Greek Theatre Background Project!
Transcript: Greek Theatre By: Reese Paul Who was Sophocles? -One of the most famous playwrights in all of Ancient Greece, born in 496 CE-406 BCE, his first competition in 468 CE and his last when he was 90 in 406 BCE. -Along with 2 other Tragedians, Euripides and Aeschylus, Sophocles' plays were preformed in threes, not always in a trilogy order, though. -His plays were shown at religious festivals, most notably in Dionysus Eleutherus, in the city of Dionysia, Athens. (Plays were also preformed in smaller venues around Greece.) -Sophocles (in terms of victories) was the most successful play write known, and was a big fan of his fellow playwrights. :] How was he so popular? How did he influence the future of theatre? The Greatest Playwright How Sophocles inspired the future of theatre Here's how! Sophocles added a few things that would change the ways plays were preformed and written forever! -he added a 3rd actor to the stage -he was the first to use painted scenery (and was more interested in realistic sets) -he modified the Greek Chorus into a different role, one that still sung their lines, but was also seen as a protagonist who had a strong connection to the audience. Dionysus AKA Bromius, or Evius, orrrrr Bacchus. Dionysus was the god of wine, theatre, and ALSO known as "The Masked God." The God and the Festival Dionysian Theatre: -no professional actors -all plays were chosen and preformed by Athenian men, who would play a wide range of characters, such as Herakles, (you know him as Hercules) Io, (a half cow/half woman) to even a Satyr. (half goat/half man. Think of Danny DeVito voicing Phil in Hercules.) -actors would all wear masks as their costumes, it would help the audience know which character was being preformed, and it could allow the actors to express emotions for audience members to see easily. The Festival Dionysus Eleuthereus AKA The Greater Dionysia, an annual festival where everyone, I mean everyone-slaves, women, children, any Athenian citizen- could come and gather in the nice springtime weather to the amphitheater to see the new works made by their favorite playwrights, such as Sophocles, Euripides, Aeschylus, Aristophanes, and many others. Although the plays were new and different each year, the schedule for the festival always remained the same. On the first day, the main festivities would include singing and worshiping the statue of Dionysus, and the day would be full of drinking and celebrating. After a night of heavy sleeping, the day would start by the orphans of the city marching down the street in remembrance of their father's sacrifice to the city. Once they arrived at the Amphitheater, they took front row seats. For the next 5 days, there would be performances of the newest tragedies followed by a comedic play afterward called a Satyr play. On the 7th day of the festival, it was a day for all comedic plays, which was much needed after all the sorrows. Then, the festival was concluded. The Greek Chorus can be compared to a modern day chorus or the ensemble in a play/musical performance. -made up of 50+ actors -they accompanied the others through singing and choreographed movements, and preformed in what is now known as the orchestra pit -however, the playwright Aeschylus reduced the size of the chorus in order to make scenes more intense. The Greek Chorus Masks! Masks could allow the chorus to have a uniformity, and encouraged reliant relationships between the cast. They were also a major advantage to the actors, as the theatre was huge, and that would mean the audience was far from the stage. Masks could accentuate an actor's movements to make them more noticable in the crowd. Functionality! The Greek Chorus acted as a protagonist who also played the role of connecting the audience to the story. It was there job to go through the 4th wall and keep everyone informed of the characters, and whilst doing so they sang and danced along with said characters. Mask! A Greek mask, made to portray the Greek god Zeus, the god of the sky and thunder. <--- :] How the tragedies were structered 1st, a prologue is spoken by one or more characters. 2nd, the chorus enters the scene, singing and dancing. 3rd, the play continues as written, switching between dialogue and singing. (sung by the chorus) 4th, after the tragedy, a small comedic show is preformed, called a Saytr Play. The Blueprints How Ancient Greek Tragedy Plays shaped the future of theatre Inspiring the Future Theatrons (theatres) back then were much bigger, and meant to hold up to 1400 audience members. They were outside amphitheatres with 3 main structures, the skene, which was the main stage, the orchestra, where the greek chorus preformed, nowadays it's used for an actual orchestra, and the audience, where spectators would sit and enjoy the show. The layout of modern day theatres are similar to those from the anicent times, but have been modified for modern usages. Masks aren't used as much anymore, but we still use similar strategies when
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