Mid-term Study prt 1

To pass my THEA Mid term

Dithyrambs

Hymns to and about the poet Dionysus, the performance of which led to the creation of Greek Drama

Greek Tragedy

- Great people brought low by making the wrong choices, usually set in mythic past, and always deals with serious topics, often ends in death; performed in trilogies

Satyr Play

Followed tragic trilogy, the chorus was always dressed as satyrs; very lewd humor, often adapted well known myths(greek)

Greek Comedy

Common people trying to rise up; set in modern day; mixture of bawdy humour and sophisticated political and social

Greek Chorus

Not individual characters, but have a collective voice as a group of characters in all Greek Drama, often providing vital exposition and commentary on the events of the play

Deus Ex Machina

‘god in the machine’; ancient theatrical technology that utilized a crane to lower an actor dressed as a god down to the stage in a basket so that the deity could resolve complicated plot situations

Dionysus

Greek God of Wine, Fertility, & Theatre

Theatre of Dionysus

First permanent theatre ever built for the Festival Of Dionysus in which Athens became the city ‘Dionysia’, featured a play competition

Thespis

The ‘Inventor of Tragedy’, the First to use mask first real greek actor

Aeschylus

greek Tragic Playwright, wrote the Oresteia (only tragic trilogy where all three plays survive)

Sophocles

greek Tragic Playwright, wrote Oedipus Rex

Explain Oedipus Rex

A man unwittingly fulfills a prophecy stating he will kill his father and marry his mother

Euripides

Tragic greek Playwright, wrote The Bacchae

Explain Bacchae

a play about the Greek god Dionysus and his journey for retribution.

Aristophanes

greek Comic Playwright (Old Comedy), wrote Lysistrata

Aristotle

Greek Philosopher, student of Plato, tutor of Alexnder the Great; wrote The Poetics, the first aesthetic writing on theatre, including the Six Elements of Tragedy

Hamartia

refers to the failure of the hero, meaning ‘to miss the mark’; though sometimes thought of as a ‘flaw’, the Greek view seems to be more about whiffing

Catharsis

refers to the release of real emotions in reaction to great theatre

What are Aristotle’s Elements of Tragedy?

Plot, Character, Thought, Diction, Song, and Spectactle

Terence

roman playwright born in Northern Africa, may have been the first playwright of colour, and nearly as influential as Plautus

What types of masks were used in Roman theater, and for who?

used masks until the 1st century AD, white for female characters, brown for male

Artifice

meaning/ or relating to human construction, skill, or cunning(Ingenuity)

An Artifact

is anything created by human artifice.

Aesthetic value

generally used to refer to how people relate/react to art and beauty

Axiology

is the study of value and aesthetics can be understood to be the study of the value of art and beauty

Formalist

approach examines a work of art independently for its craftsmanship and beauty, its inherent aesthetic value

Contextualists

look at the ‘context’, the history, geography, and place in broader sociological and artistic movements to determine value

Theater Requires 3 Things Which are?

Performer

Audience

Live(Shared Space)

What Stage is this?

Proscenium Stage: Most popular stage because of broadway. The audience is entirely opposite of the stage.

What Stage is This?

Thrust: Surrounded by the audience on three sides. Uses an intimate connection due to the proximity.

What Stage is this?

Arena: A stage that is surrounded by all sides, also called ‘circle’ or ‘in-the-round’ Stage directions are described by cardinal signs or clock positions

What Stage is this?

Traverse: Also called ‘alley’. Stage is between the audience on two sides. Set pieces are placed at the ends. Less common than other stages

What stage is this?

Black Box: Not a particular shape but malleable with minimal set pieces. Experimental, educational,

What is Drama?

derives from conflict, though not necessarily interpersonal characters in works of fiction have a Task, Objective, Goal, Motivation, or intention

Upstage vs Downstage

Further away from audience is “upstage” Closer to audience is “downstage”

Farce

is a type of comedic work of drama that involves buffoonery, slapstick (physical comedy), broad characterization, and ridiculous and improbable plots

Atellan Farces

exceptionally, vulgar(improvised)

Stock Characters

a stereotype people could recognize, which carried from Greece, Rome, and Renaccicne

Chiton

a Greek tunic

Himation –

cloak worn over the chiton

Fabric Color & Symbolism

Purple – Wealth

Red – Poverty

Striped Togas – Boys

Yellow robes – Women

short cloak – Soldiers

Yellow tassel - Gods

Lucius Livius Andronicus

The first ‘Roman’ playwright, Livius Andronicus was a Greek Slave who translated Greek work into Latin(He also translated Homer’s Illiad)

Plautus

one of the famous roman playwrites, wrote comedies that influenced menander

Roman Drama

was sometimes linked to religious festivals, but there was less sense of community and civic pride than Greece

Actors in Rome

were entirely professional, and theatre was just one of many competing forms of entertainment(were not considered entirely respectable)

Roman plays

were competing with nude mimes, live staged sea battles, acrobats, and prisoners being fed to wild animals

Theatre of Pompey

first roman theater ever built

Cicero

The great Roman orator, lawyer, and statesman a fan of theater (Died b/c Marc Antony had him executed)

Roscius

A (Roman) comedic actor, was so celebrated for his skills that his name became synonymous with brilliant acting of any kind

Ira Aldridge

The great American Shakespearean, Roscius’(meaning great actor) first man knighted for his skills as an actor(First African American Actor)

Clodius Aesopus

The greatest roman tragic actor in the time of Cicero, during the transitional period from Roman Republic to Roman Empire

Seneca

greatest roman tragic playwright

Theodora

First woman actor of rome, climbed up the ranks became empress; Justinian’s reign was notable for the expansion of women’s rights and protections under the law

What did Christianity in Medieval Europe focus on?

upon the next life and theatre was seen as a sinful waste of time

Actors in Christian Europe

could not be baptized, marriage to an actor ended in excommunication

Explain the Christain Church in Europe

spread across the world through Rome had outlasted the Roman Empire people were no longer united in Europe by a single political power, they remained tethered to one another through their shared faith

Explain Catholic Church in Europe

at the beginning of the Medieval period, the only church, but schisms fractured Christianity throughout the medieval period and through the Renaissance

What happened to theater during this period?(Medieval Europe)

Theatre all but disappeared from the European world

Hrotsvitha

The First Woman Playwright, loved comedy but was troubled by the lewdness of the Roman playwrights Inspired by Terence, whose plays were more polite decided to write her own plays

What is a Canoness?

is a nun of high rank, afforded her the opportunity to have servants and receive a great education

What is a Closet Drama

written to be read rather than performed, though it was probably read aloud as a performance in the medieval period

Liturgical Drama

recreating favourite stories from the Old Testament with an increased focus on costumes and props(Church members took on the role of angels and the three Marys discovering the resurrection)

Mansions

for small stages to be setup outside

Explain Cycle Plays

arranged in small stages to be setup outside, called ‘mansions’; followed the story of the Old Testament up to the Resurrection, some going to the Last Judgement

Explain Mystery Plays

Guilds, like carpenters, tailors, and blacksmiths, referred to their trades; Actors were amateurs, people saw more than forty plays over several days had pageant/float stages

What is a Passion Play?

If the subject was the Resurrection, still performed by Catholic Churches

What is a Miracle Play?

If the subject was a saint

What is a Secular Play?

plays about folklore emerged in the late 13th century, including the first dramatization of Robin Hood

Morality Plays

were themed around death and preparing for the afterlife “Everyman”, written in the late 1400s in Middle English, is an example

What is Kagura?

God music performed by preistesses

What is Sarugaku?

Monkey Music was a popular form of dance entertainment which included animal acts, nudity, and dance theatre

What is the evolved form of Sarugaku

Sarugaku noh which was revised by Buddhist Monks into a cleaner version which was also used as an educational tool.

What myth started theatrical performance in Japan?

invented by the deity Ame-no-Uzume, goddess of merriment and the dawn, who put on a striptease dance to lure Amaterasu, the sun goddess, out of a cave

Who was Zeami Motokiyo?

considered the greatest playwright and theorist of Noh Drama, Son of sarugaku noh actor Kan'ami Kiyotsugu, established the Kanze School of Noh Drama, developing the form as it exists today(Retired as a monk)

Who Was Ashikaga Yoshimitsu

Through his patronage, Noh became the preferred theatrical entertainment of the samurai aristocracy; besotted with Zeami, and impressed with his brilliance as a performer

Kami Mono

Story of a sacred Shinto shrine

Shura Mono

Warriors

Katsura Mono

-‘Wig Plays’, feature women played by men

Gendai Mono

naturalistic stories

Kyojo Mono

sad ‘wig plays’ about a woman losing a child or lover and going mad

Kichiku Mono

Demon Plays

Kyogen

Short comic scenes played between Noh plays or sometimes with parodies of Noh (similar to Satyr plays) Or Scenes of Everyday life (like Roman comedies)But Kyogen was NEVER vulgar

The Shite

is the main character, the only to wear a mask in noh

The Tsure

the Shite’s companion

Waki,

, the witness for the antagonist

What is the Oldest Butai still standing

Itsukushima Shrine, Miyashima

Who Was Kiyokazu Kanze?

The 26th Grandmaster of the school of Noh He became Director of the Kanze School at age 31

What are the common types of Masks in Noh?

Old Men

Women

Gods

Demons & Spirits

Who wore Kyogen Masks?

only actors playing animals or gods Less distinct designs of the masks

What is a Karaori?

The ‘exquisite woman’s kimono’ Word translates as “Chinese style fabric” modelled after the Chinese Shokko brocade.

Greatest Playwright of Kabuki?

Chikamatsu,wrote Kabuki and puppet theater Bunraku

Izumi no Okuni

the founder of kabuki performed it in a dry river bed, onnakabuki when only women did it. Kabuki had crazy makeup