Analysis of Theatre Periods

Trends and Influential Figures

Types of Theatre Styles

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

African
Asian
Chinese
Southeast Asian
Japanese
Middle- Eastern

Western Theatre History

1. Greek
2. Roman
3. Medieval
4. Commedia dell Arte
5. Renaissance
6. Restoration
7. Restoration Spectacular
8. Neoclassical
9. Late Modern Theatre

GREEK THEATRE
The vast majority of Ancient Greek theatrical texts
have not survived intact. A small number of
works from four Greek playwrights writing during
the 5th century B.C. remain fully intact.
Aeschylus
Sophocles
Euripides
Aristophanes
They are considered the most influential during
this time.

DRAMAS
1.The dramas rarely had more than three actors
(all male), who played the different roles using
masks.
2. There was a chorus on the stage most of the
time which sang songs and sometimes spoke in
unison.
3. As far as we know, most dramas were staged
just a single time, at the traditional drama
contest.
4. Honored the God, Dionysus

ROMAN THEATRE
The theatre of ancient
Rome was heavily
influenced by the Greek
tradition.
Two most important
playwrights were Plautus
and Terrance.
Roman theatre was less
influenced by religion.

Also, Roman theatre was

more for aesthetic
appeal. In Roman
theatre, war was a more
common thing to appear
on stage as opposed to
the Greek theatre where
wars were more
commonly spoken about.
This was no doubt a
reflection of Roman
culture and habits.

Roman Audiences
The audience was often loud and rude,
rarely applauding the actors, but always
shouting insults and booing.

Roman Actors

The actors developed a kind of code that

would tell the audience about the characters
just by looking at them.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

A black wig meant the character was a young man.

A gray wig meant the character was an old man.
A red wig meant the character was a slave.
A white robe meant the character was an old man.
A purple robe meant the character was a young man.
A yellow robe meant the character was a woman. (Character played by a man.)
A yellow tassel meant that the character was a God.

Plays lasted for two hours, and were usually

comedies. Most comedies involved mistaken
identity (such as gods disguised as humans).

MEDIEVAL THEATRE
In Europe in the courts of
kings and noblemen
scripted re-enactments of
the Arthurian legends and
other romances, usually
associated with jousting
or tournaments, were
popular in the early 13th
century until the middle of
the 14th. By the 16th
century the practice had
developed into staged
theatrical events

Medieval Plays
Three types of plays:
1. Mystery or Cycle Plays- Series of short
plays based on the Old and New
Testament.
2. Miracle Plays- dealt with the lives of
saints.
3. Morality Plays- taught a lesson through
allegorical characters representing
virtues or faults.

COMMEDIA DELL ARTE

Form of theatre that began
in Italy in the mid-16th
century characterized by
masked "types", the
advent of the actress and
improvised performances
based on sketches or
scenarios.
The performers played on
outside, temporary
stages, and relied on
various props in place of
extensive scenery.

La Commedia dell'Arte
literally means "Artistic
Comedy.
The Commedia was known
for its stock characters.
And you could tell who
the character was, by the
mask or outfit they wore.

Commedia Characters
ARLECCHINO
Harlequin, a poor
character, wearing a
colorful patched
costume, the patches
probably remnants of
richer costumes.

PANTALONE
was a caricature of the Venetian merchant,
rich and retired, mean and miserly, with a
young wife or an adventurous daughter.

Pulcinella
Was a dwarfish
humpback with a
crooked nose, the cruel
bachelor who chased
pretty girls.

RENAISSANCE THEATRE
refers to the theatre of England, largely
based in London, which occurred between
the Reformation and the closure of the
theatres in 1642. It includes the drama of
William Shakespeare, Christopher
Marlowe and many other famous
playwrights.

The term "Elizabethan

theatre", however,
properly covers only the
plays written and
performed publicly in
England during the reign
of Queen Elizabeth
(15581603).

Companies of players
attached to households of
leading noblemen and
performing seasonally in
various locations existed
before the reign of
Elizabeth I. These
became the foundation
for the professional
players that performed on
the Elizabethan stage.

Renaissance Costume
Costumes were often bright in
color and visually entrancing.
Costumes were expensive,
however, so usually players
wore contemporary clothing
regardless of the time period of
the play. Occasionally, a lead
character would wear a
conventionalized version of
more historically accurate
garb, but secondary characters
would nonetheless remain in
contemporary clothing.

William Shakespeare
Most influential figure during
the Renaissance period.
Born- April the 23rd, 1564
Died- April 23rd, 1615
Wrote 37 plays and 154
sonnets.
Known as The Bard of
Avon.
Married Anne Hathaway

Known for such great titles

as:
Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet,
Julius Caesar, Macbeth,
etc..etc..

RESTORATION COMEDY
Restoration comedy refers to English comedies written and
performed in the Restoration period from 1660 to 1710.
Notorious for its sexual explicitness, a quality encouraged by Charles
II (16601685) personally and by the rakish aristocratic ethos of his
court. The socially diverse audiences included both aristocrats, their
servants and hangers-on, and a substantial middle-class segment.
These playgoers were attracted to the comedies by up-to-theminute topical writing, by crowded and bustling plots, by the
introduction of the first professional actresses, and by the rise of the
first celebrity actors. This period saw the first professional woman
playwright, Aphra Behn.

Restoration Costumes
Clothing in the Restoration expressed the suppressed feelings of
freedom during the Puritan period.
Masculine and feminine dress began to take on the stiffness and smart
elegance.
Gentlemen wore wigs that had curls all over it and they shaved their
heads. The faces were shaved at first then only a thread of a
mustache if any. The hat moved to a high-crown, stiffer and a little
narrower-brimmed hat and it was cocked to side. All men tried to
wear cravats around the neck rather than the huge collars.
Women wore ringlets clustered in the back of the hair with smaller
tendrils waved around the face which replaced the earlier dense
frizzle. Rich women would weave pearls into their hair and put
nosegays in their buns, however, the common people wore simpler
hair.

Restoration Spectacular
The Restoration spectacular, or
elaborately staged "machine play",
hit the London public stage in the
late 17th-century Restoration
period, enthralling audiences with
action, music, dance, moveable
scenery, baroque illusionistic
painting, gorgeous costumes, and
special effects such as trapdoor
tricks, "flying" actors, and
fireworks.
These shows have always had a bad
reputation as a vulgar and
commercial threat to the witty,
"legitimate" Restoration drama;
however, they drew Londoners in
unprecedented numbers and left
them dazzled and delighted.

Machine Play- (Restoration period)

Machinery allowing for sunrises and sunsets,
flights and descents from heaven, rocks that
opened and fountains that played, became
increasingly important, achieving its apotheosis
in the operas.
The term machine play is given to a variety of
works (tragedy, pastoral, etc.) in which the
spectacular element predominates, usually with
a strong admixture of music and dance.

Neoclassical Theatre
Neoclassical Theatre was the
dominant form of theatre in the
18th century.
Neoclassical theatre as well as
the time period is
characterized by its
grandiosity. The costumes and
scenery were intricate and
elaborate. The acting is
characterized by large
gestures and melodrama.
The neo-classical age directly
follows the time of the
Renaissance.

Headdresses:

Late Modern Theatre

twentieth century theatre, often continues the
project of realism. However, there has also been
a great deal of experimental theatre that rejects
the conventions of realism and earlier forms.
Examples include: Epic theatre, absurdist theatre,
and postmodern theatre. Key figures of the
century include: Luigi Pirandello, Bertolt Brecht,
Antonin Artaud, Konstantin Stanislavski, Harold
Pinter, Eugene O'Neill, Samuel Beckett, Dario
Fo and Tony Kushner.

ANNOUNCEMENT

THEATRE HISTORY TEST

FRIDAY, MARCH 4th

Power point will be available on-line!