Greek Theatre History

Improved Essays
Theater, also spelled theatre, is a live performance before an audience, including every form of entertainment from circus to plays. The word theater comes from a Greek word meaning “a place for seeing”, basically referring to the space where performers perform. In modern day, that space is staged in a theater building called an auditorium. Theater was started in the Athens, approximately 2,500 years ago (The Ancient Greek Page). Theatre enhances the society by providing entertainment, of course, giving people a way to express their selves, and bringing tons of money to the economy.
There are three main types of theatre which are comedy, tragedy, and drama. Comedy is a play about ordinary people, written in a style that is amusing and have
…show more content…
Theatron is where the audience sat over viewing the stage and orchestra. The skene is a building right behind the stage where the actors make entrances and exits through the doors. It also had a way for actors to get to the roof of the skene is they were playing gods, so it appear for them to be flying. Lastly, is the parodos which is another way for actors to enter and exit, but the aisles were also used for the spectators to enter and exit the theater. The performance was always competitive. The winning Greek choreographs and playwrights accrued great prestige. They were also political and religious. Of course, actors wore masks and costumes, but they main reason behind it is that women weren’t allowed to perform therefore men played the role women in the performances. That was called onnagata. Back then in Ancient Greek times, the audience would stomp their feet instead of clapping to …show more content…
First thing that is best for you to do is start taking classes in high school. It is a great idea to take classes in high school because you can learn the basis of theatre and know common terms. College education is not mandatory, but it is better if you earn a degree in theatre, because you can benefit greatly from a formal college or university drama degree program. One benefit from getting a degree is that is indicates professional training and can be an asset for individuals auditioning for stage roles. Also, to increase your chances of becoming a success, get a reputable agent. In acting it is very important to study, practice, and audition. You have to audition on a regular basis since acting is not a steady work. Arts strengthen the economy. The nonprofit arts industry alone generates $135 billion in economic activity annually that supports 4.1 million jobs (Top 10 Reasons to Support the Arts). The Bureau of Labor Statistics growth in employment

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    The arts of the western world have been largely dominated by the artistic standards established by the Greeks of the classical period. It is from the Greek word “theatron” meaning “a place for sitting”. It is said that the Greeks were the first people to erect special structures to bring audiences and theatrical performers together. The theatres were normally located near a populated area at the bottom, or cut out of a carefully selected, sloping hillside overlooking a seascape, plain, or city. They would then largely be constructed with three distinct parts: the theatron (viewing place) for spectators, the orchestra where the chorus and actors performed; and a later addition, the skene (scene building), which provided a scenic backing.…

    • 1813 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The first recorded Greek theater built was around 530 B.C. The actual name of the theater was a “theatron.” In the early starts of the Greek theater were festivals honoring the gods, and the genre of the play was tragedy. Thespis is considered to be the first known actor of Greek theater and mainly did tragedy acts.…

    • 560 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As the power of democracy was increasing, theatre began to emerge. Democracy was not inclusive to everyone; women and slaves were excluded. Since democracy was limited, outsiders were able to find their voices in theatre and theatre began…

    • 659 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Theatres were a very popular form of entertainment in Rome at the time. Theatres were a form of entertainment where actors…

    • 879 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Biography Steven Berkoff, born Leslie Steven Berks in Stepney, London, on 3 August 1937, is arguably the most influential figures in shaping modern theatre. The actor, author, playwright and theatre director belonged to a family of Russian-Jewish background, and therefore added the ‘off’ back to the end of his name and opted to go by his middle name. Berkoff had a troubled childhood and often felt like he didn’t get what he wanted and in 1952 he was sentenced to a stint in borstal for stealing a bike. He used theatre as an escape. Following more training at the Webber Douglas School of Drama, he worked extensively in repertory theatre in England and Scotland - doing every job from understudy to stage management.…

    • 1323 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    African American Theatre

    • 1023 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Each play addresses problems and issues that everyone faces and can relate to. Theatre connects people of every age, race, religion, and social class in a way that no other art form can. The belief that theatre is no longer relevant is apocryphal. Theatre erases all boundaries and addresses taboos that must be discussed while also creating a sense of globalization and cultural relativism in a society that needs it now more than…

    • 1023 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Theater Theater in ancient Rome would range from festivals, nude dancing, and acrobatics. Theater for Romans at the time was for honoring the gods on religious days. But since there were “over 200 religious days every year,” according to Rome.mrdonn.org, you could watch a performance almost every day! Theater was first recorded in Rome around 300-400 BC along with a performance by Etruscans.…

    • 694 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Plays began to become important in ancient Greece and two types of plays which were written and performed were comedies and tragedies. A comedy, in ancient Greece, was usually a play that marked or made fun of a certain topic, person, or group of people. One famous comedy writer was Aristophanes. He wrote the plays The Birds and Lysistrata. A tragedy, in ancient Greece, usually dealt with a moral or social issue, human suffering, and almost always ended in disaster.…

    • 826 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Religion In Greek Theatre

    • 952 Words
    • 4 Pages

    I want to first research what were the earlier shows in Greek theatre and who told them (pastors, high priestess). I’ve discovered through research that Greek tragedy, was an component of the ancient rites carried out in honor of Dionysus (Greek God of the harvest), and it heavily influenced the theatre of Ancient Rome. Drama was religion in ancient Greece. Ancient Greeks used drama to advance their culture, and in doing so, they promoted the morals of their gods/goddesses…

    • 952 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Theatre is a form of art that requires live performers in order to share imagined or real life events before a live audience. I feel that theatre helps people within society develop a sense of comfort when dealing with certain issues or dilemmas that are happening or have happened around the world. Individuals can also gain some sort of understanding toward an opposing view by relations within a theatrical atmosphere. Cultures are greatly affected by theatre through the feeling of entertaining relief. An ideal experience in theatre is one that can relate to an audience through intellect, emotion, and creativity.…

    • 791 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    What does theatre mean to me? As I review the questions provided for me to include in my goal statement, I feel lucky to express how theatre is unique to me and how I structure my everyday life around the dramatic arts. Anytime I act, I relish in the opportunity to be a leader, to help people, and to accomplish my actions with confidence. I started off with this philosophy at an early age and have not forgotten about it since. In my opinion, acting is not solely about the individual’s performance, but about how an individual actor can use their confidence and passion to impact other actors, enhance a production, and inspire the audience.…

    • 1050 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Perhaps you’re thinking of joining a theatre crew. You spent much of your childhood attending plays while getting captivated by the fantasy being brought to life before your very eyes and now you want to become part of it. While it is true that most who are in the theatre did join for this very reason, there are some points where the similarities of watching and participating detour into major differences. I preface this with a brief glimpse into my background. First off, I was not an actor.…

    • 787 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Gender Roles In Theatre

    • 268 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Theatre is a place where many things are explored, questioned, and portrayed. There are many inner workings in theatre, such as a semi-set hierarchy that begins with the directors with their occasional God-complex attitudes and ends amongst the actors whom are a sometimes a small part of the population of theatre persons that are necessary for a show but are overall very important. There are others separations that can occur such as division between age groups and gender. Theatre strict in their gender roles with women always taking more feminine roles such as being actresses with feminine and some over-sexualized roles that portray some stereotypical mannerisms a woman would enact. Also, in not only acting but being a cast member women tend to stay toward more feminine tasks such as costume design, keeping other cast members on task, and keeping the stage clean.…

    • 268 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The structure of the play includes a tragic hero, a chorus, a localized space, gods, and the presentational components of Greek theatre at its time. In Trojan Women by Euripides the chorus is the ideal spectator but more importantly the chorus becomes the conscience, the thought and meaning, of the play. The chorus not only serves its purpose of setting the mood of the play but also takes the life-form of a character. The presence of Poseidon and Athene at the beginning of the play is another convention of Greek theatre that was absolutely prominent through this…

    • 1148 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Greek In Drama

    • 1291 Words
    • 6 Pages

    it is Knowledge of them became widespread because European culture was founded on the classical authors of Greece and Rome. From the Renaissance until the twentieth century a formal education in a European school was based on, or at least included, Latin authors such as Virgil and Cicero, and plays by Seneca and Terence. The Greek texts used included stories from The Illiad and The Odyssey by Homer; and many of the plays first performed centuries before by Aeschylus and Aristophanes, Sophocles and Menander, as well as the writings of philosophers like Plato and Aristotle. The performances of plays in the Greek culture were as part of a religious festival not in the sense of a ritual offering of an art in the form of drama but as a celebration with and for the god. The young men were called komos and their songs were called comedies.…

    • 1291 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays