Theater History Timeline

Theater History Timeline

Greek

In Greek theater...

• they wouldn't Kill people on stage
• costumes were colorful and elaborate
• drums were used for sound affects
• plays were based on ancient myths

Thesbian: any actor or actress

Skene: a small building near the stage they changed in and propped backdrops against

Roman

• The stage was made of portable wooden platforms
• The plays were normally risque and for lower class
• The Roman government frowned upon theater and outlawed it at one point
• In 61 b.c. Pompeii had a giant auditorium built and desguised it as a temple by putting a statue and pictures of the god Venus on it (see picture)

Closet drama: plays meant to be read rather than performed

Claque: a person or people paid to arose the crowd

Japanese

• There were different types of Japanese theater Noh, Kyogen, Kabuki and Burraku
• Noh: very depressing theater form
• Noh theater would have comic interludes called Kyogens throughout the performance to lighten the mood
• Burraku: theater of four foot tall puppets
• Kabuki theater had lots of singing and dancing in it
• Japanese theater was mainly for aristocrats
• The costumes were generally very intricate

Medeival

Seperate scenes were performed on seperate stages and the crowd would move from one to another untill they had seen the whole play

Drama started in the church to help illiterate people understand the message better

Hrosvitha wrote religious comedies that were performed in the cathedral

In the 13th of 14th century crowds became larger and stages had to be moved outfdoors to the market place

Trope: short dramatized scenes

Passion play: a play that depicted scenes from Christ's life, particularly during his last days around his resurrection

Renaissance

• Commedia Dell'Arte: a form of theater that originated in Italy that was proffesional improvisation
• Commedia Dell'Arte normally consisted of three woman and seven men
• Molière was a playwright who wrote witty and satirical plays (1622-1673)
• Neoclassicism: A form of theater in which dramatists were supposed to observe the classic unities and write in restricted verse form (used in France often)
• Neoclassicism developed into theater for royalty and playhouses became very lavish
• Three famous Spanish playwrights from this time period were Miguel de Cervantes, Lope de Vega, and Calderon

Elizabethan

• Queen Elizabeth Loved theater and encouraged it
• They also didn't show violence on stage
• William Shakespear was a popular playwright, and his work still lives on today, including the plays Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and Othello
• A white flag would be raised to show a comedic play was going on a black for tragedies
• Groundlings: poor people who paid a penny and stood in the pit around the acting platform
• Tiring house: a backstage area where actors would go to change

Restoration and 18th-Century Theater

• Charles II started a new form of theater in England based off of plays he'd seen in Paris
• Woman were allowed to perform
• Indoor theaters with candles and oil lamps for lighting
• Audiences consisted of aristocracy

Bombastic: an acting style that appears pompous or overdone

Legitimate theater: all live performances

The End!

Autumn Sanson

Period 5-Acting 1

01.18.12