Theatre History 1 Flashcards
When was the Greek period?
5BC
When was the Roman period?
2-3AD
When was the Medieval period?
500 -1500
When was the Elizabetheen period?
1600’s
When was the Italian Renaissance period?
1500’s - 1600’s
Who were the first civilians?
The egyptians
What does BC to AD mean?
BC (before Christ), AD (after Christ)
Who were the Greeks?
An agricultural society that practiced telling stories and they had a God for everything.
What did they do with the first crops?
They offered the crops to the God Dionysus.
Who was Dionysus?
The God of wine, revelry, fertility.
They sang a song called ‘….’ unto Dionysus.
Dithyramb
Who became the power?
Athens
What festival did Athens introduce?
City Dyonisia
What competition was introduced at City Dyonisia?
Competition for the best playwright.
Who is the first actor?
Thespis
As the theatre developed, the peformance space developed how?
They celebrated outside, they put logs in a circular manner leaving the stage at the centre.
What does the physical theatre consist of?
Deus ex machina, skene, parados, altar, orchestra, eccyclema
What is deux ex machina?
A machine, behind the skene that allowed the God to come down unto the stage.
What is the skene?
An entrance for the audience and, separately the actors?
What is the eccyclema?
A platform which was pulled to show the result of violence.
Where was the thymele located and why?
It was located in the orchestra for the God Dionysus.
Who were the Greek playwrights of the tragedies?
Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides
Who was the first Greek tragedian?
Aeschylus
Who was the writer of Oedipus Rex?
Sophocles
Who was the most violent writer?
Euripides
Who were the comedy writers of the Greeks?
Aristophales, Menander
Who was the first comedic writer?
Aristopholes
What play did Aristohphales write that it still popular today?
Lysistrata
Who are the two most famous critics of the Greek civilizations?
Aristotle, Plato
Explain Theatre of Dionysus (phase one).
the temple was the performance area and had a visible skeen and altar
Explain Epidarius Theatre (athens phase two)
the skeen became more developed with cushions and art pieces they also decorated the scenic area with shrubs and greenery
What clothing did the Greeks wear ?
They wore chiton
What did the Greek actors wear?
cothurnus (elevated boots)
What did Aeschylus introduce?
Trilogy
Who wrote the most Greek plays?
Sophocles
How many plays did Sophocles write?
123 plays
What do we see in ALL Greek plays?
the Chorus
What is a tragedy?
this is an imitation of an action that is serious that arouses pity and fear and it causes a freeing of emotions.
Explain how the Greek plays were organized.
The city magistrate (archon) wold work with a playwright and chose a choragus (the persons who would song and dance in the play)
What is harmartia
A tragic flaw, a flaw that makes you go against
What does the chorus do?
Sing, dance and interrupt the play to share expressions and opinions
What were the Romans known as?
Powerful warriors (the Roman Empire) who were innovators and adapters.
When did Rome conquer Greece?
146BC
What was the Romans’ vision?
To conquer the world
Who was the Roman playwright that adapted Greek plays?
Seneca
What are Seneca’s dates?
4BC - AD65
What did Seneca write?
Closet drama
What is closet drama?
A type of drama written to be read and not to be performed
Why couldn’t closet drama be performed?
the choices in that period were gorey and dreadful and couldn’t be portrayed on stage
What were the Romans’ entertainment?
Bread and circuses
Who are the two comedic playwrights of the Romans?
Plautus & Terrance
What piece of Roman architecture can be visible today?
Sports complexes resemble the way in which the theatres were in Roman times.
Explain the Roman games
Like today’s Olympic games, the Roman games were where they would see who was the strongest by competing for the Reet of Honor. The Greeks also had the games but the Romans, once again, adapted it.
What important part of history did the Romans give us?
The coming of Christ
Explain why the Romans crucified Christ.
They believed there was no King except King Ceaser. They, therefore, saw Christ as a threat since people began to follow him.
What is the triburalia in the roman theatre
seating for important personnel to access the exit quickly in case of emergency
When, where and how was Abraham Lincoln killed?
Fords Theatre in Washington DC, April 14th, 1865, shot in the head and dies the following day (April 15th 1865)
What is the pompey in the roman theatre
the area in honor of the God/s
What in the theatre did the Romans adapt and innovate for the Greeks?
They created a single architectural unit and adapted and innovated curtains, various entrances, seating, places of honor and traps
Explain Tutulian
- A Christian with early theories about Christianity and the church
- he felt the Christians shouldn’t attend the games and public spectacles in the arena since it was done for the God/s, if you participated you should be abandoned from the religion
What is the medieval period sometimes referred to as
the Dark Ages
What was the way society was classified (the feudal system) in the medieval?
Nobility, clergy, peasant
Why did the clergy and nobility work together?
To ensure that the world was becoming Christian and to keep the peasants knowing of Christianity
Describe what occurs at the monk in Trinidad in relation to that of the medieval period
People removed themselves into hills and formed sanctuaries to become saints. They isolated themselves to learn how to become shepards
Vatican City is the home to whom?
The highest priest in the catholic part of Christianity
Explain who is Vitruvius (Roman Period)
- wrote and documented the architecture of the period with drawings
- born in Formia, Italy, and died 15BC
- wrote ‘Pa Architecture’ later used by Leonardo Ca Vinici in the Renaissance Period to create “The Vitruvian Man”
What was the first documented enactment (medieval)
Easter Tridium
What were mansions in the medieval period
a raised platform which was a form of staging
Who would perform Noah & the Ark from the medieval period
Carpenters
What were the three types of plays from the medieval period
Cycle plays, Mystere plays and morality plays
What are cycle plays
they told an entire story , the play had a cycling journey
What are mystere plays
these were plays done by craftsmen which dealt with the life of a saint
What are morality plays
allegorical drama in which the characters personified moral qualities or abstractions in which moral lessons are taught
Explain in detail the Passion Play at Oberammergau
- Oberammergau is located in the Bavarian Alps, Germany
- once in a decade Passion Play at the Passion Play Theatre
- a six-hour spectacle of music and drama
- performed by villages every ten years (except during the world wars) since 1634
- it recreates the last months and days of Jesus and the passion of his death on the cross
