Latin Stage 5

Plays in Pompeii

Plays in Pompeii were performed at festivals, in theaters.

Audience of plays

Men, women, and their slaves went to plays.

Items taken to the theater

People might take cushions, food, and drink with them to the theater.

Latecomers seating

Latecomers were seated at the top of the large semicircular auditorium.

Capacity of the theater

The large open-air theater could hold 5,000 people.

Odeon

The Odeon was a smaller, more elegant, roofed theater.

Scaena

Stage

Scaenae frons

behind the stage, powers the stage

Admission charge

Admission to the theater was free.

Theatrical production expenses

A wealthy citizen paid the theatrical production expenses to benefit the community and to gain popularity in order to achieve political ambitions.

Sources of relief from the sun

Large awning, hats, sunshades.

Pantomime

The pantomime was a mixture of opera and ballet, with a serious plot based on Greek myths.

Performers in pantomime

The pantomime required masked performers who mimed and danced. They were generally male Greek slaves or freedmen.

Actors of the community

The actors of the community were generally male Greek slaves or freedmen. Notable comic actors included Sorex and Actius.

Farces

The farces were short comedic plays about Italian country life that were often full of vulgar, rude jokes, and slapstick comedy.

Performance timing of farces

The farces were usually performed at the end of longer performances.

Character recognition

The audience recognized the characters by strange masks worn by the actors.

Material of masks

The masks were made of linen, covered with plaster and paint.

Famous writers of Roman comedies

Two famous writers of Roman comedies were Plautus and Terence.

Disseminated

To carry with, to spread.

Guild

Organized union of workers.

Chorus

Ensemble of a play, who would chant or sing.

Middle Comedy

Genre of plays in which none survived, possibly not very funny.

New Comedy

Genre of plays that were less absurd and obscene than previous plays, associated with Menander.

Menander or Life

Relatable, realistic plays with smaller problems, indistinguishable from everyday life.

Improvisational Verse

Second stage of Roman plays, verses made up on the spot.

Atellan Farce

Named for the town of Atella, lewd mime, improvising comedy based on stock characters.

Phylyakes

Actors who performed in Atellan Farce.

Versus Fescenini

Etruscan, jokey, obscene poems recited at the harvest festival.

Fabula Satura

Versus Fescenini combined with music and dancing, "full dish story"

Histriones

Actors/singers/dancers who performed Fabula Satura.

Fabula Palliata

Loose cloak, Greek characters, Greek settings, rip-offs of Menander.

Fabula Praetexta

Original plays, Roman plays about Romans, less popular

Ludi Romani

Roman games, festival honoring Jupiter.

Ludi Scaenici

Festivals as more and more plays were added.

Civic Duty

Responsibilities of citizens for the good of their society.

Aedile/Praetor

Person who took charge of the festivals.

Dominus Gregis

Supplied the play(s) at festivals, hire people, arrange materials

Ludi Florales

Festivals honoring a prostitute goddess.

Parabasis

Direct address to the audience.

Stoic Philosophy

Virtue is the sole good, required for happiness.

Fabulae Crepidatae

Roman tragedies based on Greek subjects.

Closet Dramas

Plays meant to be read, not produced.

types of theaters

open-air, odeon

cavea

seating area

orchestra

horseshoe-shaped seating in front for elites

modern connections to physical roman theaters

still have special seating sections, cost more

pantomime

Opera and ballet, based on Greek myths

comedies

stories with happy endings

adulscens

young man, comedic stock character

senex

old man, comedic stock character

servus

clever slave, comedic stock character

miles gloriosus

bragging soldier, comedic stock character

farces

silly, vulgar, short plays at the end of longer ones

modern connections to different types of plays

farces like tiktok, comedy like comedic shows, pantomime like opera/ballet

social and cultural context of plays

paid for by wealthy people looking for support, actors mostly slaves (sometimes freedmen), competed with chariot races and gladiators

reason for similarities between greek and roman theater

Alexander the Great spread Greek theatrical tradition throughout the lands he conquered

Changes in theater after Athens lost Peloponnesian war

old plays revived, less exciting, more professionalized, Actors treated better and create guild, more opportunities & festivals, more couth and less offensive

Livy

historian who said roman theater evolved in 5 stages

5 stages of Roman theater

1. dances to flute muusic

2. obscene improvisational verse and dances to flute music

3. medleys of dances to flute music

4. comedies with storylines and sections of lyric poetry to be sung

5. comedies with storylines and song, with an additional, often comedic performance to be tacked onto the end

histrionic

over dramatic/theatrical

Longevity of atellan Farce

lasts longer than other comedies, improvised situations get codified, vulgar

Worth of Roman actors

unlike Greek actors, acting was not respectable, actors couldn't vote, serve in the military, hold office, could be punished by death if they gave a bad performance

Changes in theater by 1-2 BCE

stopped wearing masks, costumes became more elaborate, no choruses, more music (up to 2/3 of the play)

Permanent theaters in Rome

not established until 55 BCE, included a temple, before that, used temporary wooden structures

Plautus

Roman comedic playwright, credited with 130 plays (definitely at least 20), energetic, uproarious, comedies about middle class ppl and their slaves, musicals, influenced medieval and renaissance writers

Terence

Roman comedic playwright, possibly the first playwright of color, freedman, 6 plays, borrowed heavily from Menander, less rowdy, deeper ironies, fewer plotholes, doesn't tell you everything in the prologue like Plautus and Menander, creates suspense

Menander

Greek playwright of New comedy, realistic plays