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Ancient Greek Theatre. Mrs. Novak 2011. Drama was born in ancient Greece!. 600s B.C. - Greeks were giving choral performances of dancing and singing Performances at festivals honouring Dionysus Later they held drama contests to honour him. Dionysus: God of wine and revelry.
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AncientGreekTheatre Mrs. Novak 2011
Drama was born in ancient Greece! • 600s B.C. - Greeks were giving choral performances of dancing and singing • Performances at festivals honouringDionysus • Later they held drama contests to honourhim
Dionysus: God of wine and revelry Celebration of Dionysus- God of Wine Performed in circular dancing place (orchestra) A chorus of men dressed in goat skins Trageoia = goat song A story about Dionysus by leader of the chorus
Theatre and the Common Man • Business and activities were suspended during the week-long festivals held three times per year • It was considered a CIVIC DUTY for people to participate in the productions in some way • The plays were to give a lesson to the people - DIDACTIC PURPOSE
Actors needed to be LARGER THAN LIFE • Size was symbolic of their social status • Chiton – a long, flowing robe, padded at the shoulders for width, selected in symbolic colors • Cothurni – platform shoes for added height * Women were excluded from acting and had to sit in the higher seats in the theatron
The Actors • 3 main actors, all men • Men played women’s roles • Same actor appeared in several parts • Wore masks • Elaborate gestures, “over-acting”
The masks worn by the actors looked more 'natural' than bare faces in the Theatre of Dionysus. The masks of tragedy were of an ordinary, face-fitting size, with wigs attached, and open mouths to allow clear speech.
Thespis (534 B.C.) • Defined theatre • art of acting a part on stage • dramatic impersonation of a character other than yourself • “Thespian” term comes from his name
Description of Greek Theatre • Took place in large hillside amphitheaters - held 20,000 • Players included a chorus and their leader • Lines were chanted • Chorus performed in an “orchestra”, not on a raised platform
Greek Theatre: Main components • Theatron: literally, the “watching place” • Orchestra: literally, the “dancing place” • Skene: “scene,” or backdrop • Parados: passageways
Orchestra • Chorus (from 12-15 people) • Actors- always men, masked and in costumes • Early plays - only two actors; by about 450 B.C., a third had been added • The poet composed the music and the dance as well as the text, directed the production, and trained the chorus; some dramatists also played the leading roles
Functions of the Chorus • The beauty of poetry and dancing • Relieves tension • Interprets events for audience
The Chorus: *Often converses with the actors; *Gives advice *Gives background of events
Greek Drama • gets subjects from mythology • outlines the plot in advance, little suspense • no violent action • scenes of horror happen off stage and are reported to the audience
Tragedy • A drama of a character, usually one in high position, where a conflict usually develops between the protagonist/hero and a “superior force (such as destiny, circumstance, or society)” and the storyends in some sort of disaster or great fall of the protagonist.
GREAT GREEK TRAGEDIANS • AESCHYLUS (ca.525-456 B.C.) • SOPHOCLES (ca.495-406 B.C.) • EURIPIDES (c 480-406 B.C.)
EURIPIDES (c 480-406 B.C.) Wrote prolifically - some 90 plays, of which 19 survived He won the prize for the best play only four times He wrote of less heroic, more realistic characters Showed interest in psychology through portraits of women
Euripides: Medea • Medea was Euripides’ most famous play
