Throughout the history of the theatre its technology has helped to convey the story, amaze the audience, and to, at times, make the theatrical performance possible. Over the ages we have seen the growth of theatre shown in its technology, namely its staging, costumes, scenery, and lighting. We will trace the development and growth of these technologies from Ancient Greece through the end of the eighteenth-century.
The technology of the Ancient Greeks is, in fact, very amazing. One has no options other than to be dumbfounded by what they were capable of . The most striking of these technological achievements is the acoustics of their theatres. These theatres were gigantic, to say the least. Any person in any of the 6000 original seats of the theatre at Epidaurous (Epidaurous) or at any other Greek amphitheater would have had no problem hearing any word spoken onstage. According to acoustician and ultrasonics expert Nico Declercq, of Georgia Tech University, this was all an accident, that the Greeks had “unwittingly created a sophisticated acoustic filter “ (McRainey). I personally think that the Greeks knew exactly what it was they were doing. There is no way that the Greeks developed everything that they did by accident. For example, even as early as the time of Thespis, the Greeks were building permanent theatres, they had already moved away from the temporary wooden theatres of the past (Cleaver 17-18).
Developing past this, the Greeks also began to use simple properties. The first recorded use of properties was in a play written by Ӕschylus. The use of an altar or tomb, for example, became part of his shows. In addition, later in his career , he was credited with the use of the first painted backdrops. Thes...
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The theater of Dionysus stands at the foot of the acropolis and its date originates back to the 6th Century, B.C.. Its originally wood seats rise in tiers above one another against the slope of the acropolis, creating a natural setting for the plays (D'ooge, 231). The Greek Theater was built to house a drama which, during the festivals of Dionysus, had evolved from the long tradition of choral hymns which were presented each year. As Greek culture changed and flourished, entertainment transformed from being a series of choral chanting and dancing to placing an emphasis on the actor. As the actors' importance grew, there became a need for a stage from which they could be seen by each of the fourteen thousand spectators the theater housed. The chorus was still a very active part of the entertainment and they resided in the orchestra (Norwich, 64). The orchestra was the oldest part of the Greek theater and thus, when the actor was given
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First I will discuss the various aspects of ancient Greek theatre then compare to today’s modern version of theatre. Today it is widely believed that theatre first began in ancient Greece, the evidence. people used to come to this conclusion from ancient Greek plays. Greek art and architecture. Orchestra [ IMAGE] The diagram on the right shows the layout of a typical Greek theatre.
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In this paper I'm focusing mainly on Renaissance art work, since that was the assignment, but I feel it's important to also mention the other important parts of the Renaissance, architecture, science, politics and religion.
Technically, an outstanding aspect of this production were the meticulously detailed masks used by the ensemble during various scenes throughout the show. These tropes of traditional Greek theatre payed homage to the play’s origin while still creating a visually appealing aspect to the contemporary scenes.
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Although Classical Greece was not well-known for their innovative technology, much of the advancements that were made were a direct result of war. One advancement in Greece was their use of roads and streets. Roads consisted of uniform blocks often made from limestone with drainage gutters on either side. These roads were built solely for the purpose of ease of transportation and trade during the Peloponnesian War. Another modernization was the use of plumbing. Because of excavations, plumbing systems have been identified consisting of fountains and of baths made from terra cotta. The
The Globe Theater is widely known as the world’s greatest amphitheatre of its time, bringing in crowds of thousands of people. The Globe was also where most of the famous playwright, William Shakespeare, performed his plays. With its unique design, the audience was able to enjoy the plays. Inside of this round and globe-like structure, the people from all around the area packed into the seats to watch Shakespeare and his actors. Despite the Globe Theater’s success, the theater had gone through many shut downs and rebuilding projects. Finally, the Globe was demolished for the last time. It was not until years later that the theater was discovered. Now, people from around the world are learning about this amphitheater and its role in the Renaissance time period. The Globe Theater is known for its structure, audience and actors, and history.
Greek and Elizabethan theatre, while similar in some respects, had a few large differences. The Greeks believed in a certain unity of theme, which was prevalent throughout the production. Greek plays were often drawn from myth or of historical significance, so it seems that only ki...
Theatre as we know it now was born more than two thousand years ago and has gone through many streams until it reached the current modernity. Among these streams is the avant-garde theatre. This theatre achieved a break in the traditional theatre and became the forefront of a new experimental theatre. Therefore it is necessary to ask how this theatre started, what impact it had on society and if this type of theatre is still common in our modern era.