Have you ever seen a movie or play and thought to yourself “Man, that is so cool. I wonder what the past behind all these actors and plays are”? The history of acting and theater has evolved greatly since its creation, and has a long and in-depth past. The history of acting and theater is comprised of many components, including Greek/Roman Theater, Middle Ages Theater, European/Renaissance Theater, Elizabethan Theater, and Modern Theater.
The history of acting started out in Ancient Greece and Rome, where its deepest roots come from. In 700 B.C., the first dithyramb , which are songs that tell a story and to honor the gods, are composted in Athens, Greece. (“History”) The dithyramb, which was made up of men and young boys, would tell a story through various narrations by singing and dancing. (“History”) In 600 B.C., the Festival of Dionysius was founded in Athens, and plays are performed there to honor the gods. (“History”) After the plays were over, prizes and gifts were awarded to the best play that was performed by the actors, who were only narrators at this period of time (“History”) In 530 B.C., the first actor was added to the chorus assembly. This is also the first time an actor is on stage as a character, not as a narrator. (“History”) A second after is added by Aeschylus, the great tragedian, and wins numerous awards in 474 B.C. (“History”) In 468 B.C., Sophocles adds a third actor to the theater, and writes many influential plays, one being -Oedipus Rex. (“History”) Actors also had a different name, which was the word “hypocrites”. (“History2”) Originally, in the 5th century B.C., there was not a selection process for choosing actors. (“HIstory2”) The play-write Sophron begins using mimes, which became a very popular an...
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Larque, Thomas. "Elizabethan Theatre - A Lecture - by Thomas Larque (2001)." Elizabethan Theatre - A Lecture - by Thomas Larque (2001). N.p., 2001. Web. 22 Oct. 2013.
This source provided information about the Elizabethan Theater era of acting.
Robinson, Scott R. "European Drama in the Middle Ages." European Drama in the Middle Ages. N.p., 01 May 2002. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.
This source provided information about European Theater.
"Theatre in the Middle Ages." The Finer Times: War, Crime and History Resource. The Finer Times, 2013. Web. 18 Oct. 2013.
This information provided information about theater in the Middle Ages.
Trumbull, Eric W. "Introduction to Theatre -- Medieval Theatre." Introduction to Theatre -- Medieval Theatre. N.p., 16 Nov. 2008. Web. 18 Oct. 2013.
This information provided information about Medieval Theater.
Warren, Roger. Shakespeare Survey 30. N.p.: n.p., 1977. Pp. 177-78. Rpt. in Shakespeare in the Theatre: An Anthology of Criticism. Stanley Wells, ed. England: Oxford University Press, 2000.
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.
There are many important aspects of theatre history. Important playwrights, actors, theatres, and events that impacted theatre in major ways. In this paper I am going to discuss the life of an important actor who would be better known for his last name and the actions of his brother. By looking into his life I have learned how interesting of an actor he was and what significance he had on theatre history. This actor is Edwin Booth.
Kernan, Alvin. “Othello: and Introduction.” Shakespeare: The Tragedies. Ed. Alfred Harbage. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1964.
"Elizabethan Theatre Audiences." Elizabethan Theatre Audiences. Strayer University, 16 May 2012. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
Warren, Roger. Shakespeare Survey 30. N.p.: n.p., 1977. Pp. 177-78. Rpt. in Shakespeare in the Theatre: An Anthology of Criticism. Stanley Wells, ed. England: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Knight, Judson. Middle Ages. Ed. Judy Galens. J-Z ed. Vol. 2. Detroit: UXL, 2001. Print.
Russell Brown, J. 1995. The Oxford Illustrated History of the Theatre. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Lemercier, Sophie. “The Supernatural and the Representation of Justice in Shakespeare’s Theatre.” European Studies: A Journal of European Culture, History and Politics; Vol 17, Issue 1, p 105-116. 2001.
Theorists and scholars have often examined when the art of theatre first came into existence. There is a great amount of emphasis on the idea that the act of mimesis or an imitating impulse first came to be in a ritual setting dating way back to the beginning of mankind. However, the first civilization that shows evidence of a fully formed and functional theater is found during the ancient Greek civilization.
Dating back to ancient Greek theater in the sixth century BC, acting has tremendously evolved and become more than the plays acted in the Roman period. As it continues to evolve until this day, it is important to look into history to understand the present era of the career in acting. For Aristotle, a Greek philosopher, acting is “the right management of the voice to express various emotions,” considered to be a talent rather than a skill to be taught. While growing in Greece, the acting field was supported by a lack of subtleness and a great variety of huge costumes; all played in outdoor theaters with books, the written version of the play, written by Euripides and Sophocles. Despite the expansion in Greek theaters, acting as an art began to decline during ...
The letter to my future selves writing process, was quite different of that than my normal process that I usually follow. Normally, I have to take multiple breaks between my points of writing because if not I will stray off topic. However, during this letter I did not stray off topic at all, and I found myself getting invested within this assignment. The reason I feel that I became so invested within this assignment is because I got to write something that relates to myself, so the content came very natural because it was my own thoughts and opinions. Also, I thought the whole idea of this assignment was very unique because when I was thinking about what points I wanted to cover, I had to think about where I wanted to be at in the future. Upon
Many cultural enthusiasts, archaeologists, and architects have a common interest in theatre and its origins. People from a few decades back have located the remaining of the oldest theatres in Greece, England, France and some parts of minor Asia. Theatre was a part of people’s lives as it was one of the few sources of entertainment, and it was originated from when people collectively sit in a gathering and listen to a storyteller. There were performances done by different people present at that moment. Later on, this activity kept improving and innovating, and in the result, many theaters for entertaining purposes were built by emperors who ruled the countries or kingdom in those days. The design of these theatres
Actors are more than just people who portray dramatic characters on a movie screen, stage, and television. Professional actors tend to make more money than most other careers. Actors bring joy to the people who watch them perform, and take them out of the real world and into the creative world of visual communication. Performers can show more than just joy, they can also bring happiness, sorrow, fear and even comedy. Acting can be a very versatile profession. It is way for many people to refine themselves. Performing is not only about getting into a role but understanding the extent of one’s imagination. There is a lot of preparing that goes into a performance than just reading a few lines. Acting is a paradigm. Acting is very different now compared to when it first started. In todays world acting is a fast growing career and well respected. but over 200 years ago it was not that way.
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...