1. Theatre of The Renaissance (1400-1650)

2. Renaissance = meaning “rebirth”

3. Renaissance in Italy  Not the best playwriting.  Mostly influenced by Greek Theatre

4. Intermezzi and Pastorals  Intermezzi  Short plays depicting mythological tales.  Presented between acts of full-length plays  Usually comedies.  Thematically related to the full length play they accompanied.  Developed out of popular court entertainments.  Often more popular than their accompanied plays.  Disappeared in the 1600s.

5. Intermezzi and Pastorals  Pastorals  Imitated Greek satyr plays  Subject matter: Romance  Characters: Shepherds and mythological creatures who inhabit the forests and countryside.  Unlike satyr plays, pastorals were not as perverted and bawdy in style.  Usually deal with lovers being threatened and often at odds with each other.  Although the action is serious, always a happy ending.

6. Opera  Quite dramatic  Could be considered a form of drama, but is usually studied as a form of music.  Completely sung.  Spoken text of opera is called the libretto.  Secondary to music  Stories of opera moved from myth to history to contemporary fiction.

7. Commedia dell’arte  Italian for, “play of professional artists”.  Usually consisted of ten performers  Seven men  Three women  Primarily staged comedies  Thrived between 1550 to 1750  Lasted longer than Renaissance period.  No written script.  All improvised dialogue

8. Commedia dell’arte  Scenarios provided plot outlines  Over 1000 still survive.  Commedia actors played the same stock characters most of their careers.  Costuming also facilitated improvisation  Commedia characters all wore traditional costumes  Harlequin’s patchwork jacket  Dottore’s academic robes  This helped audiences recognize characters

9. Renaissance in England  Under Henry VII and Henry VIII, interludes were present at court or house of nobility.  Interludes- brief dramatic entertainments written and staged by professionals.  School Drama became popular  Plays written and presented at schools and colleges.  Not for the general public  Reflect Greek and Roman influence  Later cited for development of boys’ acting companies.

10.  Play wrights who provided boys’ companies with scripts were members of a group called University Wits.  Members included:  Christopher Marlowe  Thomas Kyd  John Lyly  Robert Greene

11. Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593)  Son of a Canterbury shoemaker  Attended Corpus Christi College  By the time he graduated as an undergrad he was already a secret agent  First drama he wrote alone: Tamburlaine the Great (1587)  Queen’s council ordered to arrest Marlowe  Charged with atheism  Was stabbed to death before arrest  In a brawl with Ingram Frizer

12. Marlowe’s writing  Focused on dramatic poetry  Used iambic pentameter  Has 5 beats  2 syllables to each beat  Accent on the second beat

13. Acting Companies  Three categories of personnel  Shareholders  Hired men or Hirelings  Apprentices

14. Shareholders  The elite members of the companies  Bought a percentage of ownership in the company  Received a percentage of the profits  Were the main actors of the companies.

15. Hirelings  Contracted for a specific period of time and for a specific salary  Played mainly small roles

16. Apprentices  Young performers training for the profession  Were assigned shareholders  Received room, board, training and experience in hopes of becoming a shareholder.  Often young boy apprentices were used to play women  Made them more significant to the company than hired men.

17. Women Actors  Not allowed  Debate over reasons  Most believe it was a continuation of the religious attitude of the Medieval period.  Actresses were little better than prostitutes  However, women actors were allowed in Italy for commedia dell’arte