Chapter 11

Question 1

How did theatre begin?

Answer 1

ritualistic worship. Appease the God’s, hymns of praise

Question 2

Examples of places where theatre did not develop

Answer 2

Crete and Mesopotamia. Both places delt with mythology and religion.

Question 3

India’s theatre

Answer 3

Sanskrit- based on love and anger, two strong emotions

Question 4

When was the first Sanskrit drama created?

Answer 4

320 AD

Question 4

What did Sanskrit deal with?

Answer 4

Rather than character development, Sanskrit focused on fundamental moods and rasas, such as the furious, the peaceful, the heroic

Question 5

Where was the first school of scenic art and music developed?

Answer 5

In China, Emperor Tan Ming Huang. In the 9th century

Question 6

Japan’s Theatre

Answer 6

Increased in importance in the 7th century AD. Noh, or doll theatre, and Kabuki were the two different kinds of theatre.
Both forms included a drama-music-dance mixture and were highly stylized and therefore very presentational

Question 7

Noh theatre

Answer 7

reached apex in the 15th century in Japan. The less of the two types of theatre in Japan

Question 8

Kabuki

Answer 8

Comes from the ideographs ka meaning song, bu meaning dance, ki meaning prostitute.
Early on the troupes were made with women, but then the Shogun banned their appearance in 1629. Then male prostitutes also got banned in 1652. Later, men who performed were required to shave their forehead and relinquish any emphasis on physical charm. Dance is the basis of this type of theatre. Expected to mirror the verbal text by distilling emotions and actions into stylized movement/posture. All played by men roles with makeup and costumes. In 1868 the true end, where western theatre began to take over

Question 9

The evolution of Kabuki Theatre

Answer 9

between 1675 and 1750 there was evolution on how theatre was to be presented. Developed to appeal to the popular taste, improvised sketches were introduced into performances of dance. After 1650, more elaborate presentations took place, creating two-act performances in 1664. Emphasis shifted towards the drama itself, where now there was a playwright and apprentices

Question 10

Three types/categories of presentation in Japan

Answer 10

jidaimono, sewamono, shosagoto

Question 11

Jidiamono

Answer 11

Japan’s presentation style that dealt with events in distant past

Question 12

sewamono

Answer 12

Japan’s presentation that featured tales of ordinary people such as lovers or merchants

Question 13

shosagoto

Answer 13

Japan presentation style dealing with dance plays, often dealing with the spirits and animals

Question 14

Athens Golden age

Answer 14

After the Persian wars (500-448 BC), Athens became the most influential state in Greece. With emphasis on the intellect and intellectual pursuits, the city became widely known as an artistical and cultural center

Question 15

Greek theatre development

Answer 15

The rest of the western theatre developed from this theatre. Beginning before the 6th century BC with dithyrambs/ hymns, to Dionysus, the god of wine and harvest. These hymns related to his life. Legend says Dionysus, the son of Zeus was killed, dismembered, and resurrected, is life signified rebirth of the seasons with a yearly return to the spring.

Question 16

Thespis

Answer 16

The word thespian comes from- synonym for actor. This person was given the distinction of being the first playwright, the first actor, the first director of western theatre. First performing in 534 BC- winning the first tragedy contest in Greece.

Question 17

satyrs

Answer 17

half goat half man

Question 18

Satyr play

Answer 18

We know little about this genre because only one play survived, the cyclops by Euripides. These plays were forms of comedy. Silenus, a water spirit was accompanied by the satyrs. These were written by a playwright to be presented in the afternoon of the day in which his tragedies were to be produced

Question 19

Greek Theatre

Answer 19

Dedicated to Dionysus. There was no violence on the screen, they remained more stoic compared to other theatres. Dialog and songs. With poetic rhythm. Comedy and tragedy, three tragedies in one

Question 20

Who wrote Oedipus?

Answer 20

Sophocles

Question 21

Comedy vs. Tragedy in Greek theatre

Answer 21

Comedy was more ordinary people and tragedy was more known/ higher ranked individuals

Question 22

City Dionysia, Lenaia, Rural Dionysia

Answer 22

The three festivals where the Greek drama developed. City Dionysia- Held in Athens at the end of March each year. Lenaia- held in Athens each January. Rural Dionysia- held in December

Question 22

Archon

Answer 22

The master of revels that oversees theatre, selecting the plays and the order in which they would be presented in.

Question 23

Choregoi

Answer 23

The wealthy citizens of Greece who would pay for training the chorus, costumes, musicians, and any additional expenses.

Question 24

Comedy in Greek theatre

Answer 24

Comedy formed a complete whole, performed separately from other plays.

Question 25

Tragedy in Greek theatre

Answer 25

Presented in trilogies, compromising a cycle of legends, each telling a story complete in itself, but connected both chronologically and through subject matter.

Question 26

Aeschlyus

Answer 26

The first important dramatist (525-456 BC) Wrote 80-90 plays, 7 are still in existence. Relying largely on the chorus and primarily used traditional themes based on myths and Olympian law. Introduced a second actor Some of his best works include the Orestian Trilogy, Agamemnon, the Libation Bearers, and Eumendies (trilogy that all dealt with revenge)

Question 27

Sophocles

Answer 27

(496-406 BC) Wrote well over 100 plays. Credited with introducing a third actor and with reducing the size of the chorus from 50, to 12. His plots are realistic, based on interplay between characters. The central characters have a flaw that leads to their downfall. Works include Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone

Question 28

Euripides

Answer 28

(480-406 BC) Credited with 92 plays. His plays dealt with inner conflict of good and evil. human vs. conscience. Work, the trojan women 415 BC.

Question 29

Old Comedy in Greek

Answer 29

454-404BC- Emphasis on an idea, not a cause-effect relationship of events. The episodes seem unrelated but build comic intensity. Well-known people and events. Also made of a chorus. Aristophanes was the only writer of this genre.

Question 30

New Comedy

Answer 30

Popular in the time of Alexander the Great. Associated with Menander (342-291 BC), he wrote more than 100 plays of this. Deals with middle class citizens because they were no longer able to poke fun at their leaders.

Question 31

orchestra

Answer 31

The flat part of the hill- open space with no walls or ceiling

Question 32

the auditorium/ theatre

Answer 32

on the hillside itself, where the audience stood to watch the plays. permanent seats were constructed of stone at this time.

Question 33

themele

Answer 33

Middle of each site, an alter dedicated to dionysus.

Question 34

skene

Answer 34

in the 5th century BC, this building was added to provide a dressing area and a place for actors to wait before they went on stage. Later becoming a two story building

Question 35

deus ex machina

Answer 35

a device that lowered the gods when the play called for them to intervene in the characters lives.

Question 36

ekkykleme

Answer 36

a cart or platform carried out/ used to carry the bodies of the actors playing dead.

Question 37

Actors in the Greek theatre

Answer 37

highly respected. trusted as diplomats, exempt from military service. servants of Dionysus. Highly trained and skillful

Question 38

Masks and costumes

Answer 38

every character had a different mask to differentiate each character, especially because they were all men. Also wore a boot, or cothurnus, and a chiton robe.

Question 39

Aristotle

Answer 39

Wrote the poetics, if you write a play you must have unity of time, unity of place, and unity of action. He continues to influence the writing of drama today

Question 40

Roman Theatre

Answer 40

The Romans were exposed to drama from Greece after the first Punic War. Roman plays intimidated Greek plays, those especially by Menander. Suggestive action, dialog, sensational elements, and stereotyped character, mimes first appeared in Rome in the third century BC.

Question 41

Differences between the Roman and Greek theatre

Answer 41

Greeks: viewed drama as reflecting moral values and important issues, Greeks made more of a chorus both for speaking and singing

Romans: strictly for entertainment purposes, music in the Roman theatre was associated with single actors and was more equally distributed throughout the play.

Question 41

Roman Acting

Answer 41

The acting style was more improvisational in the nature than the Greeks. The movements were broad and exaggerated, because in large theatres the audience wouldn’t have an idea without the exaggerated movements. Costumes for tragedy were similar to the ones of the Greeks. Both tragic and comic actors wore masks attached with wigs. Men played female roles, except in the mimes.

Question 42

Titus Maccius Plautus

Answer 42

Rome’s first major playwright (254-184 BC), wrote a large number of comedies, 21 of them still exist today. He borrowed plots from Menander but changed them into his own. Shakespeare actually based his Comedy of Errors on The Menaechmi, written by Plautus.
He didn’t satirize the government, but pointed out idiosyncrasies of individual characters.

Question 43

Publius Terentius Afer/ Tarence

Answer 43

195-159 BC- dialog written in every day conversation, showed a sympathetic treatment of characters.

Question 44

Lucius Annaeus Senece

Answer 44

The only Roman tragedies still in existence were written by him. They were written to be recited, rather than produced. Contained much violence that are difficult to present on the stage and were characterized by elaborate speeches, soliloquies. asides, and sensationalism.