Greek Drama
Greek Drama
Greek Drama reflected the flaws and values of Greek society. In turn, members of society internalized both the positive and negative messages, and incorporated them into their daily lives. This concept of exposing society’s flaws and allowing the audience to learn from them is evident in contemporary theater.
Son of Zeus and Semele God of wine, fertility, grapes,
ecstasy, madness, pleasure, festivity, etc.
One of the 12 OlympiansResponsible for human impulsesDevine mission: eradicate all care
and worryDescribed as feminine; “man-
womanish”Honored him through theater
festivals
Dionysus
“…wait a moment while I fetch you some mellow wine, so that you may first make liberation to Zeus and the other immortals and then, if you like, enjoy a drink for yourself. Wine is a great comfort to a weary man…” (Hecabe to Hector . Homer, Iliad 6.260).
Greek city-state known for its cultural, political and military power between 550 and 220 BCE
Festival known as City Dionysia held in March in honor of Dionysus.
Statue of Dionysus was carried into theater so that he could observe the performance
Athens as a center of Greek Culture
First resemblance of a Greek theater was in the Palace at Knossos, in Northern Crete
First formal Greek theater built in Athens between 550 and 534 BCE
Parts of a Greek Theater: Theatron-Seeing Space Orchestra-Dancing Place Skene Parados Thymele-Alter for Dionysus
Front rows reserved for distinguished visitorsOpen-air theater
Simple surrounding allowed audience to devote full attention to characters
Atmosphere & Set-up of a Greek Theater
Performance always preceded by a sacrifice to Dionysus
Prologue Parados First Episode First Stasimon Exodus
Sequence of a Play
Actors wore mask with exaggerated features and wide mouths so that their voices projected to the entire audience
Wore long, trailing robes with elaborate designs
At the bottom of each of the actors’ shoes was a 6 inch wooden sole to make them appear tall and intimidating
Carried themselves with grand esteem an moved gracefully about the stage
Costumes
The eccyclema- “object that is rolled out” In the rare occasion that violence was depicted
onstage, a slain victim was usually rolled out on this device
The machina- “machine” Crane used to fly in gods Occasionally used for comic effect
In general, playwrights liked to leave much of the action to the audience’s imagination
Stage Equipment
Job of choregos (think “The Producers”) to pay all expenses on a production, bulk of which went toward providing training and costumes for chorus
An estimate of approximately 1500 people needed to stage a play
A Greek historian named Plutarch claimed that Athenians spent more on their plays than on their military defense
Originally, admittance fee was 2 obolus Later, Pericles made it freeIt was either “sink or swim” when getting
production on it’s feet
Funding
Playwrights had to writers, as well as composers, choreographers, designers, directors and actors
Playwrights only received pay if they won first prize
Actors were chosen by lot from a pool of professionals
Speaking parts were allotted to three male characters
Switched costumes and masks if more characters were required to advance the plotline.
Playwrights and Actors
Thespis First actor First winner of the Dionysia Developed Tragedy Established dialogue between himself, the first
actor and the chorus Added chorus into the mix Responsible for many other theater rituals,
such as the wearing if masksLater Aeschylus established a second actor
and Sophocles added a third actor
Playwrights and Actors(cont.)
The word “chorus” literally means “dance”Most Greek choruses blended music, dance and songChorus began with 50 members, but dwindled to
about 12-15, as the training and costuming for them was very costly
Chorus entered orchestra during Parados and remained there for the whole play
Purpose of chorus was to create foreshadowing and suspense
Helps audience feel more involved in play Also to help the audience come to their own
conclusions about the events unfolding before them.
The Chorus
From Ritual to Theater
Tragodia in GreekDerived from the words Tragos, meaning
goat and oide, meaning song. Reason for this obscure origin has two possibilities:
1. Choruses were dressed in loin-skins of goats2. Prize for best song was a goat
Requirements for a Tragedian:1. Submit three tragedies to a magistrate
called the archon eponymos2. Also had to submit a satyr play
The Tragedy
Centered around the rise and downfall of the “hero”
The conclusion of a tragedy was usually a messenger coming out to tell the audience of the tragic consequences of the characters’ actions
The Tragedy(cont.)
Slapstick and crude humorFestival of Lenaia held in MarchComedies usually concluded with a “happy
ending” and the characters find a resolution to the original conflict
The Comedy
Greek Both Modern
•Maximum of 3 male actors, in addition to chorus
•Have a moral that actors/director/playwright is trying to convey to audience
•As many characters and of any gender as playwright deems necessary
•Plays divided into prologue, parados, episodes, stasimons and exodus
•Integrate music, dance and story
•Plays divided into scenes and acts
•Few and very simple special effects and props
•The Tragedy and The Comedy, including slapstick and satyr
•Many complex special effects and props
•Some religious significance
•Reaction of audience is very important to life of a play
•Purely entertainment
•Playwright was responsible to write, direct, choreograph, design and sometimes act in a play
•Similar set-up of theater
•Specific jobs are given to specialists. i.e. playwright writes script, director directs actors, etc.
Greek Theater vs. Modern Theater
THE ENDThanks for watching!