1. Greek Theater By Mr. Healy

2. Terms Dionysus- Greek God of wine and fertility City Dionysia- Ritual ecstatic celebration of god of wine and fertility Orchestra- Greek for “dancing place”, semi circle where chorus performs and acting takes place Skene- A large rectangular building situated behind the orchestra, used as a backstage. Actors could change their costumes and masks. Thespis- Greek chorus member who thought of the idea of wearing masks and acting Tragedy- Deals with high status, beautiful characters in tragic situations Comedy- Funny plays that deal with ugly, low class people Satyr plays- rude comedies starring men as satyrs, or half men half goats. These were the servants of Dionysus 5 th century BC- was the high period for greek drama- Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles all produced their plays in this era

3. Terms continued Chorus- A body of men who sung lines from the play. Usually commenting on the dramatic action Dithyramb- Choral song that tells a Greek myth

4. Origins Greek theater, and therefore theater itself. Originated in Athens around 700 B.C. Athens was the center of Greek government and also worship Theater arose from the festivals celebrating the god Dionysus The main festival was called City Dionysia Theater originates from some pretty raunchy Greeks

5. City Dionysia Ecstatic ritualized celebration of Dionysus Led by drunken men dressed up as goats because goats were thought of as sexually potent Chorus would sing Dithyrambs Soon performances became competitive and actors began to take the stage Plays were submitted and performed and then judged Winners had their names inscribed in stone at the venue ensuring glory for all time

6. Origins of acting First man to play a character on stage is credited as Thespis Originally a member of the chorus, he began to stand alone and assume different masks depending on what character from the story he was playing More on masks later

7. Origins of Dramatic Genres There were three types of plays presented at the festival 1. Tragedy 2. Comedy 3. Satyr Plays

8. Tragedy Type of play focusing on upper class or noble characters and their downfalls The 3 most famous Tragedians are Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles Some famous Greek Tragedies are Oedipus Rex,