drama a short history of theatre. greek theatre greece began as worship / festival for dionysus is...
TRANSCRIPT
DramaA short history of theatre
Greek Theatre
Greece• Began as worship / festival for Dionysus • Is the foundation of all theatre today• Typically had 3 actors on stage at a time• Used masks to help project voice and
image• Mainly performed comedy and tragedy• Unity of time, place and action.
– Time means actual time on stage = real time. (no “later”)– Place means only one location used – Action means only action that promotes story used
• The Chorus helped to narrate the story
Greek Masks
Greek Terms• Orchestra: The circular, level space where the chorus would
sing, dance, and interact with the actors
• Theatron (Theatre): Where the spectators sat.
• Skene (Scene): The decorated "tent" behind the stage.
• Prologue: Spoken introduction before the chorus appears. Gives background.
• Thespian: Thespis is the first to break from the chorus and become an actor (world’s 1st actor). So a Thespian is an actor – a term still used today.
• Tragedy: Comes from Greek word "traegos" which means goat song. Greek tragedy involves a hero with a tragic flaw.
• Trilogy: Three tragedies centered around one theme• …And many, many more terms we still use today.
Other Additions
• Opera• Musicals• Lighting and stage production
improvements
From Stage to Film
• Early movies reflect many of the same ideas of theatre
• The “3 act play” is still reflected in many of the movies of today
• Many actors, directors or producers work in stage, film and television.
Review
• Know the basics of Greek theatre• Understand the Greek terms still used
today– Orchestra– Skene– Tragedy– Trilogy– Thespian– Theatre– Chorus