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About the Elizabethan Theatre
Greek theater then and now
Greek theater then and now
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Recommended: About the Elizabethan Theatre
History of Theatre
Greek
Theatre of Ancient Greece is still one of the most popular forms of theatre.Greek theatre used drama as its “go to” genre. Some of the most famous plays include Oedipus Rex, Medea, The Persians, and my personal favorite Antigone. Most of these plays are circled around Greek Mythology. The popularity around these plays are honestly ridiculous. These plays would bring in thousands. And they are still carried through today's society school system. Greek theater playwrights have the most influence on today's Theater Arts. What they did in that time period, put a dent in the way plays are performed and viewed. A few of the best playwrights involved in this accomplishment are Aeschylus, Euripides, Sophocles, Agathon,and
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He focused a lot on carnival plays, which contains a lot of drama, which is eventually resolved in the end.These plays depict everyday situations. During this time, the audience was dominantly male and relations between the sexes were a common theme.
The Elizabethan Theatre was a huge success, as people loved to attend the theatre in their free time. Many theatres arose in London starting 1576. They were performed in what is called inn yards. The dramas were more focused around the values of the upperclass. Although, the upper and lower class watched the same plays, the upper class watched in private theatres, while the lower in public. Sitting in front of the stage was actually less expensive than sitting far up away from the stage.
William Shakespeare plays were conducted in Elizabethan theatres. He was the most famous of the Elizabethan playwrights. His most famous plays were Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Hamlet. The actors were all male,as women could not act till the 17th century. Usually pre-pubescent boys would play the role of women. Actors rarely performed the same play twice, as the audience expected to see new plays everyday. Shakespeare ended his career after the Globe theatre was destroyed by a fire in 1613. The Globe was a huge theatre that seated 2,000-3,000. It was later rebuilt. Shakespeare owned part of the globe and benefitted financially from its
...ters he created in his plays. He also developed female characters who were obviously intelligent, dynamic, and strong willed. Thus creating dramatic plots that rise to the surface societal stereotypes and norms. As in modern society theatre and the media allow for people to express issues of concern in a none threatening manner. Shakespeare's dynamic plays have influenced literature globally for hundreds of years.
Like all the plays of Shakespeare, 'Romeo and Juliet' was written for a typical Elizabethan playhouse. These theatres came about from 1576, when the first theatre was built. Before this time, plays had been performed by a group of actors (all male) who travelled from town to town, using open places, such as inn-yards, or with permission, the hall of a noble house as a theatre. Shakespeare's own theatre the Globe was quite typical of that period. It was hexagonal in shape, with three roofed galleries that encircled an open courtyard.
To commence, in the Elizabethan and Jacobean period, there were many important rules in regards to acting that players had to consider when performing in the Globe theatre. When Shakespeare wrote his plays, he included as many female characters as he did male characters. Nonetheless, the traditions and values of the Renaissance did not allow women to act or become actors, due to the fact that it was considered immoral for a woman to be on stage. At the time, they had no social status other than their association with their husbands or fathers. Moreover, actors were considered to have a low social status, thus it was considered improper and socially unacceptable for a woman to become a performer. Instead of editing all of Shakespeare’s texts to adher...
The Globe Theater, home of many of William Shakespeare’s plays became exciting to watch and hear. Shakespeare’s plays will forever be heard from generation to generation. People would come from all over to watch his creative side from costumes to props and his actors. Shakespeare’s writing will always influence writers to write great poems and plays.
Elizabethan Theatre was so popular that everyone enjoyed it; even Queen Elizabeth. She influenced some of the plays performed in that time and people were honored to perform plays for her. Plays were very important back then and were a part of life. Theatre in the Elizabethan Era was very prominent, including Coriolanus, a tragedy by William Shakespeare, and could be attended by anybody.
Many ancient civilizations witnessed Greek theater and tragedy as the world’s first theatrical performances. Tragedy comes from the Greek word Tragos and Ole meaning goat song. The dithyramb, a song and dance performed in honor of the god Dionysus, was performed at a ceremony in Athens; it told the story of Dionysus’s life and his many adventures. Throughout the years the playwrights added things other than Dionysus’s life to the performance. They added other gods and some hero’s that made a name for themselves within the temple. As more time passed they added more actors, choruses, masks and costumes as a way to grab the audience’s attention and participation. Theater was first seen by ancient Greece before it spread all throughout western civilization. For the Greeks it was more than a culture, it was how they worshipped the gods. The three great playwrights changed theater for the better by introducing multiple characters, by adding drama and irony to the stage and by utilizing props such as masks and costumes; from the work they have done only some remains, but the pieces that remain show the depth and creativeness of the Greek theater.
When theaters first stated they weren’t very popular. Authoritarians didn’t approve of them; in 1574 having theaters in the city limits were banned. Many people said that it was bad for the youth and lead to prostitution. Queen Elizabeth I loved the art of theater and enjoyed watching performances. She helped theaters become popular in the cities and with the cities citizens. Shakespeare’s Theater was full of life and was different from today. During the plays people wouldn’t just sit and watch; people would talk, eat, and drink. They cheered at the parts they liked and booed at the parts they didn’t like. The audience would even sometimes throw objects at the actors.
Three theatrical genres – tragedy, comedy, and satyr plays – began to emerge in Ancient Greece. These three genres, though altered over time, still exist in the modern theatre. Tragedy in Ancient Greece were plays that show human misery and suffering. This genre has remained largely unchanged over time and has inspired many famous playwrights including William Shakespeare. Ancient Greek comedy began as political satire, a theme that is still evident in television shows such as The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and Saturday Night Live. Over time the subject of satire in Greek theatre became more general, and specific public figures were generally not satirized. Playwrights focused on creating stock characters (easily recognizable characters) that l...
The Globe was the most important structure to Shakespeare's drama because most of his plays were to be performed on the stage of the Globe. Those plays written by Shakespeare include: Hamlet, Macbeth, Twelfth Night, King Lear, Othello, and Julius Caesar. These plays that had a huge effect on our literature had an even larger effect on the people of London. Plays were important to the residents of London because they were an efficient way of getting a message to many people and entertain them at the same time. The playhouses commonly drew thousands, who saw a supposedly fictitious play often with a political undertone.
The Globe Theatre was where Shakespeare had most of his plays performed. It had many decorations to make it look appealing and to try and to make it seem expensive and luxurious. The Globe Theatre was built in just 6 months between 1597 and 1598 just outside central London. The Thames River separated it from St Paul’s cathedral. The Globe was made in a round circular shape. This meant that at least one actor would have their back to the audience, however, this would not have mattered because the audience came mainly to hear the play – not to see it. When you were buying a seat for the theatre, the most expensive seats would not be the ones with the best view, they would be the closest ones in order to hear better. Also, these seats would be facing towards the audience, which means that everyone would see them, meaning fame. The Globe would usually be packed with decorations and ornaments. These would have nothing to do with the play, it was used to make the theatre look more attractive/expensive. Lots of people would come to see the plays. They would do this because Shakespeare’s plays were not published at that time so the public would want to see it...
Actors were expected to memorize hundreds of lines at a time. While one play could be performing, actors would be practicing lines for their next show. Play writers also began to make roles for the actors in the theatrical pieces. The theaters that actors performed in were roofless so that the sun could be used as lighting. Theatrical shows were held in the afternoon because it provided the best amount of light for the show. When the people gathered into the theater, the different classes of people were separated by where they could afford to sit and watch the show. The lower classmen were situated on the bare earth where it was dirty and smelly because it was never cleaned. The owners’ of the theaters found it less expensive if they did not keep high maintenance of their establishments. Higher classmen sat under a roof and for a penny more, they could buy cushions for their seats.
“Gender hardly determines the nature of a character, in the plays of Shakespeare. It is for this very reason, that his plays are read, viewed and enjoyed by both the sexes equally, even after five hundred years of their composition” (Singh). Gender is not something that defines what a character is going to be like in Shakespeare’s plays. This quote illuminates that in Shakespeare’s writings females and males were on equal level playing fields when it came to their traits. Females during the time period were considered inferior to men.
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...
Ancient Greek Theater is the first historical record of “drama,” which is the Greek term meaning “to do” or “to act.” Beginning in the 5th century BC, Greek Theater developed into an art that is still used today. During the golden age of the Athenians plays were created, plays that are considered among the greatest works of world drama. Today there are thousands of well-known plays and films based on the re-make of ancient drama.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live during the Elizabethan Era? To see the works of great playwrights such as William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson firsthand? The theater was one of the cornerstones of Elizabethan life, and many people knew the works of Shakespeare and Jonson. While Shakespeare was arguably the greatest of the time, many other playwrights, including Jonson, flourished during this time period.