Theater First Test
Drama today began with story telling
The purpose of story telling is
to tell the history of the natural world
as warnings
explanation of the natural world
for comfort and ritual
All good stories have conflict, rising tension and resolution.
The first known written language is called cuneiform.
The oldest story found is of Gilgamesh, a story of adventure by a demi-god.
Greek History
The first theaters were amphitheaters cut out of a hillside.
In ancient Greek times there was an annual festival celebrating Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility.
A Dithyramb is a hymn in honor of Dionysus
A uniformly dressed chorus of 50 men, would sing the Dithyramb.
With simple dance moves the men would act out what they were singing about. This is considered the first form of modern theater.
Arion turned the hymn into an epic story about Dionysus, not simply singing praises.
Thespis came along and would take on a solo roll and act it out. He is the first modern actor.
Thespis came up with the ideas of masks, make-up and costumes.
Phrynichus was the first poet/actor to write female parts (performed by men).
Phrynichus wrote about the fall of Miletus which upset the Greek people greatly and he was fined 1000 Drachmas and never allowed to have it performed again.
The Dionysia was a competition between three tragic playwrights at the Theater of Dionysus, and took place twice a year.
Aeschylus added the second actor. (2 actors + a chorus)
Sophocles introduced the third actor. (3 actors + a chorus)
The time period between the death of Alexander the Great and the emergence of Rome is called the Hellenistic period.
The Greeks made advances in the arts, exploration, literature, architecture, music, mathematics, philosophy, science and theater.
The primary Hellenistic theatrical form was ‘New Comedy', about the lives of ordinary citizens.
The stage was called the orchestra
The audience sat in the theatron.
The backdrops were on the skene.
Several scenic elements were invented during the Hellenistic period.
The mechane, was a crane that gave the impression of a flying actor.
ekkyklêma, was a wheeled platform.
Trap doors were also invented during this time.
All Greek performers wore masks. They believed the actor disappeared into the character.
Roman History
The Romans were not inventors but innovators.
The theaters became much larger than their Greek predecessors.
The society was based on conquest, this showed in the Theatre.
Stories were based on violence, bad habits, drug use.
During the Greek times the profession was respectable but now it is considered a lower profession.
The acting was worse but the theaters were better.
The first permanent stone theater in Rome was the Theater of Pompey.
The Theater of Pompey took 7 years to build and was used for 600 years.
The Flavian Amphitheater was the biggest amphitheater ever created. We know it as the colosseum.
Everyone entered the colosseum for free, but people were separated by social class and gender.
The Romans enjoyed Pantomime, a theatrical form that uses body movement but no spoken words.
Heron was the first technical theater guy.
Heron invented props such as lightning that falls from the sky and thunder.