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Renaissance Theatre in Italy. Italian Theatre. Medieval Italian Theatre depended on portable stages The Ten Books of Architecture, written c. 16-13 BCE by Vitruvius, was rediscoverd in a monastery in Switzerland. Included plans for Greek inspired Roman Theatre
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Italian Theatre • Medieval Italian Theatre depended on portable stages • The Ten Books of Architecture, written c. 16-13 BCE by Vitruvius, was rediscoverd in a monastery in Switzerland. Included plans for Greek inspired Roman Theatre • Led to the building of new theatres and eventually the Olympic Theatre in Vicenza.
Vanishing Point Perspective • Made it possible to draw buildings, trees, and figures on to backdrops with perspective and the correct proportions. • The illusion of reality was being developed.
What was the Proscenium arch? • Proscenium arches or picture from opening around stage spaces • Oldest example is in Vicenza, Italy the Teatro Olimpico completed 3000 people stage has a permanent facade • Doorways build into wall w/deep hallways giving the illusion of deep interior spaces.
Permanent facades were not flexible. • Painted scenery could be shifted to reveal new sets behind them. • Painted flats/canvases allowed for changes. • 1st theater with proscenium stage was Teatro Farnes in Parma, Italy in 1618.
Proscenium Arch Theatre • Completed in 1618, Teatro Farnese was the first theatre with a proscenium arch. • Horseshoe auditorium held about 3500 people
What changed when scenery was introduced? • Multiple settings behind each other for changes requires that there be more backstage space for scenery and equipment. • Renaissance stages therefore became deeper.
What were the standard settings in these plays? • Tragedies (streets of a wealthy Reuse of standard styles of settings • neighborhood) • Comedies (streets of a lower-class homes) • Pastoral plays (Countryside cottages) • Intermezzi- short pieces depicting mythological tales presented between acts • Thematically related to main play
Torelli Pole and Chariot system • http://youtu.be/EdRUdoKfPvo
France • http://youtu.be/ab6eaj4fdMA • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U68Ko_J0vd4&feature=share&list=PL043C9C6C48A8DC83&index=1
Flags flying atop a theatre • Signified a play was being given • White= comedy • Black= tragedy • Red= History
The Globe theatre where Shakespeare’s plays were presented • Elizabethan theatres were usually circular or octagonal structures of three stories with an open roof. The Fortune was square. • Theater had a raised platform stage that would be surrounded by the audience on the three sides
It was closer to a contemporary thrust stage than a proscenium arch stage being used in Italy at the same time Stages were between 26-40 ft wide.
How did plays in England differ from those in Italy at the same time in history? • No neoclassical ideals. • Dramas structured in a series of scenes • Changes of location. • This influenced the use of stage space in England . • Little use of scenery, • entrances and exits signified a change of scene • A piece of furniture suggested the location of the next scene • Characters would speak/announce the change of location called “spoken décor”
Private Theatres • Indoor spaces • More expensive • More plays performed indoors than outdoors • Blackfriars – 1576-1608 (Boy Companies) • Second Blackfriars – built by James Burbage in 1596, for Adult Companies but prevented by neighbors, Richard Burbage’s Kings Men started using it in 1608
Seats closer to the stage more expensive than those in the back
Court Entertainment: the Masque • Elaborate Court Entertainment • Honor a Royal • Dance, music and elaborate scenery • Often amateur performers/court members • Mythological and allegorical characters • Introduced Italian scenic practices to London • Ben Johnson-Major Playwright until 1630 • Inigo Jones- Major Designer
