Roman Theater

Roman theatre began in the 4th century B.C, which they stole ideas from the Greeks and improved them. Roman theatre had three major influences, Greek drama, Etruscan influences and Fabula Atellana, this helped them create comedies and added more entertainment like acrobatics, fights and athletics. Just like Greek theatre, Roman theatre also had festivals to honor the Gods but the Romans deity was the Goddess of Love (Venus). In this paper I will describe structures of Roman theatre, like the size, how they look, and amphitheaters and lastly I will talk about some of theatres that are still standing today. Roman theatre used two different types of buildings, either a regular theatre or an amphitheater. They both were constructed out

Much of the architectural influence on the Romans came from the Greeks, and theatre structural design was no different from other buildings. However, Roman theatres have specific differences, they were usually built upon their own foundations instead of on a hillside and was completely closed on all sides. Roman theatres were shaped with a half circle or orchestra space in front of the stage. Usually the audience sat here or the actors also would sometimes perform in this space. The stages in the theatre was usually raised to about 5 feet high and they were pretty large. They could be around 30 feet deep, 200 feet long and could sit around 10,000 peopleAll theaters were outdoors and this helped with lighting and sound. Romans would built theaters anywhere, sometimes even on flat land, by raising the whole structure off the ground. This caused entrances and exits to be built into the cave, as is done in large theaters and sports arenas today. It also created more of an enclosed atmosphere and helped keep out the noises of the city. A tarp could be moved over the top of the theater to create shade on hot and sunny days. Around 78 BC Romans added a cooling system that consisted of blowing air over water. Roman theatres were built everywhere and influenced a lot of local architecture, there are numerous theatres around the world with uniquely Roman characteristics. Another characteristic is the decorated background of a Roman theatre stage is usually called the scaenae frons. This area usually had many different entrances to the stage and a grand entrance. The Roman theatre also had a podium that would sometimes support the columns of the scaenae frons. The scaenae was originally not part of the building itself, and it was only constructed to provide a background for the actors. The scaenae frons was usually two