Jan 26, 2012

1. Jan 26, 2012 • “Worry is an old man with bended head carrying a load of feathers which he thinks are lead.” • Anonymous

2. “Pass up the following: • Signed syllabus • Decorated writing folder • 10 SAT word maps

3. The History of Ancient Greek Drama • The Greek Theater • Greek Actors • The Mask • Greek Religion

4. 5 Learning Stations Each learning station will inform you of the following components of Greek Drama: • The History of Greek Drama • The Greek Theater • Greek Actors • The Mask • Greek Religion • Video Segment

5. LEARNING STATION INSTRUCTIONS For each station, you must do the following: • Read the instructions on the folder! • Read the handout for that particular station to answer the questions. • After the ten minutes is up, move to the next learning station in a clockwise system. • DO NOT WRITE ON THE HANDOUTS THAT ARE DESIGNATED FOR THAT LEARNING STATION!!!

6. Learning Station Topics • LEARNING STATION 1: Origin of Greek Drama and Actors • LEARNING STATION 2: Greek Masks and Greek Theater • LEARNING STATION 3: Greek Religion • LEARNING STATION 4: “Oedipus” Video Segment • LEARNING STATION 5: Pre-reading Questions & Anticipation Guide

7. The Origins of Greek Drama • Where can the origins of drama be found? Athens, Greece 2. What is a “Dionysia” and why is this a significant event? It was an annual festival of dances and songs performed in honor of the god Dionysus (the god of wine and procreation). 3. What did the song-like storytelling evolve into? An enactment of Dionysian legends in Greek history.

8. 4. How were the first plays performed? With just one actor and a chorus of people who helped him to tell the story. 5. How did “acting” eventually come about? In a competition, a man named Thespis astounded audiences by leaping on to the back of a wooden cart and reciting poetry as if he was the characters whose lines he was reading. In doing so he became the world's first actor 6. Why was drama important to the Greeks? It was their way investigating the world they lived in, and what it meant to be human.

9. Greek Actors • What was considered a citizen’s public duty? Participating in Greek drama by performing in the chorus 2. How did one become an actor? One must train in the art of public speaking 3. What were the privileges of an actor? They were respected and often exempt from military duty. 4. Why were women prohibited from acting? Greek society was male-dominated

10. 5. How did actors dress to ensure that theywere seen? • They e wore long, flowing robe with a great deal of padding and high, plat-formed shoes. • 6. How did their attire limit them on stage? • They were not able to move around much. • 7. How did the actors remedy this limitation? • Limited mobility forced the actors to develop broad, sweeping gestures to signify emotions such as the beating the breast and tearing their clothes to indicate mourning and grief.

11. The Greek Mask • Give the four functions of the Greek masks: a. Allowed them take on the role of a specific character b. Served as a megaphone • Identified age, sex, mood, and rank • Allowed actors to change roles easily

12. Masks Worn by Actors

14. Structure of Greek Theatre • Skene: A building used as an area into which actors could exit the scene to change costumes and masks. • Proscenium: Acting area, or stage. • Orchestra: Where the chorus performed. • Parados: Passage on the left or right through which the chorus entered the orchestra.  Theatron: Seating area built into a hillside in the shape of a horseshoe. 

17. Video Segment of Greek Drama Performance How is Greek theater different from modern dramatic forms such as movies and modern theater?

18. Let’s Discuss the “Anticipation Reaction Guide!

19. Pre-Reading Discussion Questions • If you defied your parents and did something wrong, what’s the worst punishment they could dole out to make sure you wouldn’t do such a thing again? • Should a person be judged guilty of a crime if he or she is unaware that any crime was being committed? • Is being self-assured ever a bad thing? • Have you ever wanted to see a movie after having read the book? Why would you want to spend the money if you already know the story?

20. Read the Myth… • Quick Question: Why did spectators in ancient Greece want to see a play in which they were already familiar? • Answer: The entertainment came from the suspense of watching the characters learn the truth. Also, their prior knowledge supplied the play’s dramatic irony.

21. Today’s Central Question Why read a 2400 year old Greek Tragedy about a man who committed incest??? • The myth of Oedipus attempts to show the consequences of human pride and rashness, of trying to outwit the gods. Oedipus’s fate—killing his father and marrying his mother—involves a taboo that operates regardless of time or place (incest) as the worst possible consequence that could befall a human attempting to place himself above the gods. •  Sophocles is not endorsing incest; he’s depicting it as the worst thing that anyone could ever do.

22. Traits of Tragedy • Late point of attack • Violence and death occurred offstage • Frequently used messengers to relate information • Stories based on myth or history, but varied interpretations of events • Focus was on psychological and ethical attributes of characters, rather than physical and sociological.

23. structure of a tragedy • Prologue, which describes the situation and sets the scene • Parados, an ode sung by the chorus as it made its entrance • Five dramatic scenes, or episodes--the last of which is called the Epilogue • Each episode is followed by a stasimon, a choral ode, an exchange of laments by the chorus and the protagonist. (This ode is sometimes called a komos.) • Exodus, the climax and conclusion