Theater History
Primitive & Ancient
Greek theater
Imitation
Basic
Human Need
What did you pretend to be as a kid?
Definition
of Theater: A person or
persons (actors) imitating the actions and
words of others (the play) for the benefit
of others (the audience)
Primitive Theater
No
written records, so how do
we know what happened then?
Only
have theories of what
happened
Theory of how
theater developed
After hunting, the hunters acted
out how the hunt went for the
tribe.
Move toward religion
Began
acting out hunt before it occurred
to help bring luck (magical theater)
Became
a ritual – something performed
repeatedly in exactly the same way
The
shaman (a religious leader) oversaw
these rituals
Ancient Greek Theater
Began
around
500 B.C.
Theater Festivals
Honored
the god
Dionysus
Dionysus
= Greek god
of wine & harvest
Lasted 6 Days
Over 15,000 people
attended each year
Important People
Thespis
– the first actor
Tragedy
Writers:
Aeschylus, Sophocles, & Euripides
Comedy
writer:
Aristophanes
Aristotle
Greek
Philosopher & Teacher
Wrote
The Poetics
This
book describes theater of his time
First person to discuss plot, theme,
character, music, diction, and spectacle
Famous contribution
Each
actor played many roles.
To
change roles, actors changed
masks.
Modern
symbol of theater comes
from this time period.
Theatrical
conventions
Built
theaters on hillsides
Stage area
Orchestra
= stage area
(included a raised platform in back)
= building in back where actors
changed masks
Skene
What
English word do you think comes
from “Skene”?
Other cool contributions
Greeks
invented special machinery
including platforms that raised and
lowered.
Greeks
were first to use scenery to show
different locations.
Most
historians agree that the Greek era is
one of the most important in theater
history.