwright who saw theatre as a means to challenge “mistakes” he saw in the society he lived in. Most famous play A Doll’s House helped pave the way for women to be seen as equals.