Ancient Greek Theater and Drama
Theater has been an integral part of almost every society for thousands of years. Starting in the last Sixth century B.C. Theater has been evolving into the glitzy, whirlwind productions of today. But in the beginning, theater was a simple affair. Originating in Greece, theater tradition was derived from religious rituals. The ceremonies of the cult of Dionysus were exuberant; much story telling took place in the form of song and dance. Everyone would partake in the story telling, forming what is known as the chorus. The first man to step out of the chorus and take a role of a character was the poet Thespis. It was his idea to include a character that could partake in dialog that revolutionized theater, as it is known today. From the first time Thespis stepped into a character, the Greeks adored the idea of physically acting out their stories. Eventually, drama and theater were integrated into two festivals of Dionyssos, the Lenea festival in January and the Great Dionyssia in March. Poets could enter a series of four plays (three tragedies and a comedy) to be judged by five judges. Only three poets were allowed to enter these two contests per year. The Honorable Archon chose the three participants. The poets and act
Ancient Grecian Theater has influenced all forms of modern theater. Without ancient theater, we might not have that form of entertainment, or even the television. The chorus was a group of actors who were supposed to represent to the voice of both society and morality. The members of the chorus suffered along with the heroes of tragedies and laughed with the heroes of comedies. The chorus could take on very different appearances for either a comedy or tragedy. In a comedy, the chorus was called the codrax, in a tragedy it was called the emmelia, and in a satiric drama, it was called sicinnis. In the original plays, up until Sophocles the poet started to write plays, there were always twelve member of the chorus. They marched onstage together in a square formation. When Sophocles began writing plays, he added three additional choral members, making the total fifteen. With fifteen members of the chorus, they marched on stage in a rectangular formation, three men wide and five men deep. Costumes were necessary to Greek theater, for the members of the audience sat far away from the acting. Thus, the actors wore elaborate robes and intricate, lifelike masks. The masks and robes could be changed when an actor changed character. The masks were human in form, and had openings for the nose and eyes. The masks muffled the actor's voices, making enunciation mandatory. Often, onstage machinery was used to create special effects. The Aeoreme was a crane which lifted actors into the air, enabling them to play gods, visions or prophesies. The Periactoi were two pillars on which scenery was mounted, and by turning the pillars, the scenery would change. The Ekeclema was a cart used to haul dead bodies on the stage, for all violence and killing took place off stage. Actors were chosen by the state, and paid by the state. They were always men, and usually the author of the play was a main actor. Thespis introduced the first actor to theater, Aeschylos added the second actor and Sophocles added the third actor. All of the actors could play multiple roles, but only three actors (maximum) and the chorus could be onstage. Plays were
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1452
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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