Upload
angel-timms
View
216
Download
2
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Introduction to Ancient Greek Theatre
Origins
“Ancient Greek Theatre” generally refers to theatre performed in Athens during the 5th century B.C.
Is considered the traditional origin of modern theatre
Grew out of religious ceremonies and festivals
Dionysus
Theatre began as part of a religious ceremony honoring the god Dionysus God of wine, fertility, grapes,
ecstasy, madness, pleasure, festivity, etc.
One of the 12 Olympians Responsible for human impulses Devine mission: to eradicate all
care and worry
Dionysus
He was raised by satyrs, killed, dismembered, and reborn
Other gods had temples, the cult of Dionysus met in the woods
It was believed he could liberate and inspire men
Could endow man with divine creativity
Patron of the arts - theatre
Origins
The original ceremony involved a week of public wine drinking, a ritualistic dance, and chanting
Ceremony took place every March
Eventually, the chants were written down in verse form and later evolved into plays
From Ceremony to Plays
Original ceremony became formalized in the following ways Took place in a large, bowl shaped
space Involved several specifically
dressed performers who sang and danced predetermined pieces, usually with one leader
Involved huge crowds of spectators The center of the round
performance area had an altar A goat was ritualistically killed and
offered as a sacrifice at that altar Fun fact: The word tragedy comes
from the Ancient Greek word for “goat song.”
From Ceremony to Plays
Eventually, Thespis (the reason why actors are called thespians) came up with the clever idea of dialogue Before him, no one presented what could be
considered “conversation” on stage It took even longer for someone else to come
up with innovative idea of putting more than 2 characters on stage at the same time.
Topics eventually broadened from just the story of Dionysus to include the many myths and legends of Ancient Greek religion
Structure of Ancient Greek Tragedy
Tragedies must include Chorus: group (usually 15ish) who speak in
unison and act as the “voice of the people”▪ The chorus usually speaks poetically about the overall
theme of the play between each scene Tragic Hero: main character, usually noble, who
falls from high position because of a basic, tragic flaw▪ Hubris, ruthless ambition, obsessive jealousy
Examination of the psychological make-up of the characters
No more than 3 actors speaking in a scene
Structure of Ancient Greek Tragedy
Prologue: A simple speech that introduces the basic story/theme of the play
Entrance of the Chorus: Umm…like when the chorus and enters…and stuff
Major Episodes: What we would consider scenes or acts during which dialogue takes place and the plot is advanced
Strophe: Poetry about the main theme/action of the play read between the Major Episodes of the play
Ancient Greek Theatre
Ancient Greek Theatres
Theatron: Where the audience sits; typically built into a hillside
Orchestra: Main acting space for the chorus or lower characters; usually included an altar in the middle
Ancient Greek Theatres
Parodos: Side aisles that allowed actors to make their entrances
Skene: Main acting area for major characters; provided the background for the play usually had 3 entrances▪ could be simple booth or
a permanent structure▪ could include machines
like a crane
Look Familiar?
Presentation
Trilogy: Each tragedy was presented as a cycle of three plays
Three Levels: The picture shows the hero/god at the highest, human/minor characters on the second level, chorus on the lowest level
Ancient Greek Actors
Masks: Large, colorful, detailed, expressive, helped to amplify the actor’s voice. Female masks had larger mouths and eyes
Corthornous: Platform shoes worn by heroes and gods/goddesses to show how high, mighty, and important they were
Ancient Greek Actors
Long Robes: Worn to show age, gender, occupation, socioeconomic status, to hide big shoes
All actors were male, so those playing female roles needed really good costumes
Derp
Piktocharts
Origins of Greek Theatre Masks and Special Effects Overview of Theatre and Genres Theatre of Dionysus
The Role of FateFate was a central concept to Ancient Greek religion and culture
Basic concept, in ancient Greek eyes Your life, and everything you do during
it, is predetermined before you are born You can’t escape fate no matter what
you do Oracles, particularly the ones at
Delphi, can reveal your fate to you, but they usually don’t give you all the pertinent information
Whenever anything bad, or good, happens to you, it can be attributed by fate?
Greek Law vs. Modern LawTwo big ideas to keep in mind
Motive meant nothing. There was no such thing as degrees of murder or manslaughter or self defense. THE ACT WAS THE ONLY THING taken into consideration when determining guilt. It didn’t matter why you did something, only that you did it. That being said…
Murder wasn’t necessarily a crime. All Greek citizens were charged with the duty of harming their enemies and helping their friends. Occasionally, that included committing a murder or two.
The Importance of Family
Family was everything in Ancient Greek culture Any good Greek citizen knew the exact name
and origin of each of his/her ancestors Any good Greek citizen defended his/her
relatives, no matter what they did, to the death Ancient Greek families were not unlike the mob
families presented in The Godfather series Committing a crime, ESPECIALLY MURDER,
against anyone in your family, ESPECIALLY YOUR PARENTS, was the worst thing you could do