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72 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What time period was Greek theatre? |
500-300 BC |
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Who was the Greek god of wine and nature? |
Dionysus (die-on-eye-sus) |
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What activity did Greek theatre grow out from? |
Religious festivals |
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What was the function of the chorus? |
Comment on the main act of the play with song, dance and recitation. |
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How was the Greek chorus useful to the audience? |
They helped the audience follow the play by giving background information, summarising, and giving hidden information about the characters (e.g. fears, secrets) |
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Who was the man credited for turning Greek religious hymns into plays? What did he do? |
A chorus leader named Thespis. He took on the character of the god/hero in the play, and talked to the chorus, creating dialogue. |
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When did the first 'actor' perform? |
534 BC |
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How many male actors would make the cast of Greek theatre? |
Three |
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How many Greek chorus members played for a) tragedy b) comedy |
a) 15 for tragedy b) 24 for comedy |
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What was the round area of the Greek stage called? |
The orchestra |
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What was the wooden dressing room at the back of the Greek theatre called? |
The skene |
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Were Greek theatres closed in with a roof, or open air? |
Open air |
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How many people did the largest Greek theatre seat? |
20,000 people |
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What feature of the Greek amphitheatre enabled the actors to be heard from a long distance? |
The shape of the theatre amplified the sound, creating excellent acoustics. |
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Where were Greek theatres usually built? |
Into the side of a hill |
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Why did all Greek cast members wear masks? |
So they could be seen more clearly by the audience. |
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Did the Greek chorus wear elaborate masks? |
No. The chorus worse simple masks, and the actors wore elaborate ones |
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What were Greek masks made out of? |
Wood, cork & linen |
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What did the theatre masks have to show? (Greek theatre) |
Age, gender and dominant emotion of the character |
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What was a feature of some masks that helped the actor to be heard? |
A mouthpiece shaped to amplify the human voice. |
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How were Greek gods distinguished in their costumes? Give examples. |
Each god had specific costumes and props that only belonged to that god. E.g. Hermes wore winged boots and carried a mace (a club) E.g. Herakles wore a lion skin and carried a club |
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What kind of costumes would be worn for tragedies vs comedies in Greek theatre? What implications did this have for their movement? |
Tragedies- heavy, extremely elaborate clothing. Meant little action could be had onstage (e.g. murders occurred off-stage, and were commented on by the chorus). Comedies- Light clothes that gave freedom to move, tumble, fall, chase, etc. |
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How many Greek plays survived in their complete form? |
Less than 50 |
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Who are the men that wrote Greek tragedies? |
Aeschylus (Ehs-kuh-lus), Sophocles & Euripides |
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Who are the men that wrote greek comedies? |
Aristophanes & Menander |
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What time period was Roman theatre? |
300 BC-500 AD |
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What was the significant event that occurred during the period of Roman theatre? |
Jesus lived and died (and lived again) |
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How did Roman theatres differ from Greek theatres in where they were built? |
Rome theatres were built on flat ground. Greek theatres were built on hillsides. |
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What were some unique features of Roman theatres? |
They were surrounded by an enormous stone wall. The stone stage was raised up quite high. There was an elaborately decorated wall at the back of it, often two stories high. |
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Who were the two main writers of Roman comedies? Who were they inspired by? |
Plautus & Terence. They were inspired by Greek writers. |
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Who was the greatest writer of Roman tragedy? |
The philosopher Seneca |
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What caused a fall of interest in acting? (Roman theatre) |
The Romans preferred watching gladiators killing each other and Christians being fed to lions, etc. Theatre became violent and acting was discredited. |
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What caused the downfall of Roman theatre in the 5th century? |
Christianity became the dominant religion, and banned acting because it was used against the church. |
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How did theatre come back after it was silenced? (Roman theatre) |
Christianity brought it back so they could use it to spread their religious stories and ideologies |
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When was the period of the dark ages for theatre? |
500-1000 AD |
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Why was popular theatre forbidden between 500-900 AD? |
By 500 AD Roman's power had diminished, and it took hundreds of years for the memory of Roman's indecent way of using theatre to fade. E.g. the obscene way it had humiliated and tortured Christians. |
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What time period was Medieval theatre? |
1000-1500 AD |
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Why was theatre such a good way for the church to spread their message? (Medieval theatre) |
Because most people couldn't read or write, and the priest only spoke in Latin, which people couldn't understand. Theatre was accessible to all people, even the poor and uneducated. |
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What bible story was acted out for the first Christian theatre performance? How did they perform it? |
The Easter story. They used an alter of the church as Jesus' tomb. Three priests were dressed as woman, and two priests were dressed as angels. |
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What is didactic theatre? |
Theatre which clearly sets out to teach specific ideas to an audience. |
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Why did medieval theatre move from the church buildings to streets and courtyards? |
Because the churches became too crowded. |
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What solution did English people come up with for a stage to perform on? |
They made "pageant wagons" drawn by horses through the streets. The cart was two stories high, with a wooden roof, and a curtain enclosing the lower part, where the actors were costumed and stored sets/props. |
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In medieval theatre, craftsmen, tradesman and workers belonged to clubs that offered their services to the theatre. What were these clubs called? |
Guilds. |
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How did France and Germany set up their stage differently to the English? |
They performed on long platforms set up in the town squares. The English used "pageant wagons" |
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What were the three types of plays? (medieval theatre). Hint: they all start with 'm' |
Mystery- biblical stories Miracle- saints and martyrs Morality- teaching a lesson |
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How did the church utilise 'morality' plays? What is the most famous one? |
The church used morality plays to encourage people to stay away from temptation, and follow the 'path of goodness'. Characters didn't have biblical names but were called "death," "good deeds," "beauty," etc. The most famous was called 'Every Man.' |
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What was Farce? (medieval theatre) |
A non-religious form of drama, that arose in the middle ages. --Bawdy, sexual, buffoonery --Poked at moral weakness and corruption |
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Did audiences prefer Farce of Morality plays? |
They preferred farce. They became far more responsive to it than to religious material. Religious plays became overlooked and distorted. |
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What time period was Shakespeare and the Elizabethan Era? |
1558-1603 BC |
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What were some notable factors about the people in the Elizabethan Era? |
They were born into their social class, and could not change it easily. Religion was very important. Actors were outlaws, unless apart of a group. They had no technology for entertainment: words were their entertainment, and treated as a kind of music. |
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When did William Shakespeare live? |
1564-1616 AD
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What year did William Shakespeare become known as an actor/playwright? |
By 1592 |
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What group of actors did Shakespeare become part of? |
The 'Chamberlain' group of actors |
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What 'verse' was most literature written in, in Shakespeare's time? How did it work? |
iambic pentameter, or 'blank verse' Each line has 10 syllables, and every second syllable is stressed. Variations of this were often clues as to how the actor should say the line |
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What two styles of writing did Shakespeare use, and what were they used for? |
Verse- used for serious moments, romance, and royalty. It was very formal. (e.g. iambic pentameter) Prose- was mostly used for witty exchanges and less educated characters |
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What was the set like in Shakespearean theatre? |
Minimalistic. Not elaborate. Just a few props were used to help the audience follow where the actors were and what they were doing. |
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What was the purpose of the soliloquy? |
To allow a character to reveal their innermost thoughts and feelings to the audience. |
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Where was the main theatre in London? (Shakespearean theatre) |
At Bankside, easily accessible from London Bridge |
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Who was the first theatre building built for, and when was it built? (Shakespearean theatre). What was it? |
James Burbage, 1576 Called 'The Theatre' it was a circular wooden building, open to the weather. |
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What was the inner structure of an Elizabethan Theatre? |
A circular building, with galleries around it where the rich would stand and watch the plays. The stage thrust out from one wall into the middle area where ordinary people stood around it on three sides. There was one permanent set, and little to no scenery. There was a balcony, and a high turret where a trumpeter would announce the beginning of a performance. |
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What was the name of the most famous theatre in the Elizabethan era? What were its features? |
Called 'The Globe.' -Three stories high -No more than 100ft in diameter -2000 people could cram inside |
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What did each scene begin and end with in Elizabethan theatre? |
Began with an entrance, and finished with an exit. |
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Was there any artificial stage lighting in Elizabethan theatre? |
No. But, a character carrying a lantern would indicate it was night time. |
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How much would a spectator pay to view a Shakespearean play? |
1 penny |
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When was the Italian Renaissance? |
1400-1700 AD |
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When was the period of Commedia Dell'Arte? |
1500-1700AD |
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What does the term "Commedia Dell'Arte" mean? |
"Comedy of the professional actors" |
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How did the actors perform without scripts? (Commedia) |
Their manager gave them a brief outline of the play, and then they had to improvise their own words
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What was comic stage business called? (commedia) |
Lazzi |
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What was comic verbal jokes called? (commedia) |
Burla |
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How many males and females usually made up Commedia troupes? |
7-8 men and 3-4 women |
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In brief: summarise Commedia Dell'Arte |
A comedy of intrigue, using stock characters, often masked actors and improvised dialogue based on a brief scenario |
