Compared to the technical theaters of today, the London public theaters in the time of Queen Elizabeth I seem to be terribly limited. The plays had to be performed during daylight hours only and the stage scenery had to be kept very simple with just a table, a chair, a throne, and maybe a tree to symbolize a forest. Many say that these limitations were in a sense advantages. What the theater today can show for us realistically, with massive scenery and electric lighting, Elizabethan playgoers had to imagine. This made the playwright have to write in a vivid language so the audience could understand the play. Not having a lighting technician to work the control panels, Shakespeare had to indicate wether it was dawn or nightfall by using a speech rich in metaphors and descriptive details. Shakespeare's theater was far from being bare, the playwright did have some valuable technical sources that he used to the best of his ability. The costumes the actors wore were made to be very elaborate. Many of the costumes conveyed recognizable meanings for the audience such as a rich aristocrat wearing silk clothes with many ruffles. Many times there were musical accompaniments and sound effects such as gunpowder explosions and the beating of a pan to simulate thunder.
The stage itself was also remarkably versatile. Behind it were doors for exits and entrances and a curtained booth or alcove useful for actors to hide inside. Above the stage was a higher acting area which symbolized a porch or balcony. This was useful in the story of Romeo and Juliet, when Romeo stood below Juliet and told her how he loved her. In the stage floor was a trap door which was said to lead to "hell" or a cellar, this was especially useful for ghosts or devils who had to appear and disappear throughout the play. The stage itself was shaped in a rectangular platform that projected into a yard that was enclosed by three story galleries.
The building was round or octagonal in shape but Shakespeare called it a "wooden O." The audience sat in these galleries or else they could stand in the yard in front the stage. A roof and awning protected the stage and the high-priced gallery seats, but in the case bad weather, the "groundlings," who only paid a penny to stand in the yard, must have gotten wet.
Scene 1 of Act 4 is certainly one of the most visually impacting and intriguing scenes of the entire play. This strong effect is attained by the sequential presentation of mysterious images and a close reference to evil throughout the whole scene. On stage, the visual (the actions and apparitions) and audible (the speech and sound effects as the thunder) factors engulf the entire scene in an atmosphere of wickedness.
In a Shakespearian theatre, the actors and directors would have had fairly small budgets and minimal technology to present the enchantment that Shakespeare employed in the formation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This deficit of technology could be mitigated, however, with the use of a color, a technê that was fairly easy to manipulate. I intend for my production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream to maintain the integrity Shakespeare wrote with. Because of this, I envision the play occurring at The Globe Theatre in London. The production will be staged with as many staging pieces that would have been available in Shakespeare’s time as possible. Because of the modern importance placed on color as a technology, I envision this play being performed to modern
The dug out which is shown in most scenes of the play, where it is
"Elizabethan Theatre Audiences." Elizabethan Theatre Audiences. Strayer University, 16 May 2012. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
when he gets bored of it then he tells him to stop, just like that.
The Globe Theater became the most popular theater among the people. In 1611 Shakespeare sold his shares to the troupe because he was ready to retire. Then on June 29, 1613, during a performance of Henry VIII, a wad of flaming debris was fired from stage cannon and landed on the thatched roof of the third floor (Zenger). The Theater only took two hours to burn completely down, except for the foundation. In a matter of a few years, this theater rose and then fell in one catastrophic event. This tragic event was expected to lead to the demise of The Kings Men, but this consequently worked in the favor of them. After this unfortunate loss to The Kings Men, they were left to pick themselves up and continue. Fortunately for them, in August of 1608 they built an indoor theater called Black friars, which they quickly transferred to and began making profits better than ever. This was because of having high priced seats in their smaller theater. This was a quick replacement for the Globe but the people missed the famous theater.
" The audience arranged in rows, looked out across a rounded orchestra" (Kennedy 1102). Because most of the early dramas were religious and required a sacrificial ceremony, a thymele (an altar or sacrificial table) was located in the center of the orchestra. The orchestra was where the chorus and actors performed. Arnott states, " the nucleus of the drama was the chorus" (Arnott 9). David Taylor comments, " The theater actually did start without any separate actors; there was only the chorus" (15). Later actors were added, but the chorus still remained the center of attention. The audience sat at a considerable distance from the orchestra and looked down on the performance. Although the amount of detail perceived was limited, they of...
The stage was in proscenium form so it allowed most audience members to have the same amount of viewing as others throughout the theater. Due to the theatre space being so small and intimate, it created the relevant atmosphere of everything on stage happening to be small.
There were two theatres at Pompeii used for a variety of purposes. One of these includes drama performances. The two theatres held a large number of patrons. The largest held 5000 people while the smaller once called the Odeon held approximately 1500 people. The types of performances that where held were usually tragedies, comedies and farces. They took place in the larger theater usually during religious celebrations and in celebration of achievements.. The larger theatre was designed for comfort in mind with facilities for an awning on days that where very hot. Historians including Paul Zanker and Richard Beacham suggest that the theatres of Pompeii were as much as a political venue then a entertaining one. Entry was free in the theatre but social class assigned seating. The lower social class sat in the back of the theatre while the upper class sat at the front where the best view was. The smaller theatre known as the Odeon was ...
When you first enter the theater, you are immediately in awe of the strongest aspect of this production: the set. The stage features a life-sized enchanted forest with “tress” as tall as the ceiling and a lit-up backdrop of a twilight sky. The tress would move around throughout the performance to make way for different scenes. In front of your very eyes, an enchanted forest would turn into the outside of a charming house with a lit porch and a well. The twilight sky would turn to a starlit sky and a soft spotlight simulating moonlight would compliment the faint sound of crickets. Suddenly the house and tress move around and you’re in a town with a little cart selling baguettes, or a lush dining room with Victorian wallpaper, a chandelier, and china displayed on the walls. The world shakes once again and now you’re in, inevitably, a ballroom. A white Victorian gate opens up to become the walls of the ballroom, and a white marble bridge and staircase appear for the outside of the castle. Adults and children alike were in awe of the craftsmanship and technology.
This is how Shakespeare’s plays are a product of the Elizabethan theatrical context in which they were first performed.
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.
Oberon gives us many set-piece descriptions: of the "bank whereon the wild thyme blows", of the "fair vestal" whom Cupid's bolt failed to hit, and of Titania's "seeking sweet favours for this hateful fool" (Bottom), among others. Here Shakespeare shows us what can be done "in this kind", lest the failure of Pyramus and Thisbe lead us to the conclusion that the theatre can only depict what can literally be brought on stage. In watching a play filled with references to moonlight, darkness, day-break we do well to recall that it was first performed in open-air theatres in daylight!
To begin, the Globe had a distinct structure. It was a three story amphitheater that was about one hundred feet long and fifteen feet tall. The twenty circular walls were covered with a thatched roof but no ceiling (“Fun Facts on the Globe theater”). The roof protected the audience for the weather. On top of the roof was a flag that signified which type of play was being performed: black for tragedy, white for comedy, red for history. Just below the flag was the stage that was split into the upper stage, main stage, and inner stage. The main stage, where most of the action took place, contained a trap door where witches or ghosts could rise or descend to/from the space beneath called, “hell”. Along the back of the main stage, the inner stage was used for indoor scenes. Above that area, a chamber that was used for most balcony and bedroom scenes was called the upper stage. Next, the seats surro...
The simplicity of the Jacobean Stage and its lack of scenery focused the audiences’ attention on the actors. Discuss how Shakespeare created the grandeur of the Worlds of Rome and Egypt, and the magnificence of the protagonists, through his use of imagery in ‘Antony and Cleopatra’.