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GREEK theatre

GREEK theatre. Dr. Neighbours NRHS Theatre Classes. The myths. The land. The stage. The Land. Located in Europe in the Aegean Sea. The Land. PURPOSE OF GREEK DRAMA. Dramas presented by the state at annual religious festivals.

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GREEK theatre

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  1. GREEK theatre Dr. Neighbours NRHS Theatre Classes

  2. The myths • The land • The stage

  3. TheLand Located in Europe in the Aegean Sea

  4. The Land

  5. PURPOSE OF GREEK DRAMA • Dramas presented by the state at annual religious festivals. • Typically the Festival of Dionysius, the God of Wine, Fertility & Revelry • Plays were supposed to be presented for the purpose of ethical and moral improvement of the spectators and to ensure the spiritual survival of the community. • And a little entertainment, too!  • Winners of prizes were selected by ten citizens chosen by lots for the duty.

  6. FESTIVALS OF DIONYSUS • In honor of the god of Wine, Fertility, and Revelry • Early worship involved orgies and drunkenness • Myths relate to seasonal growing cycles and passions of Man • Purpose of worship was inducement of fertility • 8th-7th Century B.C.--contests of choral dancing held at many festivals ; “dithyrambs”

  7. DITHYRAMB“Ecstatic Hymn” A RELIGIOUS CHANT OR SONG PERFORMED IN RHYTHM AND WITH DANCING

  8. First Definite Record of Drama in Greece: 534 B.C. • “City Dionysia” (late March) reorganized • Contest for Best Tragedy instituted • Winner of first contest is Thespis, who also acted in the performance • Actors today are known as “Thespians”, in honor of the first known Greek actor.

  9. CHARACTERISTICS OF GREEK DRAMA • Actors were all male. They wore masks. • Scenes of the drama were always outdoors; indoor actions were reported by messengers. • There was no violence on stage • There was “unity” in plot -- no subplots or irrelevancies. • The action always took place in one day. • There were no curtains or intermissions.

  10. “HYPOKRITE” GREEK WORD FOR ACTOR, MEANS “WEARER OF MASKS”

  11. “CHORAGUS” • A wealthy patron, wishing to honor the gods, pays for the cost of a production • Precursor to the “Producer”

  12. THE CHORUS IN GREEK DRAMA • The function of the chorus was to : • set the mood of the drama • interpret events • relieve the tension • generalize meaning of the action • converse with and give advice to the actors • give background information • emphasize the beauty of poetry and dancing • leader acted as spokesman for the group

  13. SUBJECT OF PLAYS • The subject was almost exclusively taken from well-known myths. • The plays explored the mysteries of life and the role of the gods in human affairs. • The main purpose was ethical and religious instruction.

  14. STYLE IN PLAYS • There are long, wordy speeches (sometimes about current events or contemporary people).

  15. MESSAGE FROM TRAGEDIES • Out of great tragedy comes wisdom.

  16. CONCEPT OF TRAGIC HERO AND TRAGEDY (from Aristotle) • Tragedy arouses the emotions of pity, fear, wonder and awe. • A tragic hero must be a man or woman capable of great suffering. • Tragedy explores the question of the ways of God to man. • Tragedy purifies the emotions (catharsis) • Tragedy shows how man is brought to disaster by a single flaw in his own character.

  17. Greek Theatre Terms • prologue – • episode -- • stasimon -- • chorus – • choragas -- • proscenium -- • choral ode -- • strophe -- • antistrophe – • epode -- • hubris – • humartia -- • sphinx -- • unities -- • exodus -- • Dionysus -- • skene -- • theatron or orchestra -- • parados -- • thymele --

  18. Oedipus rex, Antigone and Greek Theatre Terms, cont. • exodus -- final action of the play • Dionysus -- God of drama, wine, revelry • skene -- wooden building with three doors through which actors made their entrances and exits • theatron or orchestra -- dancing place of the chorus • parados -- chorus marching in from the left or right • thymele -- altar to Dionysus on which sacrifices were made, and which was sometimes used as a stage prop

  19. prologue -- opening scene (introduction) • episode -- act or scene • stasimon -- choral ode (end of each episode) • chorus -- clarifies experiences and feelings of the characters and expresses conventional attitude toward development in the story; also sets the mood • proscenium -- level area in front of the skene on which most of the plays action took place • choral ode -- lyric sung by the chorus which develops the importance of the action

  20. strophe -- a turning, right to left, by chorus • antistrophe -- a turning, left to right, by chorus • choragas -- leader of the chorus • epode -- the part of a lyric ode following the strophe and antistrophe • hubris -- Greek word for excessive pride or arrogance

  21. humartia -- Greek word for error in judgment, especially resulting from a defect in the character of a tragic hero; the tragic flaw • sphinx -- a female monster, usually represented as having the head and breast of a woman, the body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle • unities -- time, place, action; a play should have no subplot, should not cover more than 24 hours and should not have more than one locale

  22. Masks of Greek Theater

  23. The masks were worn for many reason including: • 1. Visibility • 2. Acoustic Assistance • 3. Few Actors, Many Roles • 4. Characterization

  24. Masks of Greek Theater

  25. Masks of Greek Theater

  26. Modern-day replicas Hero-King Comedy (Servant or Herald ) Tragedy (Weeping Chorus)

  27. THE THEATRE OF THE GREEKS The Grecian Amphitheatre (Where They Performed)

  28. The Stage

  29. The Stage

  30. Theater at Epidaurus

  31. Theater at Epidaurus

  32. Once, on a Hill Far Away… • The theatre of the Greeks was built on the slope of a hill • This secured sufficient elevation for the back row of seats without enormous substructures (which the Romans used) • If the surface was rocky, semicircles were cut out, tier above tier (level above level) • If it was soft ground, an excavation was made in the hillside and lined with rows of stone benches • The steps were often made with marble, as in the theatre of Dionysus at Athens.

  33. The Circular Pit • The circular pit that was formed by the seating was enclosed by a lofty portico and balustraded terrace • This area was assigned to the spectators. • The auditorium was divided by broad concentric belts, named diazomata, which served as lobbies, • Had eleven rows of seats between each, and these were further divided into wedges by transverse flights of stairs between the lobbies, converging on the centre of the orchestra. • The latter resembled the passages in a trireme with its banks of oars, and hence were called selides or gangways, the subdivisions, eleven to each section, suggesting as many benches of rowers.

  34. The Auditorium The auditorium was divided, as with contemporary theatres, into several parts But the assignment of seats was determined not by a money payment, but by rank and other considerations. • Thus the rows nearest the orchestra were set apart for the members of the council, while others were reserved for young men, who sat together, or for those who, for whatever reason, were entitled to them. • Most of the space was given to the general public, who with these exceptions could make their own choice of seats.

  35. Parts of a Greek Theatre • ORKESTRA: circular acting space at center, translates as “dancing place” • THYMELE: Altar stone at center of orkestra • THEATRON: Spectator seating; “seeing place” • SKENE: Stage building behind orkestra; where we get the words “scene” and “scenery”

  36. The Orchestra (Orkestra) • The orchestra was ten or twelve feet below the front row of seats which formed its boundary • A portion of its space was occupied by a raised platform, which superseded the altar of Dionysus in the centre, though still known as the thymele. • In front of the orchestra, and on a level with the lowest tier of seats, was the stage • Flights of steps led from the orchestra, with others leading to chambers below, known as Charon's stairways; • They were used for the entrance of spectres from the nether world and for the ghostly apparitions of the dead.

  37. SKENE • STAGE HOUSE: provides scenic background, a place to change costumes, place to exit • Had one to three doors • May have been raised up off ground level • Developed a second story in later years

  38. Parts of a Greek Theatre • PARADOS/PARADOI: entry ramps for the chorus between the Teatron and Skene; where we get the word “parade” • PERIAKTOI: Three-sided turnable column used as a scenic device, placed in space between columns of skene • MACHINA: Crane-like device used to suspend celestial figures above the action; “deus ex machina” means “god from the machine”

  39. Side View: Orkestra and Teatron

  40. Orkestra with Thymele, Skene

  41. Teatron

  42. AUDITORIUM“The Hearing Place”Includes Orkestra and Teatron

  43. Seating for the Priests

  44. The Head Priest’s Chair

  45. GREEK PLAYWRIGHTS • Only 5 playwrights and 45 plays survive • According to Aristotle, drama developed out of improvisation by the leaders of the dithyrambs • Early “plays”, such as those by Thespis, were no more than a discourse between one actor (“Protagonist”) and the chorus. • In later years, playwrights wrote 3 Tragedies and one Satyr Playfor the contests at the City Dionysia

  46. Major Greek Dramatists

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