Roman Theatre

1. Roman Theatre

2. Transition • As Rome took over Greek territories, it was influenced by those that had established theatre traditions. • The greatest influence came from Etruria where they used music and dance as part of every festival and performance. • 240 BC is considered the beginning of regular Roman drama. • Greece separated theatre from other forms of entertainment, while Rome incorporated as many spectacles as possible, including music, dance, boxing and acrobatics. • The number of theatrical performances each year grew from only 4 to 11 around 200 BC, to at least 40 during the Christian Era, and up to 100 days of theatre in 354 AD as a way for the empire to keep favor with the public as their power declined.

3. Roman style/playwrights • The style of theatre changed as Rome moved from a republic to an empire. The main difference was the additional spectacle needed to keep the public interested. • While the Greeks were more philosophical in nature and questioned the reason things happened, the Romans were very practical and focused mostly on how things happened. • The first major dramatists were Livius Andronicus and GnaeusNaevius, and after their deaths around 200 BC, comedy and tragedy began to develop separately, although both were generally based on Greek works. • Plautus and Terence are the only comedians whose work has survived. • Plautus was known for his Latin dialogue, wit, and farce. • Terence combined more than one Greek play at a time to make complex plots, his plays were more romantic and did not incoporate Roman character traits, making his work less popular than Plautus

4. Roman style/playwrights • Roman comedies did not use a chorus and added musical accompaniment for much of the dialogue. • Tragedies did not differ much from Greek plays, but were re-written to emphasize the extremes of virtue, vice, horror and noble deeds through the use of melodrama and spectacle. • Neither form of theatre specified the number of chorus members which led to much larger casts. • The public taste was significantly more violent, which led to a change in spectacle. • Ovid’s Medea and the plays of Seneca (Oedipus, Phaedra, Agamemnon) are the only surviving tragedies and deal with more violent myths.

5. Roman style/playwrights • Seneca was highly influential, both in the empire and as a historical reference during the Renaissance. • In his plays, deaths and battles were brought onstage to be enacted realistically, possibly with slaves portraying the characters who are killed. • Seneca’s plays began the pattern of 5 acts, extensive monologues, deeper interest in morality, a focus on horror, magic, the connection between human and superhuman worlds, obsessive characters, soliloquies, asides, and confidants that Renaissance playwrights made traditional.

6. Mime/farce • Mime and farce grew in popularity as tragedy and comedy were declining. • Mime was the only form of theatre that women could participate in on stage. • Pantomime was also developed during the Roman empire. • Around 100 BC, farce began using stock characters: • Bucco- a braggart • Pappus- an old man • Maccus- a glutton • Dossenus- a frightening hunchback

7. Acting style/costumes • Tragic performers moved slowly and were more formal in their speech. • Comedic performers were conversational and had lively movements because they often chased each other. • Both tragic and comic actors wore masks and used exaggerated movements due to the large auditorium. • Mimes did not wear masks and pantomimes were much more subtle in their gestures. • The masks were similar to Greek masks but used wigs instead of molded structures for hair pieces. • The masks for pantomimes had closed mouths and were two sided, one joyful and the other sorrowful.

8. masks

9. Theatre architecture • In 55 BC there is record of the first permanent theatre structure in Rome, built by Pompey. • Because the Romans were skilled architects, their theatres were much more complex in construction. • This theatre sat 17,500 people around a 300 foot wide stage. • The entire building was enclosed by an exterior wall of consistent height so the view of the spectators was more controlled. • The audience was seated in a half circle, with multiple levels of seats connected by corridors and stairways that directed traffic efficiently in and out of the theatre.

10. Theatre architecture • The stage itself was about 5 feet high and the façade of the stage house included elaborate columns, niches, porticos, and statues between the several doors for entrances. • The façade was all painted or gilded. • Additional scenery was not used, rather the lines of the play told the audience each location as needed. • Curtains began to be used regularly to help with suspense and sudden revealing of characters or scenes. • Roman theatre continued until shortly after 400 AD when the church began to take over as the main political power.

11. Theatre architecture

12. assignment • You will select a scene from a Roman comedy or tragedy in groups of 6 or less. • The scene must be at least 2-3 minutes long. • You must have your scene selected by TOMORROW and have a script to show me. • You will have one full week starting tomorrow (11/6) to rehearse these scenes. • You may masks, but they will not be required. • LINES MUST BE MEMORIZED. • You will perform for the class 11/13 and 11/14. • There will be a QUIZ over Roman on FRIDAY 11/15. • This power point will be posted on my website on ros.lifeschools.net.