Western Classical Play

Theater
	-"place of seeing"
	-began from:
		>Myth
		>Ritual
		>Ceremony
Playwright - writes the script
Director - rehearses the performers
Designer and Technical Crew - produce props
Actors and Actresses - perform on stage

Greek Theater (700 B.C.E. - 410 C.E.)
	-European theater began here with festivals honoring their gods
		*The Cult of Dionysus
			-religious festival honoring Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility
		*Athens
			-center of significant:
				>Cultural
				>Political
				>Military Power
			-festivals and competitions were performed here

	3 Well-known Greek Tragedy Playwrights:
		1.) Euripides - "Experience travel - these are educations in themselves"
				   - also wrote Cyclops, an adventure comedy
		2.) Sophocles - "Always desire to learn something useful"
		3.) Aeschylus - "Memory is mother of all wisdom"

	3 Types of Drama:
		1.) Tragedy
			-compound of "tragos (goat)" and "ode (song)"
			-refers to the sacrificed to Dionysus before performances or the goat goat-skins worn by performers
			-most admired type of play
			-deals with tragic events and an unhappy ending, especially concerning the main character's downfall

			*Thespis
				-first actor
				-introduced masks
				-"Father of Tragedy"
		2.) Comedy
			-derived from imitation
			-no traces of origin

			*Aristophans - wrote most comedy plays
			*Lysistrata - survived out of the 11 plays
						- a humorous tale about a strong woman who led a female coalition to end war in Greece

		3.) Satyr
			-contain comic elements to lighten the overall mood or a serious play with a happy ending
			-ancient Greek form of tragic comedy
			-featured Satyrs

			*Satyr
				-half-man/half-goat
				-lusted after everyone
				-delivered the most humorous lines, often at the expense on others
Theatron
	-the theatre buildings
	-viewing place on the slope of the hill
	-theaters are:
		>Large
		>Open-air structures on slopes of hills
	-consists of 3 main elements:
		>Orchestra
			-a large circular or rectangular area at the center of the theatre
			-where these take place:
				>Play
				>Dance
				>Religious Rite
				>Acting
		>Skene
			-stage
		>Audience

	*Parodoi - side entrance

Roman Theater (300 BC)
	-varied art forms:
		>Festival Performances of Street Theatre
		>Acrobatics
		>Staging Plautus' comedies
		>Tragedies of Seneca
	-greatly influenced by Greek theatres
	-themes:
		>Chariot Races
		>Gladiators
		>Public Executions
	-loved to watch combat, admired for blood sports and gladiator competition

	*Hellenization
		-during 300 BC
		-had an intense and energizing effect on Roman theatre which encouraged the development of Latin literature
	*Etruscan Actors
		-first who experienced theater according to Livy in the 400 BC
	*Andronicus
		-Roman drama began from here
		-Livius'
	*Triumvir Pompey
		-one of the first permanent non-wooden theatres
		-similar to Athen's theatrons
	*Comedy Plays
		-popular from 350 - 250 BCE
		-women were allowed to perform

Medieval Theater (500 CE - 1400)
	-theater performances weren't allowed throughout Europe
	-minstrels, were viewed as dangerous and pagan, performed here to keep the theater alive:
		>Markets
		>Public Places
		>Festivals
	-travelled to towns as:
		>Puppeteers
		>Jugglers
		>Story Tellers
		>Dancers
		>Singers
		>Other Theatrical Acts
	-Europe's churches stage their own performances during Easter Sundays with biblical stories and events
	-some were brought outside the church due to their portrayal of the devil and hell
		Ex. "Mystere d'Adam" or "The Mystery of Adam"
				-revolves around Adam and Eve, ending with the devil capturing and bringing them to hell
	-play revolves around biblical themes

Renaissance Theater
	-characterized by a return of Greek and Roman arts and culture
	-public theatres:
		>Commedia dell'arte
			-Italian comedy
			-humorous presentation performed by troupes
		>Masques
			-dramatic entertainment
			-consists of:
				>Pantomine
				>Dancing
				>Dialogue
				>Song
			-sometimes wear masks
	*Queen Elizabeth I - most prominent supporters of theater

	Playwrights:
		*William Shakespeare
			-famous actor, English poet, and playwright
	   	    -regarded as the greatest writer and dramatist in the world
			-often called England's national poet and "Bard of Avon"
			-works:
				>Romeo and Juliet
				>Hamlet
		     	>Midsummer Night's Dream
				>Cleopatra
				>Julius Caesar
				>Much Ado about Nothing

			4 Greatest Shakespearean Tragedies:
				>Hamlet
				>Othello
				>King Lear
				>Macbeth

		*Christopher Marlowe
			-works:
				>Dr. Faustus
				>The Jew of Malta
		*Thomas Kyd
			-English playwright
			-one of the most important figures in the development of Elizabethan drama
			-works:
				>The Spanish Tragedy
				>Cornelia

	*History Plays
		-depicted English or European history
		-Shakespeare's:
			>Richard III
			>Henry IV
		-Richard's:
			>Edward I & II
	*Comedy Plays
		Ex. The SHomaker's Holiday by Thomas Dekker
			A Chaste Maid in Cheapside by Thomas Middleton
	*Ballet
		-performed in public during this period
		-formalized form of dance
		-originated from the Italian Renaissance courts
	*Proscenium Stage
		-Renaissance theatre

Baroque Theater (1600 - 1750)
	-marked by the use of technology
	-current Broadways or commercial plays
	-theater crew use machines for special effects
	-scene changes use ropes and pulleys

	*The Teatro Regio in Turin
		-Baroque Theatre

Neoclassical Theater (1800 - 1900)
	-movement where the Roman and Greek societies' styles influenced the arts
	-characteristics:
		>Grandiosity
		>Costumes and scenaries were elaborate
	-main concepts:
		>To entertain
		>To teach lessons
	-stages are restyled with dramatic arches to highlight the scenes