lesson 8- the actors, costumes, masks, props and the chorus

Question 1

what were the two distinct groups of performers in the Athenian theatre?

Answer 1

The professional actors who played leading roles, and the amateur chorus members who were chosen from the citizen body

Question 2

all actors were…

Answer 2

male citizens who would play female roles alongside male roles such as goddesses, women, foreigners and slaves.

Question 3

In tragedy what was the maximum number of actors that could be on the stage at one time?

Answer 3

In tragedy, there were no more than three actors with speaking parts on stage at one time (although minor characters such as children could also appear). These three actors played all the leading roles

Question 4

how many parts did plays usually contain and what did this mean for the actors?

Answer 4

Plays usually contained 8-10 different parts and so an actor would be required to play several characters- due to this there must have been rushed moments as actors changed costumes and masks inside the skene

Question 5

what is an example of an actor playing multiple roles in one play?

Answer 5

In Sophocles ‘Oedipus the king’, the same actor was required to play the following four roles:
- the elderly priest of Zeus
-Jocasta, Oediups’ wife and mother
-a shepherd who found Oedipus as a baby
- a messenger who reports Jocasta’s suicide and Oedipus’ self blinding

Question 6

what other talents did actors have to have?

Answer 6

Actors also had to be good singers, perhaps in a variety of different character roles. Due to this, playwrights probably wrote parts with certain actors in mind, aware of their particular vocal talents

Question 7

why were masks added to performances in Ancient Greek theatre?

Answer 7

The ancient theatre space had no artificial lighting and many spectators were a significant distance from the stage. Facial expressions were therefore largely redundant, and in this context masks had to be added to the performance and were slightly larger than life-size to make them appear more visible

Question 8

what expressions did masks for tragedies have?

Answer 8

solemn expressions to emphasise the theme of the play

Question 9

what were masks made from?

Answer 9

They were made of linen, cork or wood and had openings for eyeholes and the mouth. There was also some hair attached to the top to act as a wig

Question 10

what were the benefits of using masks during performances?

Answer 10

1. since a play was performed by just three actors, masks allowed them to take on a range of different roles and show different characters
2. occasionaly, two different actors would have needed to play the same character- such as in Oedipus where the role of Theseus could not have been played by the same character
3. a change of mask during a play would add a great deal to the action, such as when Oedipus arrives back on stage after blinding himself. In the original production he wore a new blood splattered mask with darkened eye holes to reflect the blinding of himself off stage

Question 11

what was so important about masks and costumes for the playwright?

Answer 11

in the absence of stage lighting, masks and costumes were an important way for the playwright to give the audience information- a distinct mask and costume would have made it easier for the audience to identify characters; gods, old men, kings, queens, paupers and slaves who would all be recognised by their costume and what they were wearing

Question 12

what were the costumes of tragic actors based on?

Answer 12

two main items of Greek clothing; the chiton, a full length robe over which a short cloak was worn and a himation which reached down to the knees

Question 13

what do vase paintings suggest about what tragic costumes may have looked like?

Answer 13

They suggest that tragic costumes were more fitted with sleeves and were more ornate and colourful with rich patchwork of different patterns. Tragic costumes therefore reflected the grand and heroic characters of the genre. Some roles required specific costumes- paupers were dressed in plainer robes, black was reserved for mourners, soldiers wore armour and barbarians wore trousers

Question 14

what did actors wear on their feet?

Answer 14

soft leather boots, Kothornoi which reached up to the thigh

Question 15

why did Athenian theatre not use many props?

Answer 15

because so many spectators were sitting far away from the acting area however large props could have great power

Question 16

what is an example of a prop that would have had large effect to an audience?

Answer 16

In Euripides Bacchae, Agave appears on stage holding the severed head of her son as she begins to realise that she has just killed him- a prop would have been used during this scene such as the mask used for the character of Pentheus

Question 17

How many people was a chorus made up of?

Answer 17

15 ordinary citizens (12 in the early days of tragedy)- something which demonstrates the democratic nature of Athens

Question 18

if you count dithyrambic contests, how many Athenians would have taken part in the chorus at a festival?

Answer 18

more than 1,000 Athenians

Question 19

how were chorus members chosen for dithyrambic contests?

Answer 19

We do not know how chorus members were chosen but the competitive nature of the chorus meant that a choregos must have had to find the best available singers and dancers from each Athenian tribe

Question 20

what would a choregos do for tragedies?

Answer 20

he would select chorus members to act in all four plays by a playwright that he was financing

Question 21

what shows how important rehearsing for the chorus was?

Answer 21

training/rehearsing was taken so seriously that chorus members were apparently spared military service during the rehearsal period

Question 22

what did each chorus have?

Answer 22

A leader who spoke individual lines in dialogue with the actors (for example commenting on what has happened or responding to a character’s questions). Apart from this,chorus members danced and sang in unison

Question 23

who were the chorus members accompanied by?

Answer 23

a musician who played an aulos, a reed instrument. This musician would be known as an aultetes

Question 24

what do we have little information about?

Answer 24

the music and dances of a chorus, but we can guess how they may have looked or sounded. However, we can see from the Basel dancers vase that dancing in the chorus must have involved the whole body with the movement of the arms and swirling of the body

Question 25

what were the 6 different roles of the chorus?

Answer 25

1. actor
2. scene-setting
3. commentator
4. wider context
5. background mood
6. scene-break

Question 26

what was the role of the chorus in terms of actors?

Answer 26

The chorus was usually part of the action and portrayed local townfolk- normal citizens. For example, in Oedipus they represent the elderly citizens of Thebes, whilst in Bacchae they are Asian followers of Dionysus

Question 27

what was the role of the chorus in terms of scene-setting?

Answer 27

choral songs sometimes gave the audience important background information about the plot for example, the opening of Agamemnon explains how he sacrificed his daughter, Iphegenia which is why Clytemnestra wants to take revenge on him

Question 28

what was the role of the chorus in terms of commentator?

Answer 28

The chorus often stepped back from the actors and offered a commentary or moral opinion on the events of the play

Question 29

what was the role of the chorus in terms of wider-context?

Answer 29

The chorus can put the events of the play into a wider context by connecting them to other myths through their moralising commentary. This helps to bridge the gap between the world of the play and that of the audience

Question 30

what is the role of the chorus in terms of background mood?

Answer 30

The chorus offered background setting to the action to emphasise the mood and suggest to the audience what emotions they should be feeling. In this way, it can build suspense before an act of violence or lament before a moment of tragedy

Question 31

what is the role of the chorus in terms of scene-breaking?

Answer 31

The most practical role of the chorus was to break between scenes, acting almost as a stage curtain today. This allowed actors to leave the stage and change costume if necessary

Question 32

alongside the chorus, who would also sing?

Answer 32

the main actors- this allowed playwrights to heighten emotional intensity for example, in bacchae agave moves from song during madness to speech as she recovers her sanity

Question 33

what were the two contexts in which an actor might sing during a play?

Answer 33

A solo, known as ‘monody’ which a character often sing at moments of great distress or intensity. The second was Kommos, a sung dialogue between an actor and the chorus at moments of heightened emotion in the play