The Middle Ages Theatre History Drama 1
Mar 28, 2015
The Middle Ages
Theatre HistoryDrama 1
Movie Clip
From Monty Python and The Holy Grail
What did you notice about the setting?
What did you notice about the people?
What does this say about the culture or the time period?
Rebirth of Drama
Came from the Christian Church Most of the people could not read,
so they used theatre to teach people about Christianity
Latin was used just like in Mass Performers: Priests, Nuns,
Choirboys
5th to 15th Century
Became more and more elaborate, so they were eventually moved outdoors
The drama eventually expanded beyond Latin
Also, members of the Parish became apart of the performances
Miracle Plays: based on legend of saints
Mystery Plays: tell stories based on biblical history
Passion Play: tells the story of the last week in the life of Christ
First performed with Mansions Mansions: series of acting stations
placed in a line, also called houses Examples: Heaven, Pilate’s House,
Jerusalem, and Hell’s Mouth Hell’s Mouth: breathed fire and
smoke, jaws opened and closed, the actors playing the wicked were pushed into it
Mansions
Late 14th century: medieval trade unions (guilds) took over the plays in England
Performed usually during Corpus Christi: a festival
Each guild had its own part of the story Bakers: The Last Supper Goldsmiths: The Three Wisemen Shipwrights: Construction of the Ark
Pageant Wagons
A stage on wheels Each guild had
their own Two levels:
Upper: platform stage
Lower: curtained for a dressing room
Audience stayed in one place as wagons traveled from town to town
Cycle: series of short plays that depicted religious history from creation to the end
Guilds competed against each other trying to make their pageant wagon performance the most elaborate
There were also some secular plays
The Second Shepherd’s Play About a clever man
named Mak who steals a sheep, and makes people believe it is his son by hiding it in a crib
First Acting Companies
Groups of players who traveled around performing miracle and mystery plays
Church did not care for them, so they lost popularity
Later, they found a new audience with the nobility
Morality Play
More about right and wrong Usually consisted of symbolic characters
who represented some extreme quality Everyman is still performed today
Written in Dutch in 1495 Translated into English later
Other forms of Theatre
Interludes: short, funny sketches performed in between serious plays
Chronicle Plays: based on historical events
Masques: artistic spectacles that glorified the nobility and were for noble entertainment
DiscussionPage 304
If today’s trade unions or guilds performed plays to celebrate their crafts like in the middle ages, what stories might some of them choose?
Sources
Schanker, Harry H. and Katharine Anne Ommanney. The Stage and The School. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997.
www.answers.com/topic/medieval-theatre internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/.../puppets.html http://www.thelionspart.co.uk/secondshepherdspageant/
img/woodcut.jpg www.amazon.co.uk/.../dp/046087280X http://www.geocities.com/stlaasr2003/everyman.jpg http://www.english.emory.edu/DRAMA/ValenciennesColor.gif http://www.christian-wallpaper.com/backgrounds/interior-of-
church-in-a%20medieval-town.jpg