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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. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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GREEK theatre
Dr. NeighboursNRHS Theatre
Classes
The landThe myths
The stage
The LandLocated in Europe in the Aegean
Sea
The Land
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.
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”
DITHYRAMB“Ecstatic Hymn”A RELIGIOUS CHANT OR
SONG PERFORMED IN RHYTHM AND WITH
DANCING
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.
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.
CHARACTERISTICS OF GREEK DRAMA
“HYPOKRITE”GREEK WORD FOR ACTOR,
MEANS “WEARER OF MASKS”
“CHORAGUS”A wealthy patron, wishing to
honor the gods, pays for the cost of a production
Precursor to the “Producer”
THE CHORUS IN GREEK DRAMA
The function of the chorus was to :set the mood of the drama interpret events relieve the tensiongeneralize meaning of the
actionconverse with and give advice
to the actorsgive background informationemphasize the beauty of
poetry and dancing leader acted as spokesman for
the group
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.
STYLE IN PLAYS There are long, wordy
speeches (sometimes about current events or contemporary people).
MESSAGE FROM TRAGEDIES Out of great tragedy
comes wisdom.
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.
Greek Theatre Terms exodus --
Dionysus --
skene --
theatron or orchestra --
parados --
thymele --
prologue –
episode --
stasimon --
chorus –
choragas --
proscenium --
choral ode --
strophe --
antistrophe –
epode --
hubris –
humartia --
sphinx --
unities --
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
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
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
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
Masks of Greek Theater
The masks were worn for many reason including:
1. Visibility2. Acoustic Assistance3. Few Actors, Many Roles4. Characterization
Masks of Greek Theater
Masks of Greek Theater
Modern-day replicas
Hero-King
Comedy (Servant or Herald )
Tragedy (Weeping Chorus)
THE THEATRE OF THE GREEKS
The Grecian Amphitheatre(Where They Performed)
The Stage
The Stage
Theater at Epidaurus
Theater at Epidaurus
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.
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.
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.
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”
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.
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
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”
Side View: Orkestra and Teatron
Orkestra with Thymele, Skene
Teatron
AUDITORIUM“The Hearing Place”
Includes Orkestra and Teatron
Seating for the Priests
The Head Priest’s Chair
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 Play for the contests at the City Dionysia
Major Greek DramatistsAeschylus 524 B.C. Agamemenon
Sophocles 496 B.C. AntigoneOedipus
Euripides 480 B.C. Medea
Dramatist Born Wrote
AESCHYLUS: 525-456 B.C. Tragic Playwright,
Introduced Second Actor, “Deuteragonist”
Encouraged face-to-face conflict between characters
reduced importance of chorus, size from 50 to @15
Wrote Agamemnon and Prometheus Bound
SOPHOCLES: 496-406 B.C. Considered greatest
Greek dramatist, wrote tragedies
Created Third Actor More concerned with
human relationships than religious issues
Wrote Oedipus Rex (the King) and Antigone
EURIPIDES: 480-406 B.C. Last of great Greek
Tragic playwrights Reduced chorus to
relatively unimportant role
Treated Gods with lack of awe
Wrote Medea and The Trojean Women
ARISTOPHANES: 450-385 B.C.
Comic Playwright, “Old Comedy”, discusses “happy idea”
Wrote Lysistrata, an anti-war comedy
ONE LAST WORD ON GREEK TRAGEDIES…
General pattern developed by AeschylusPROLOGOS: establishes dramatic situationPARODOS: Entrance of Chorus, “exposition”EPEISODA: main action, equivalent of an “Act”STASIMA: Choral interlude, makes comment on
the action in the EpeisodaClimax occurs in last Epeisoda, so that last
Stasima allows final comment by the chorusEXODOS: Final summation and exit of Chorus