Theatre History I Final Exam

534 BCE: Civic, literary, and religious celebration where Authors would compete and present 3 tragedies and one satyr play. Lasted several days and normally occurred in March.
Festival in honor of worshipping Dionysus.

Similar to burlesque, these short plays featured choruses of _____________, were based on Greek mythology, and filled with drunkenness, brazen sexuality (phallic props), sight gags.
These plays broke the gloom of the three tragedies with comic relief.

CYCLOPS- by Euripides, only fully surviving _________________.

in cycle plays, audience moves from wagon to wagon (__________) or the set (wagons) move in front of the audience (___________) – Medieval Theatre

184-159 CE

Wrote 6 plays; all survive

Plays had high moral tone and were used in Middle Ages as examples for Christian writers, e.g., Hrosvitha

Carefully constructed complex plots; sometimes more than one play would be adapted into a double plot-counterpoint

(1st actors) came from Etruscan theatre.
Also known as story tellers, generally wore masks onstage

Professional actors were hired to perform at festivals

the earliest known work that, by modern standards, could be considered an opera. Tells the story of Apollo falling in love with the nymph daphne.

18th-century dramatic genre which sprang up as a reaction to the immoral tone of English Restoration plays. In ___________________________ middle-class protagonists triumphantly overcome a series of moral trials.

Reflected contemporary philosophical conceptions of humans as inherently good but capable of being led astray through bad example (Eg. Richard Steele’s The Conscious Lovers = Most Famous)

in Neoclassicism, _____________________: “truth seeming” – what is truth? In drama – could represent only what could be reasonably expected in real life

A theatre in Vicenza, northern Italy, constructed in 1580-1585. The theatre was the final design by the Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, is the oldest surviving stage set still in existence, one of the first (if not THE first) Proscenium arch stages.

(Ancient Greece)

In “old comedy.” Scene where formal plotting ceases while the chorus or the author’s spokesperson speaks directly to the audience, improvised & including up to minute references, may make fun of specific members of audience before returning to formal plot.

Born 342 BC
Considered Greece’s first comic writer and only representative of new comedy. No complete version of any of his plays were thought to be in existence (reputed to have written over 100 plays).

Roman writers Plautus and Terence were very much influenced by his plays, as was Moliere, and the Commedia Dell’arte.

The first part in the structure of a comedy, what the play usually seeks to resolve.

Plays are organized around a ruling theme embodied by a __________________________debated by the Chorus. The remainder of the comedy is a loosely related series of skits or a result of adapting to the ______________________.

It is basically a fantasy. For an example: withholding sex from men can stop the war.

Emotion evoked through pity and fear, one of Aristotle’s requirements for a good tragedy

First type of theatrical play, contains 5 episodes interspersed with 5 choral odes, a prologos, parados, and exodus. 1-3 actors interacting with the chorus.
Comes from the word “Tragedoia” (“goat song”).

(sea battles) 1st in 46 BCE by Julius Caesar on lake dug for occasion, involved 2000 marines and 6000 oarsmen. By 52 CE most elaborate with 19,000 participants.

De Architectura (c. 15 BCE), __________________ was credited with redesigning Greek Theatres (free standing, built on level ground). Incorporated curtains/Periaktoi

written by Marcus Vitruvius in 15 BCE,

Instructions on how to build the new design of Greek theatres (incorporated numerous never before seen elements).

Dedicated to the emperor Caesar Augustus, as a guide for building projects.

This book helped re-design Greek theatres. Came up with Stage Houses (scaena) 2-3 stories high, used for storage and dressing rooms. Roman theatre built on level ground, free-standing.
Also incorporated elements known as the Cavea, Vomitoria, and Scaena frons

a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus concerning the murder of Agamemnon by Clytaemnestra, the murder of Clytaemnestra by Orestes, the trial of Orestes, and end of the curse on the House of Atreus. This trilogy also shows how the Greek gods interacted with the characters and influenced their decisions pertaining to events and disputes. Won an award at a City Dionysia.

1st Female dramatist to earn a living exclusively from writing. Former spy of Charles II and Royalist cause, politically conservative. She wrote the novel, Oroonoko. Her most renowned play was The Rover, or the Banished Cavaliers.

1st Theatre built after restoration in Dublin. It was used as a church and it was the place where David Garrick (one of the most popular actors of the time) first performed Hamlet (as Hamlet).

the first choral passage in an ancient Greek drama recited or sung as the chorus enters the orchestra

Entrance affording access either to the stage (for actors) or to the orchestra (for the chorus) of the ancient Greek theater.

496-406 BCE: introduces the third actor, reduced importance on chorus and focused on individual actors, known as the most skillful in dramatic structure, wrote Oedipus (trilogy-ish), Antigone, etc.
Regarded the most skillful in dramatic structure. Credited with over 120 plays, 7 survive.

chorus member (c. 534 BCE) who stepped out from the Chorus and began a dialogue with them (he spoke, they sang/chanted), first actor (thespian)

“The god machine” used in theatre as a contrived ending in ancient Greece, ex. a crane would lower actors onstage as gods to present a solution

(September 6, 1475 – c. 1554) was an Italian Mannerist architect and author, _____________ is one of the first that use the expression fine arts, the last few pages of the second book, “On Perspective”, contain three theatrical scenes (comic, tragic, and satiric) and a stage plan and cross section which were highly influential in Renaissance theater.

300-201 BCE: never admitted as serious professional actors, looked down upon for crude and inappropriate street performances, did not wear masks and there were women _______________.

one of the most important principal characters found in commedia dell’arte. With his exceptional greed and status at the top of the social order, __________________ is “money” in the commedia world.
Middle-aged, elderly merchant; often posed as younger man to court the young woman; sometimes father of young man; dressed in tight red vest, red breeches and stockings; very long and thin with pointed beard, and long and thin.

Was politically conservative, saw himself as a “teacher through comedy”. 11 plays (all old comedy) survive by ______________________ (EX. THE FROGS) Satiric commentary on politics, society, literature, especially during the Peloponnesian war with Sparta.

part of the structure of ancient Greek tragedies, what we be known as a “scene/act” today, a good tragedy would have 5 _____________ interspersed with 5 choral odes.

part of Roman comedy, stories based on Roman subjects (no plays survive)

277 BCE it was formed, a part of Hellenistic theatre, one of the first Theatre guilds formed for serious performers

“leader of the chorus” in Ancient Greek plays

3-sided flats (Triangular prisms painted on all three sides), turn to indicate time of day and locations (used to differentiate the scenes), used in Ancient Greek Theatre as scenery.

pectacular mansion wagons at opposite ends of playing area; __________________ was where actors would exit to “go to hell”, intimidating and scary design. Used in Medival Theatre Cycle Plays

Most famous Morality Play; explores themes related to attaining Christian Salvation. We do not know the author.

Made the licenser of plays and companies in 1574 during strict government regulations. Licensed theatres were allowed inside the city limits. “During the creation of the Licensing Act of 1737, Robert Walpole was the standing __________________________

In order to avoid the strict laws of censorship in force in all public places at the time, he turned a room of his home, Rutland House, into a private theatre where his works, and those of other writers considered seditious, could be performed. A performance of his: The Siege of Rhodes at Rutland House in 1656 is considered to be the first performance of an English opera.
He and Thomas Killigrew merged their acting companies in 1682

An Act in London Parliament, ruling that All plays must be licensed. Drury Lane and Covent Garden were deemed the only two legit theatres. Many theatres closed due to this Act.

Wrote 9 plays (all survive), Interest in morality reflected in sensational deeds, Emphasis on violent spectacle, parallel to Romans’ taste for violence, Characters dominated by single emotional obsession/passion instead of tragic flaw or error in judgment; His writing became a central part of Roman education – rhetoric.

A hut at rear of space, changing room for the actors (ancient Athens, used in City Dionysus as part of theatrical structure)

(The art of poetry) – Written by Quintus Horatius Flaccus (Horace). 24-20 BCE: the only Latin treatise still in existence. Horace stressed:
a. if you would portray grief, experience it first.
b. Show us, don’t tell us – except those things we would not accept because they would clearly not be real.
c. keep the offensive/unreal (overly marvelous) off the stage.
d. the secret it all good writing is sound judgement
e. plays should be in 5 acts, With 3 actors.
f. Comedy and tragedy must never be combined
g. Chorus needs a high moral tone and should only be used to forward the plot.
h. don’t write for the sake of writing, the writer must teach us AND entertain us

used to stage Liturgical Drama, a large central playing area, generally in front of the mansions which might circle around it.

arch framing the opening between the stage and the auditorium in some theaters.
Some believed this style of stage developed from the Terence Stage, some believe from perspective scenery.

an improvised comic dialogue or action commonly used in the Commedia dell’arte.
Comic bits of business (Schtick)

“Servant in Commedia Dell’arte. Most scripts called for at least 2 – 1 clever and 1 stupid.” -Steve’s notes

Character type of Commedia dell’arte best known as an astute servant and trickster. The _______________ comes from the countryside and is known to be a “dispossessed immigrant worker”.

One of Shakespeare’s contemporaries. She wrote The Tragedy of Mariam, which was the first English play by a woman. She was the 1st English woman to publish a play under her own name, and the first woman author to be the subject of a literary biography.
She was a poet, translator, and dramatist. She converted to Catholicism.

Mostly students and faculty from Cambridge and Oxford Universities, e.g.
Thomas Kyd (1558-1594): The Spanish Tragedy (c.1587)
Christopher Marlowe (1564-1588): Tamburlaine (1587), Doctor Faustus (c.1588), Edward II (c.1592)

Most prolific playwright, 1st Spanish playwright to make a living at it. He declared in 1609 that he had written 483 comedias.
He wrote around 800-1800 plays. 450 of his plays survive.
Noted for his clearly defined actions, many revolving around conflicting love and honor. At the end, conflicts were resolved and everyone was happy.
He wrote female roles. Dialogue is natural, lively, appropriate. Never probes characters deeply.

Playwright, poet, philosopher, writer of prose romances, who published under her own name when female writers published anonymously. She wrote a description of a New World called The Blazing World: An early science-fiction book.

She rejected Aristotelianism and mechanical philosophy. She was an advocate for animals and against animal testing.

She wrote at least 19 published plays.

The world’s 1st national theatre.

Louis XIV merged Moliere’s theatre company, the King’s Troupe, with the Marias company in 1679, and the group became _________________________.

It was granted monopoly on performance of all spoken drama in French. An exception was made to Commedia Dell’arte.

One of the most prolific actors, playwrights, and Theatre managers in the 18th century. Performed Hamlet at the Smock Alley to critical acclaim. Though not considered a good playwright, he is credited with bringing Shakespeare to a contemporary (18th century) Audience.

Prime Minister for George I.
“During the creation of the Licensing Act of 1737, ________________________was the standing Master of the Revels”

One of the oldest cities in Ancient Egypt):
Annually performed Passion Play

A Small theatre, only holding 650 spectators. The stage included a proscenium arch and open platform on apron.

By the end of the 18th century, is was rebuilt to hold 3,600.
All set changes were made in view of the audience (Curtain was raised after prologue and not lowered until the end of the play. Stock scenery was re-used often, settings we anonymous as to be used in different plays.

Dominant until 1680. All about honor with happy ending and rhyming couplets. Had idealistic hero and maiden. Flourished in England during the Restoration.

A compliment; a short monologue or dramatic sketch that began every play until 1615 and aimed at securing good will from the audience, included singing and dancing.

1: Lamps were extinguished (awkward if you needed to brighten them again)

2: Open cylinders were suspended above lamps that could darken when lowered or brighten when raised.

3: Mounted on rotating poles and turned in or away from visible portions of the stage.

(1639-1699): Greatest tragic playwright. Phedre, his masterpiece/an adaptation of Euripides’ Hippolytus was this man’s last play. Simple plots with complex characters.

She wrote The Busy Body (1709), the most popular pay of the 18th century in England. Known as the most successful female playwright of the 18th century

Interlude, short dramatic sketches performed in intervals between acts of plays; some sung, some spoke, some mingled the two. Performed in Spain throughout the 16th and 17th centuries.

Famous French Stage Actress. She was the daughter of Madeleine Béjart. In 1643 her mother Madeleine co-founded, with Molière, the theatre company called Illustre Théâtre.

A type of Religious Play: 1550-1647

is unique to Spain, though in some respects similar in character to the old Morality plays of England.

A system invented by Giacomo Torelli. In brief, this system involves flats mounted on long poles, which pass through slots in the flooring. A series of ropes, pulleys,winches, and counterweights, all move the chariots under the stage simultaneously. As one flat moved into view, the flat behind or in front of it, receded offstage.

Such machinery is still in use in Sweden’s Drottingholm Theatre.

Greatest playwright of The Golden Age. Life is a Dream = most famous play, the masterpiece of this Golden Age.
He entered the priesthood in 1651.

A Franco-British painter who became known for his elaborate set designs for London theatres.

David Garrick paid him to design scenery and costumes and oversee the stage machinery at the Drury Lane Theatre.

He devised scenic effects which used illusions achieved through the use of colored lantern-slides and the ingenious lighting of transparencies.

Name used for two different Theatres located in London during the renaissance. The first held performances by the Children of the Chapel Royal, who were associated with Queen Elizabeth’s choirs, while the second held performances by the King’s men (shakespeare’s company) until all Theatres were shut down in 1642.

Comes from the French par and terre and means “on the ground.” By the mid-17th century, it was used to refer both to the ground level of a theatre where spectators stood to watch performances and to the group of spectators who occupied that space.

An ancient Greek hymn sung and danced in honor of Dionysus.

Greek Comedy play by Meander, and the only play of his that has survived in its complete form. Won Meander the first prize at the Lenaian Festival in 317-16 BC.

As theatre transitioned from religious to secular drama, more actors gradually began doing _____________________. They were secular plays with allegorical characters that taught moral lessons to an audience. The most famous was Everyman.

a series of thirty-two mystery plays based on the Bible most likely performed around the Feast of Corpus Christi.
The _____________________________ was an anonymous playwright who wrote in the fifteenth century. This anonymous author wrote a series of 32 plays called the Towneley Cycle.

________________________ and John Cholmley built The Rose, one of the large, permanent playhouses in London.

He partnered with the Admiral’s Men after that company split.

Was a part of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men and erected the new Globe Theatre.

First great Latin Dramatist. Playwright of Roman Tragedy in the Roman Republic. Works echoed republican sentiments of honor and virtue and were serious.

Wagons used in Cycle Plays, popular in spain. Some were portable (processional staging) and the mansions themselves eventually became wagons. Also used to mount scenery for plays.

Onstage female transvestism, either actresses playing women disguised as men or actually playing men/boys. Many plays contained lesbian subplots, when one woman unknowingly desires another woman who is disguised as a man. The the climax of the play, the characters were revealed by exposing their breasts. Women in tights (as men) revealed more of their figures vs. when they wore full skirts.

Anne Bracegirdle was celebrated for her _______________________, “celebrated virgin”