About Rome and The Roman Theatre

Rome was a huge and very complex system of different peoples, nations, cities and towns that at its most successful spanned the entire Mediterranean Sea from Spain to Turkey and went north as far as France and South as far as Upper (south) Egypt. Rome was first a republic, meaning a government ruled with the people involved in making the decisions. Then in 48 b.c.e., Gaius Julius Caesar was appointed absolute ruler or emperor of all of Rome and Rome became a vast empire that held reign over the western world until it finally broke apart around 400 a.d.

   Although Rome was made up of as diverse groups of people as the Egyptians to the British, the traditions of the Roman Theatre were based upon Greek Ideas. The Romans took the work of Greek Playwrights and translated them into Latin. They took the idea of the ampitheatre and made them bigger and more glamourous. The Romans loved spectacles of every sort, horse races, pyrotechnic displays, extreme fighting, showgirls- things that the Greeks would not have dared tarnish their rituals with.

    Roman Theatre is also where we are introduced to the idea of the stock character. Stock characters are stereotypes: different types of people who fit into a certain mold. In Roman theatre, we have stock characters like the flirty maid, the mean old man, the gossipy old woman, the bragging soldier and the smart servant. These stock characters were like our present day sitcom characters and Roman audiences waited for their favorites to appear on the stage.

    

Here is your list of vocabulary words for Greek Theatre

Actor- The name of the first soloist in Greek Theatre. Now, the name for a performer who recites lines and does blocking as a part of a play or movie.

Ampitheatre- from two words meaning "around" and "place for speaking." The greek Ampitheatre was a half circle of audience seating that looked down on the playing area, called the orchestra.
Audience- The area where spectators sit in a theatre, also now the word for the spectators.

Comedy- A play that had funny themes and plots.

Chorus- Group of men who recited/ sang in unison.

Deus ex Machina- Literally "God From Machine" was a spectale device that would "fly" an actor portraying a God in and out of the playing area in Greek Theatre.


Dionysus- God of Wine. The Festival of Dionysus is when the first plays were performed.

Dionysus

Mask- A wooden or (sometimes) leather or plaster mask in Greek theatre used to portray characters.

tragedy and comedy masks

Orchestra- The place in Greek Theatre where the actors and chorus performed. Now the word for either a group of musicians or the front seating area in a big theatre.

Proscenion- The place right in front of the Scene that had a raised playing platform.

Parodos- The "wings" or exits for Greek theatre that were closest to the audience. The word "Parody" comes from the word Parodos.

Scene- The building or house that held the backstage area in Greek theatre.

Tragedy- a play with serious themes and an unhappy ending in Greek theatre.

The Ampitheatre

The Greeks built large, outdoor theaters so that they could perform their Comedies and Tragedies. These theaters are called Ampitheatres. The word comes from the two Greek words: amphi- meaning "around" or "on both sides," and theatron- meaning "a place for viewing." As you can see from the picture below, the Greek audience sat in a half-circle that surrounded the place where the actors and chorus would perform. The seats raised up from the performing area- which was called the Orchestra. In modern English, we now also call both the group of musicians who play music for a show AND the first seating area closest to the stage in a theatre the Orchestra.

Greek Ampitheaters were very cleverly designed. From the Orchestra, the actor's voices would be carried up the steps of the Audience up to the very back rows. Sound would carry very far up the steps. Between the masks and the shape of the Ampitheater, the sound would also be crystal clear so you could hear every word. Look at the picture below and imagine you are standing in the round area of the orchestra and speaking to a crowd of tens of thousands of people all there to watch you perform!

Below, find a picture of a modern-day recreation of an ancient greek performance. From what we know the chorus both spoke and danced together. The lead actors would step forward to speak their lines. Behind the performers was a place called the "Skene" or scene, meaning "tent," which not only was the backstage area but also had doors for entrances and exits, and provided a backdrop for the actors and chorus. The proscenion was the area in front of the scene. It was a raised area (about three to six feet) and sometimes had columns. The scene and the proscenion were at first very temporary structures and than eventually became made out of wood and then stone.
Here is a bird's eye view of what an ancient Greek ampitheatre looks like. As you can see, there were also exits on either side called parodos, where sometimes clowns would have some time during intermission to make fun of what was going on during the play. From the word parodos is where we get our modern word parody meaning a play or an art piece that makes fun of another.
The Greeks developed ways of making spectacles happen. When a god would appear in a play, they devised a pulley and rope system that would make an actor "fly" into the space. Sometimes this trick was also used to help an actor exit (such as Medea in her dragon chariot.) This was known as the Deus ex Machina which literally means "God From Machine."

Lastly, I leave you with another two youtubes for your enjoyment:

first some history...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkaMaeHNSR8&feature=related

and then a very crazy modern/ancient version of a greek tragedy called "Oedipus the King." This is a very imaginative version of old greek theatre. It is not what Greek theatre looked like, but it captures a good spirit...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtMHltBFqlo

Who Were The Ancient Greeks?

The Ancient Greeks were a collection of people who lived on a rocky outcropping of islands and peninsulas between the Mediterranean and Agean Sea known as The Peloponesians. This civilization existed in its prime in the years 1000 b.c.e. (which means "Before Christian Era") to about 100 b.c.e.. On the map above you will see a great image of Greece as it looked back then. Below, you will find another image of Greece as it looks today:

The theatre traditions of ancient greece began with festivals celebrating the god of wine: Dionysus (die-oh-knee-sis.) During these festivals large groups of men would join their voices together in song and poetry. There were no women who performed in the festivals in this way. The group of men were called a Chorus. This is the same name we give to large singing groups today. The songs and poems could be funny, or sad. We call these Comedies and Tragedies. The chorus would be asked to perform the same pieces year after year. As the years went on, the Chorus began to dress in elaborate, bright colored costumes with masks that would represent characters. The mask would be carved out of wood and had a large mouth with a megaphone-like piece that would amplify the voice.

The Greek chorus eventually decided to divide the songs and poems so that first one and then a few people had the most important parts. It is said that the first man to step from the chorus was named Actor. Below are two sculpture of actors. They are wearing masks and are performing poses the we relate to Tragedies:

Eventually the Greeks would make the festival of Dionysis into one of their most important yearly rituals. Tens of thousands of people would come to the biggest cities (like Athens,) to take part in the festival and watch the Chorus and the Actors perform plays. These plays were part of a big competition.

Here's a youtube clip of a recreation of what people think ancient greek theatre looked like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj2ZCDhY4wU&feature=related

Here is another youtube link to a very educational 10 minute clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlP3IEInowM&feature=related