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The History of Western Drama. Beginning Acting Resource: Robert Cohen. Theatre, 8 th edition. Greek Drama. 534 BCE - 336 BCE. Greek Theater. Dithyrambs Thespis Ritual festivals feature competition of plays Tetralogy Singing and dancing chorus 1 – 3 actors - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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The History of Western Drama
Beginning Acting
Resource: Robert Cohen. Theatre, 8th edition.
Greek Drama534 BCE - 336 BCE
Greek Theater Dithyrambs
Thespis
Ritual festivals feature
competition of plays
Tetralogy
Singing and dancing
chorus
1 – 3 actors
Use of masks to
portray a variety of
characters
Aristotle’s Poetics
Dramatic Genres Tragedy
From the Greek word “tragos,” meaning goat song.
Serious portrayal of human suffering, through protagonist’s hamartia and decline.
Concluded with catharsis
Satyr Play
Bawdy comedy that satirized accompanying trilogy.
One complete satyr play survived: The Cyclops, by Euripides
Comedy
Humorous handling of political issues, sexuality, and the gods.
Often included nudity, animalistic characters
Performed separately from tetralogy
Greek Playwrights Aeschylus – Orestia, Prometheus Bound
Sophocles – Oedipus Tyrannos, Antigone
Euripides – The Trojan Women, The Cyclops,
Medea
Aristophanes – Lysistrata, The Birds Greek Theatron
Orchestra
Thymele
Skene
Eisodoi (or
parados)
Ekklyklema
Deus ex
machina
Hellenistic Period Period spans the rule of Alexander the Great to
the rise of the Roman Empire.
Greek culture extended into Europe and Asia, due
to military conquests.
Drama included Greek tragedies and new comedy
Chorus reduced in importance, and provided
music and dance, light entertainment.
Playwright
Menander - Dyskolos (The Grouch), Epitrepontes
(Men at Arbitration) Samia (Girl from Samos)
Roman Theatre240 BCE - AD 476
Roman Theater Adapted from Greek drama
Mainly comedies, performed for ruling classes during
festivals and holidays
Lacked religious and cultural meaning.
Performed alongside circuses and gladiatorial
competitions.
Chorus was removed from performance.
Persona
Roman Playwrights Plautus – The Menachmi Twins, Aulularia,
Pseudolus
Terence – The Eunuch, Andrian, The Brothers
Seneca – Hercules, Octavia, Phaedra
Roman Auditorium
Platae
Frons scaenae
Vomitorium
Orchestra
Roman Theater, Orange, France
The Middle AgesAD 900 - 1500
The Middle Ages Christian doctrine
dominated literature, culture
Rise of feudal system,
nobles and peasants, and
rural communities
Tropes – Quem Queritis
1210 AD, Pope removed
drama from the Mass
Cycle Plays – The York
Cycle
Morality plays – Everyman York Mystery Play, 2010
The Cycle Play First dramas written in
English
Playlets relating the stories of the Bible
Community guilds responsible for production of each playlet
Large scale productions lasted several days (40+) with large casts (300+)
No notable authors
Rolling procession
Performed at high religious events
Written in verse to elevate status of characters, subject matter
Video Clip
Renaissance Theatre
1500 - 1660
The Renaissance Creative movement that
influenced all of Europe
Emphasis on discovery,
individual potential,
creativity, reasoning
Rediscovery of Greek and
Roman ideas, including
humanism: “man is the
measure of all things”
Decline of feudal system,
religious dogma
England – Shakespearean Era 1559 – Queen Elizabeth I bans religious cycle
plays
Drama written in verse, prose, and doggerel
Included foreign locales, complex stories, historical reference
Travelling players
Named after sponsor: Lord Admiral’s Men, Lord Chamberlain’s Men
Skilled actors, musicians, acrobats writers
All male troupes; boy companies
Public Theater
Enclosed yard, with 3-story gallery for viewing
Raised stage, backed by tiring house
The Rose, The Globe
England – (con’t.)
Playwrights William Shakespeare –
Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, The Tempest
Christopher Marlowe – Tamburlaine the Great, The Tragedy of Dr. Faustus
Ben Jonson – Volpone, The Alchemist
1642 – Puritans named actors and drama “sinful,” banning all theatrical performances. Ended with the return of Charles II to the throne in 1660.The Globe Theater, London, England
Italy Renewed interest in Greek and Roman culture by
elite society Developments in architecture, painting,
literature: Filippo Brunelleschi, Leonard da Vinci, Petrarch Proscenium Arch
Travelling troupes were skilled actors, musicians, acrobats, female performers
Commedia dell’arte Stock characters Use of masks, costumes,
portable stages, slapstick Lazzi
Video Clip
Spain – Spanish Golden Age
Spanish Inquisition (1480)
1400’s - Dramas were liturgical, religious in nature
1500’s – secular pasos performed by travelling
companies
Women permitted to perform in productions
Dramas included themes of personal honor,
chivalry, blended genres
Corrales de comedia
Playwrights
Lope de Vega – Fuenteovejuna
Pedro Calderon de la Barca – Life is a Dream
Miguel de Cervantes – Don Quixote, stage
adaptations
Restoration Theatre
1660 - 1700
Royalty became patrons of
theater, commissioning
plays and entertainment,
establishing aesthetic
standards
1600’s - Started in Spain,
and progressed to France,
then England.
Performances became social
gatherings for elite society
The Royal Theater
France French Neoclassicism
Established strict format for playwriting, limiting
creativity
Drama focused on social commentary, domestic
issues; lacked plot and action
Tennis court performances
Public theater - Parterre, proscenium arch, loges
Playwrights
Pierre Corneille – Le Cid, Medee
Moliere, (aka Jean-Baptiste Poquelin) – Tartuffe,
The Imaginary Invalid, The Bourgeois
Gentleman
Jean Racine – Phaedra, Alexander the Great,
Andromaque
England English Restoration (1660)
Restoration Comedy – aka “Comedy of Manners”
English Royal Patent of 1662 – allowed female
actresses at “legitimate” theaters
The Drury Lane
Covent Garden
Raked stage, proscenium arch, bench seating in
pit
Playwrights
William Wycherly – The Country Wife
William Congreve – The Way of the World
Aphra Behn – The Rover
John Dryden – A World Well Lost
Video Clip
18th & 19th Century Theatre
1700 – 1880
Developed in reaction to elitist styles of French Neoclassicism and Restoration Comedy
Began as sentimental comedy
Appealed to the masses
Focused on appeals to emotion rather than intellect
Reflected the virtues of private life
Featured action, exotic locales and exaggerated passion
Evident in Opera and early musicals
Romanticism
Playwrights
Richard Steele – Conscious Lovers
Joseph Addison – Cato
George Aiken – Uncle Tom's Cabin, based on
novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Alexandre Dumas – Camille, The Three
Musketeers
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe – Faust
Edmond Rostand – Cyrano De Bergerac
Realism – likeness to life Influenced all facets of theater: playwriting,
direction, acting, and design Examined social, psychological and political
complexities of life Complex characters and relationships David Garrick – Actor-Producer of the Drury Lane
Theatre Fourth Wall Playwrights
Henrik Ibsen – A Doll’s House, Hedda Gabler, Ghosts
George Bernard Shaw – Major Barbara, St. Joan Anton Chekhov – The Cherry Orchard, The Three
Sisters
Naturalism – a slice of life
Extreme form of realism where natural and social
environment override individual willpower
Character development versus plot development
Established in France by theorist, Emile Zola
Playwrights
August Strindberg – Miss Julie
Arthur Schnitzler – La Ronde
Modern Theatre1880 – Current
Antirealism – Began in Paris, 1880, by artists who saw Realism
as ordinary and mundane Plays explore the human condition; characters are
symbolic, facing universal conflicts, and withstanding adversity
No principles or formulas for aesthetics, but some with similar characteristics
Drama included verse, novelty, fantasy, superhuman abilities, extravagance
The Age of “Isms” Symbolism
Explored inner human reality not directly or literally perceived
Symbolic characters represent philosophical ideals or warring internal forces
August Strindberg – A Dream Play (1902)
French Avant Garde Abandoned conventions of Realism to create new
theatrical style Alfred Jarry – Ubu Roi (1896)
Expressionism Attacked senses with bright lights and color, abrasive
sound effects, and aggressive pace Eugene O’Neill – The Hairy Ape (1921)
The Age of “Isms” Theater of Cruelty
Explored the source of dreams, using cruelty, savagery, criminality
Employed language for its sounds rather than meaning
Theater of Alienation Use of theater to influence public issues and motivate
social action Bertolt Brecht – The Good Person of Szechuan, The
Caucasian Chalk Circle
Theater of the Absurd Themes based on the search for meaning or purpose
in life Samuel Beckett – Waiting for Godot, Endgame Harold Pinter – The Birthday Party, The
Homecoming
American Realism First major theatrical form in United States
Confronted impact of social issues on normal people
Enhanced by realistic acting style developed by theater companies
Popularized by American film industry
Playwrights
Eugene O’Neill – Beyond the Horizon, Mourning
Becomes Electra, Anna Christie
Clifford Odets – Waiting for Lefty, Awake and
Sing!
Arthur Miller – Death of a Salesman, The
Crucible, All My Sons
Tennessee Williams – The Glass Menagerie, A
Streetcar Named Desire
August Wilson – Fences, The Piano Lesson, Gem
of the Ocean
Postmodernism 1970’s – sexuality,
profanity, violence, used to
shock audience
1980’s – focused on
diversity to raise public
consciousness, global
awareness
21st Century – became a
platform to debate issues
of terroism, war, religious
rights, and political control
Theatrical styles Experimental theatre
Dadaism Nonlinear theater
David Auburn, Proof Harold Pinter, Betrayal
Open Theater Joseph Chaikin, Open Theatre Company
Diversity Feminist theatre ensembles Negro Ensemble Company Color blind, and cross gender casting Fusion theatre Macaroni theatre Exploration of sexual preferences – Tony Kushner,
Angels in America
Theatrical styles Spectacular Theatre
Advances in lighting, sound and computer technology
Apparent in cinema, performance art, musicals, music concerts
Verbatim Theatre Moises Kaufman – The Laramie Project (2002)
My Name is Rachel Corrie (2005)
Workers’ Theatre El Teatro Campesino, California (1965)
Free Southern Theater, Mississippi (1963)
Cornerstone Theater, California (1986)
Movement art and dance theatre Solo performance
William Luce – The Belle of Amherst (1976)
Jay Presson Allen – Tru (1989)
Asian Theatre
Asian Theater Developed in isolation from
Western culture
Emphasis on imagery and symbolism, rather than realism and literary merit
Drama includes dance, song, chant, mime, acrobatics, puppetry
Centered around folk history, cultural myths, ancient religion
Drama featured multiple authors, improvisation, and adaptations
India Sanskrit Dance-Theater
Documented in treatise Natyasatra, detailing play structure, stage buildings, performance, etc.
Died out in 10th century due to Mongol conquests and fragmented culture
Kathakali – “story play” Developed in 17th century Based on stories from the Mahabharata
China Shadow Plays Xiqu – “tuneful theater”
Performers must be skilled in all: singing, speech, acting, movement, acrobatics, martial arts
Teahouse performances Included both humorous and serious elements Beijing Opera 100 Words Festival
Japan No
Ceremonial drama, retelling myths and supernatural events
Characters include shite, waki, and chorus
Comic interlude called the kyogen
Bunraku
Developed in 6th century, using life-like puppetry
All-male puppeteers, musicians, and chanters
Three puppeteers per character, cloaked in black
Kabuki
Originated in 17th Century
Multi-act play, utilizing stylized costumes, face
paint, scenery, movement
Notable Asian Playwrights Rabindrinath Tagore (1861 – 1941) - India
Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913 for poetry Challenged classical sanskrit, and wrote poetic, political,
and personal works
Ts’ao Yu (1910-1996) - China Influenced by Greek and Western drama, wrote “spoken
theater”
Kuan Han Ch’ing (1241 – 1320) - China wrote in zaju style, The Injustice of Dou E
Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653 – 1725) – Japan Domestic dramas, usually ended with suicide of one or
both lovers