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English / Elizabethan Renaissance

Image by George Bernard via Science Photo Library

Background

*Note: for accuracy, the sections will be labeled as Elizabethan rather than English as the period is defined by Elizabeth I's influence on England.

Secularization (converting to a new religion) began when Henry VIII tried to get his marriage to Catherine of Argon annulled to marry Anne Boleyn.

His daughter Mary (the daughter of Henry and Catherine) became queen and attempted to reinstate Catholicism.

She became known as "Bloody Mary" for burning 280 Protestants for refusing to convert to Catholicism.

Elizabeth I was crowned Queen of England after Mary's death in 1558.

Elizabeth strengthened the Anglican Church

With the execution of her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, she ended the Catholic claim to the throne.

England had also defeated the Spanish Armada.

Thomas More's Utopia was a landmark of the early Elizabethan Renaissance.

Interludes- brief dramatic entertainments written and staged by professionals

They were presented at court and in the homes of the nobility.

Image of the Globe Theatre by Dorling Kindersley via DKFindOut!

Elizabethan Drama

Categorized by Seneca's revenge-obsessed characters, his presentation of violence on stage, and his use of supernatural beings.

Drama in England followed an Episodic structure

a series of episodes all connected but perhaps out of chronological sequence.

English playwrights went against neoclassical ideals set by Italy

art should express the ideal virtues in life and could improve the viewer by imparting a moralizing message

Five basic rules were established: form purity, five acts, verisimilitude or realism, decorum, and purpose.

Verisimilitude: having reality/truth concerning the play

Decorum: appropriate speech or acting of a character

The neutral platform stage had evolved to the point that was ideal for plays.

Anonymous portrait via Wikipedia

Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593)

focused on dramatic poetry

Under Marlowe, Iambic Pentameter developed strength, subtly, and suppleness.

Iambic Pentameter: a line of verse with five metrical feet, each consisting of one short (or unstressed) syllable followed by one long (or stressed) syllable

Perfected the chronicle play

history play that emphasizes important public issues

Marlowe's verse and subject matter influenced Shakespeare

One of his most popular surviving works is Doctor Faustus

Doctor Faustus performed by the Oxford Theatre Guild

The Cobb Portrait via Wikipedia

William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

Took Senecan devices: episodic structure, the platform stage, powerful dramatic verse and stories from English and Roman history, Roman drama, and Italian literature.

By 1590, he was in London, working as an actor and a playwright.

His verse—especially in the power of his metaphors and the music of his language— is extraordinary.

His characters are so well-rounded and carefully detailed that they often seem like living people.

He excelled in tragedies, comedies, histories, and other dramas that are difficult to categorize (sometimes problem plays)

Shakespeare uses episodic structure to create a forceful, imaginative drama that has its own dynamics

Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare performed by Unbound Theatre

Image of Blackfriars Theatre by G. Topham Forrest via Wikipedia

Elizabethan Theatres

Referred to as public and private, outdoor and indoor, or amphitheater and hall playhouses.

The larger theatres as the Globe and the Fortune, were open to the sky in their central area.

They accommodated more people and charged less for admission than the smaller indoor/ hall theatres, which were private.

The public theatres were built outside the city limits of London, to the north or south of the city across the Thames River.

The London City fathers opposed theatres on moral grounds and forbade them in the city.

Outdoor theatres were a platform stage about 4 ft high that thrust into the audience.

Outdoor theatres were a neuter stage.

The audience capacity was 1,500-3,000 spectators.

On the ground floor, in front of and on the sides of the stage, was a standing area known as the yard.

The lower-class spectators who stood there were called groundlings.

The stage was a raised platform surrounded on 3 sides by the audience

It was closer to a contemporary thrust stage than to a proscenium arch stage

Image via Pinterest

The tiring house was probably a three-story building that served as a place for changing costumes and storing props and set pieces.

Its facade was the basic scenic element in the Elizabethan public theatres.

Exits into the tiring house and entrances from it indicated a scene change.

Musician's Gallery

The third level of the tiring house probably housed about 6 musicians who provided accompaniment for the plays.

Heavens or shadows

A roof extending from the tiring house protected the stage.

Supported by pillars on some theatres and was suspended from the back for others.

The underside of the roof was often painted to literally represent the heavens.

From the opening of the first private/indoor theatre, the Blackfriars Theatre, in 1576 until about 1608:

These theatres were used exclusively by the popular boys' companies

private theatres sat about 600-750 spectators

were often lit by candles and had high windows

The pit of a private theatre faced the stage in only one direction and had backless benches.

The platform stage probably extended to the side walls.

Galleries and boxes faced the stage on 3 sides.

During the Jacobean period, wealthy audience members could sit on the stage.

Works Consulted:

Wilson, Edwin, and Alvin Goldfarb. Living Theatre: A History of Theatre. W.W. Norton & Company, 2018.

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Italian Renaissance Theatre

Image by Fashion and Art via Pinterest

Background

Niccolo Machiavelli outlined in his work The Prince that rulers must protect their subjects no matter what- even if it is unethical.

The merchant class gained more money during the Renaissance

The De Medicis family in Florence gave financial support to artists

Humanism began to spread across the country

The concept focused on people rather than gods.

Dante Alighieri (1265-1321)

Wrote The Divine Comedy, which was written in the vernacular (Italian) instead of Latin

In the mid-15th century, Johannes Gutenberg made literature available with the printing press.

People like Galileo, Copernicus, and Kepler demystified the cosmos.

Painting by Isabella Andreini via World4.eu

Dramas / Genres

Tragedies and Comedies

Sacra rappresentazioni (Sacred Representations) developed in the 1300s and 1400s

religious dramas in the medieval style

Eccerinus by Alberino Mussato is often cited as the first tragedy of the Renaissance.

Achilles by Antonio Laschi is also noted as the earliest Renaissance tragedy

The renewal of interest in classical dramatic traditions was inspired by several developments:

A revival of the teaching of Greek close to the end of the 1300s

a transfer in 1453 of surviving Greek and Roman manuscripts after the fall of *Constantinople.

the publication of all the extinct plays attributed to Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Plautus, Terence, and Seneca

the dissemination of the writings of Aristotle and Horace

*Note: Constantinople had been the center of the eastern Roman empire

Intermezzi and Pastorals

Intermezzi were short pieces depicting mythological tales

Presented between the acts of full-length plays

required spectacular scenic effects

Pastorals were short, ribald comic pieces that had been presented as a follow-up to Greek tragedies.

the subject matter is romance

Not overtly bawdy or sexual in style or subject matter

Opera

Developed at a Florentine academy at the end of the 16th century

Earliest works based on Greek Mythology

Considered a form of music because it is completely sung

Aria- a solo song accompanied by the orchestra

Recitative- sung dialogue

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) is considered the greatest 18th-century opera composer.

Commedia dell'arte

Italian for "play of professional artists"

Commedia companies usually consist of 10 performers, 7 men, and 3 women

mainly associated with comedy

Scenarios- short scripts without dialogue

Commedia characters used lazzi (bits of physical comic business)

Zaibaldoni- manuscripts that contain jokes, comic business, and repeated scenes and speeches

Image via CulturalHertitageOnline

Theatre Architecture

Teatro Olimpico

Oldest surviving theatre constructed during the Italian Renaissance

Premier production was Sophocles Oedipus the King

Designed as a miniature indoor Roman theatre

Sat 3,000 spectators

Had a raised stage

The facade of the scene house was meant to look like a street.

Theatre at Sabbioneta

Had 250 seats

Erected for the Academia de Confidenti

Teatro Farnese and the Proscenium Stage

Built into the Great Hall of the Palazzo Della Piolotta

Had horseshoe seating

Fit 3,500 spectators

Had the first proscenium arch stage

Could have had a temporary arch and added a permanent one later

Image via italianrenaissancetheatre

Perspective in Scene Design

Perspective gave depth to a stage

Sebastian Serlio

Introduced perspective and have 3 basic settings

a tragic setting: showing a street or stately house

a comic setting: showing a common street scene

a pastoral setting: showing trees, hills, and cottages

Used angled wings

Flats hinged in a fixed position and painted in perspective.

The back of the stage was raked, meaning slightly raised

Advances

Note: The angle-wing setting was virtually impossible to shift scenes

The flat wing was introduced

A series of individual wings on each side of the stage

Enclosed at the very back by two shutters that met in the middle

Groove System

The earliest method of scene shifting for flat-wing setting

Wings and shutters were placed in grooves in and above the stage floor

The grooves allowed these elements to slide offstage easily and quickly so that a new series of wings and shutters could be immediately revealed to the audience.

Torelli

Nicknamed "the Great Wizard"

Pole and Chariot System

Poles were attached to scene flats that went below the stage floor, where they connected to wheels.

The chariots were wheels that ran in tracks.

Flats were moved offstage smoothly with a series of connected ropes and pulleys.

An entire set of flat wings could be removed simultaneously by turning a single winch

one set could almost dissolve into another

Special Effects

Glories- flying machines

trapdoors

primitive sound-effect devices to simulate thunder and wind

Works Consulted:

Wilson, Edwin, and Alvin Goldfarb. Living Theatre: A History of Theatre. W.W. Norton & Company, 2018.

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Roman Theatre History

Image by Grant McCollor Via Flickr

Background

Rome was founded around 750 BCE.

The Romans were separated into different classes.

The Patricians, the rich upper class, the Plebians, the ordinary citizens, and lastly, the slaves.

During the Punic Wars, Carthage tried to take over Rome and lost, ending in the destruction of Carthage.

Romans developed aqueducts and roadways that are still used today.

Most modern European highways are built on top of Roman roads.

In the 1st Century, Rome began to show signs of strain.

There was too much territory that was far away from the city of Rome.

The murder of Julius Caesar also started the end of the Roman Empire.

Rome also held festivals, one being The Lundi Romani held in September.

250 to 150 BCE Rome came into contact with Greece.

Romans did not invent any new form of theatre besides architecture, and instead built off of the Greeks.

Image from Capitoline Museum via World History Encyclopedia

Genres

Comedy

Fabula togata- plays dealing with Roman issues

Fabula Palliata- plays based off of Greek Models

Romans eliminated the chorus altogether

Added musical accompaniment

Plays emphasized eavesdropping

The setting of action was usually on a street

Comedy was more popular than tragedy in Rome

Pantomime stemmed from comedy

Tragedy

Fabula Crepidata- adapted from Greek works

Fabula Praetexta- had Roman storylines

Image from Wikipedia

Playwrights

Comedic Playwrights

Plautus

Lived 254 to 184 BCE

Did not include a chorus

Did not deal with political or social issues

Depicts trials and tribulations of romance

Modeled modern musical comedies

Terence (pictured above)

Lived 185 to 159 BCE

Stressed characterization and subtlety of expression

Used the prologue to include background information of the play

First major black playwright in Western Theatre

Had better plot that was carefully constructed

Tragic Playwrights

*Quintus Ennius (239-169 BCE)

*Marcus Pacuvivus (220-130 BCE)

*Lucius Accius (170-86 BCE)

*Note: playwrights listed have no surviving plays and fell out of favor. Not much is known about them.

Seneca

Lived 4 BCE to 65 CE

May has served as a tutor for Emperor Nero

Studied literary criticism

Caligula exiled Seneca for 2 years for his impressive oratorical skills

His work was similar to Greek tragedies

Emphasizes a violent spectacle

His works had 5 episodes separated by a choral ode.

Image from Amadscientist via Ancient History Blog

Theatre Buildings and Scenic Elements

Theatre of Pompey (55 BCE)

First permanent theatre

Cavea= Greek Theatron (audience seating)

Orchestra- Semi circular

The Orchestra was not used for the stage but for the seating of government officials.

Scaena- skene/scene house

Pulpitum- A raised stage 5 feet high sat in front of the scaena and was the length of a football field.

Vomitoria- passageways that came under the seating area and led to the stage and orchestra

Theatres were freestanding structures not built into hillsides

Could hold up to 25,000 spectators

Awnings were set up, and fans blew over cooled water for air conditioning

Used Curtains

Aleum- Front curtain which was raised and lowered in front of the stage

Aleum was used to conceal actors

Siparium- a painted backdrop

Works Consulted: Wilson, Edwin, and Alvin Goldfarb. Living Theatre: A History of Theatre. W.W. Norton & Company, 2018.

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Greek Theatre History

Image from National Geographic Via 6gradeschool

Background:

Greece gave way to the birth of western theatre. There were influences from Minoan culture and Mycenaean culture.

Minoan influences included agriculture and architecture. Mycenaean culture also had architecture, and the Mycenaeans were the first Greeks.

Athens became the center of the Greek world and was the place of the Theatre of Dionysius.

Festivals were used to honor the god of wine, fertility, and revelry, where a drama form called dithyramb originated.

A harpist and poet named Arion perfected dithyramb.

Dithyramb: A long hymn, sung and danced by a group of fifty men. Its format may have been similar to that of a modern-day choral presentation.

An actor named Thespis (where the phrase thespian originates from) is said to have transformed the dithyramb into tragedy. However, the Greek word for an actor was hypokrite which literally meant answerer.

Image via pickyourtrails

Festivals:

The most important festival for the Greeks was called The City of Dionysia, which honored Dionysus.

It was held in Athens at the end of March around when spring arrived.

tragedy was incorporated in 534 BCE

comedy, and satire plays were added in 436 BCE

The festival lasted for several days and began with a Proagon, which was a preliminary presentation.

The Archon was a government official who chose the plays and then assigned a Choregoi to be the producer.

Parades and sacrifices honored Dionysus.

5 days were assigned to dithyrambs and plays

For 2 days, 10 dithyrambic choruses were presented.

1 day assigned to chorus made of men and another day assigned to choruses made of boys.

3 allotted days for tragedies and satyr plays

This made a tetralogy, which was 3 tragic plays and 1 satyr play

Image via famous authors

PLAYWRIGHTS/ACTORS

Aeschylus

lived from 525 to 456 BCE

He was the first to develop drama into a form separate from singing, dancing, or storytelling.

Founder of Greek Drama

Excelled in the tetralogy form of plays.

He utilized the chorus the most in his plays and added a second actor to the stage.

He also reduced the chorus number from 50 to 12.

Sophocles

He lived from 496 to 406 BCE.

He examined characters further and gave them more characteristics.

Acted in his own plays.

Defeated Aeschylus in the City of Dionysia contest in 468 BCE.

He introduced a third character to his plays, and some of his surviving plays are Oedipus the King, Antigone, and Oedipus at Colonus.

Euripides

He lived from 480 to 406 BCE.

He is considered the most modern playwright.

He had a sympathetic portrayal of women and also used realism, tragedy, melodrama and a comedic mix.

Within his plays, he also had a skeptical treatment of gods and heroes. One of his surviving plays includes Medea.

THEATER BUILDINGS

The ampithetres could typically accommodate 15,000 to 17,000 spectators.

The theatres relied on natural lighting, and tended to be built into hillsides with good acoustics.

Architecture

Theatron= the seating area

seating area had wooden benches that were replaced with stone during Hellenstic period.

Men and women also sat separately

Proedria(front row) was reserved for political and religious dignitaries

Orchestra was used for the actors, not seating or music.

Circular orchestra may have been a Hellenistic invention

Skene= scene building

Skene served as the basic settings for all plays

Pinake- a type of flat, which was a wooden frame covered with a stretched fabric

Periaktoi- a triangular stage device consisting of 3 painted flats hinged together, each show a difference scene

Rotating these flats revealed one new scene to the audience, while hiding the other two

Image by Lauracomonias via Wikipedia

The mechane was a crane hidden behind the upper level of the skene.

Also called Deus ex machina, meaning "god from the machines."

This device was used as the entrance for gods or goddesses

Works Consulted:

Wilson, Edwin, and Alvin Goldfarb. Living Theatre: A History of Theatre. W.W. Norton & Company, 2018.