Chapter 1 of The Living Theatre: A History

The Greek, Roman, and Medieval Theatres.

Athens enjoyed a period of remarkable achievements from 490 B.C.E. to 431 B.C.E.

A talented harpist and poet who made significant changes in the dithyramb and moved it toward a dramatic form by interspersing spoken sections with the musical portions; these spoken segments were supposedly more dramatic than the songs.

Synonym for "actor"

The Greek word for "actor" which literally means "answerer." Underscores the fact that drama required a the verbal give-and-take of dialogue and interaction between actor and chorus.

A festival honoring the God Dionysus. A significant event in Athens; it was held toward the end of March. In 534 B.C.E., tragedy was incorporated into festival and by 486 B.C.E. comedy and the satyr play had been added.

A brief comic parody involving a chorus of satyrs, mythological creatures who were half-goat and half-man. They poked fun at honored Greek institutions, including religion and folk heroes, and often had elements of vulgarity. "The Cyclops" by Euripides is the only satyr play still in existence.

Three tragedies and one satyr play by a single playwright.

An appointed government official who chose the plays 11 months before the next festival.

Appointed by the Archon, the equivalent of a modern-day producer, for each of the selected playwrights. He provided the money and paid all major expenses connected with the chorus: rehearsals, costumes, and musicians.

A story or legend - sometimes invented, sometimes based loosely on fact - that is handed down from generation to generation. Frequently an attempt to explain natural and human events.

Greek poet who wrote "Iliad" and "Odyssey" myths.

(525-456 B.C.E.) The first to develop drama into a form separate from singing, dancing, or storytelling. His plays dealt with noble families and lofty themes and were praised for their superb lyric poetry as well as their dramatic structure and intellectual content. He added the second actor which allowed for a true dialogue. He was a Director, Actor, and Playwright. He wrote 90 plays, 79 titles of which are known, but only 7 of which still exist and include "The Suppliants" (c. 490 B.C.E.), "The Persians" (c. 472 B.C.E.), "Seven against Thebes (c. 469 B.C.E.), "Prometheus Bound" (c. 460 B.C.E.), "The Oresteia" (458 B.C.E.), a trilogy consisting of "Agamemnon", "The Cheophori (Libation Bearers)", and "The Eumenides."

(c. 496-406 B.C.E.) Known for exploration of character, a focus on the individual, superb plot construction: he introduces characters and information skillfully and the builds swiftly to a climax. His plays also were single dramas and not trilogies. He wrote over 120 plays but only seven complete tragedies have survived: "Ajax" (c. 450-440 B.C.E.), "Antigone" (c. 441 B.C.E.), "King Oedipus" (c. 430 to 425 B.C.E.), "Electra" (C. 418-410 B.C.E.), "Trachiniae" (c. 413 B.C.E.), "Philocetes" (409 B.C.E.), and "Oedipus at Colonus" (c. 406 B.C.E.). Large portions of his satyr plays exist, including "The Trackers".

(c. 480-406 B.C.E.) Considered most modern of Greek playwrights because of his sympathetic portrayal of women, the greater realism in his plays, his mixture of tragedy with melodrama and comedy, and his skeptical treatment of the gods. Believed to have weak plots, diminished use of the chorus, and sensational subject matter. Very controversial for portraying gods as human and fallible. 18 plays still exist: "Alcestis" (438 B.C.E.), "Medea" (431 B.C.E.), "Hippolytus" (428 B.C.E.), "The Children of Heracles" (c. 425 B.C.E.), "Andromache" (c. 424 B.C.E.), "Heracles" (c. 421 B.C.E.), "The Suppliants" (c. 420 B.C.E.), "Hecuba" (c. 417 B.C.E.), "The Trojan Women" (415 B.C.E.), "Electra" (c. 412 B.C.E.), "Helen" (412 B.C.E.), "Ion" (c. 411 B.C.E.), "Iphigenia in Tauris" (c. 410 B.C.E.), "The Phoenecian Women" (c. 409 B.C.E.), "Orestes" (408 B.C.E.), "The Bacchae" (c. 406 B.C.E.) and "Iphigenia in Aulis" (c. 406 B.C.E.), as well as "The Cyclops" (a satyr play).

A choral trainer who was employed for all festival productions.

1. Plot - the arrangement of dramatic incidents 2. Characters - the people represented in the play 3. Thought or theme - the ideas explored 4. Language - the dialogue and poetry 5. Music 6. Spectacle - scenery and other visual elements

The opening scene of Greek Tragedy which sets the action and provides background information.

The scene in Greek Tragedy in which the chorus enters.

A scene in Greek Tragedy in which the characters confront each other and the plot starts to develop.

An ode performed by the Chorus between episodes.

The final scene of Greek Tragedy in which all the characters exit from the stage.

A purgation or purification of emotions.

Tragic heroes almost invariably suffer, often as the result of some terrible calamity or turn of events. Often due to a tragic flaw.

Tragic flaw

Excessive pride. A tragic flaw.

The action begins near the climax, or high point, of the story, with the characters already in the midst of their struggles. There are very few characters, and there is only one main action; the play occurs within 24 hours or less, and takes place in one locale.

Background information

A Freudian theory that each man subconsciously wishes to murder his father and marry his mother.

Comedies presented in Greece. Only surviving old comedies are by Aristophanes. They do not follow the pattern of climactic drama. They have large casts, make fun of society, politics, or culture, and frequently its characters are recognizable contemporary personalities. They use fantastical and improbable plots to underline its satire. Employ a chorus and have similar section to tragedies. Unique to Old Comedies are agon and parabasis.

A scene in Old Comedy with a debate between the two opposing forces in a play-each representing one side of a social or political issue.

A scene in which the chorus speaks directly to the audience, makes fun of the spectators and specific audience members, or satirizes other subjects.

(c. 448-380 B.C.E.) Old Comedian who's plays reflect the social and political climate in Athens as it declined in power toward the end of the fifth century B.C.E. Plays were filled with bawdy wit - a reflection of the open attitude toward sex in Athenian society. His plays were distinguished for their inventive comic scenes, witty dialogue, and pointed satire. He wrote 40 plays, 11 of which survive, including "The Archanians" (425 B.C.E.), "The Knights" (424 B.C.E.), "The Clouds" (423 B.C.E.), "The Wasps" (422 B.C.E.), "Peace" (421 B.C.E.), "The Birds" (414 B.C.E.), "Lysistrata" (411 B.C.E.), and "The Frogs" (405 B.C.E.). His last plays - in particular, "Plutus" (388 B.C.E.), are often categorized as Middle Comedies.

Transitional works that led to the development of the nonpolitical New Comedy.

(literally, "viewing place"), which was the seating area for the audience. Built into hillsides which provided naturally sloped seating and excellent acoustics. Wooden seats during the Classic Period. Replaced with stone seats during the Hellenistic Period. Greek tribes were segregated as were men and women.

Playing area for the actors. The first permanent structural element in the Greek theatre; it was a circle probably about 66 feet in diameter, paved with stone. In the center would be a "thymele" or altar. After Classic Period playing area was raised.

Scene building. Located behind the orchestra. Contained dressing space for actors who needed to change costumes and was used to store props. Also used as a basic setting for all plays after 458 B.C.E. Also a wooden structure that then became permanent stone structure. Started as one story and then became two. Had side wings. There were doorways (either 1 or 3).

Front-row seats, reserved for political and religious dignitaries.

A type of flat with a wooden frame covered with stretched fabric.

A triangular stage device which consisted of three painted flats hinged together, each showing a different scene. Rotating these flats would reveal one new scene to the audience while hiding the other two.

A crane hidden behind the upper level of the skene, was used to effect the entrance of the actor playing the god or goddess in such a way as to suggest a descent from the heavens.

"God from a machine". Any arbitrary dramatic device used to unravel a plot.

A wagon that would be wheeled from behind the skene. A character who had died offstage would be laid out on the ekkyklema, which would be rolled out from behind the scenes into the full view of the audience.

A thick-soled boot.

336-323 B.C.E. Achievements in intellect, art, and culture in Greece during Alexander the Great's reign. Initiation of a number of theatre festivals to honor his many military victories. Dramatic festivals proliferated throughout the Hellenistic world. Theatre was no longer confined to festivals but took place on many other occasions. Changes in theatre architecture, acting, and writing as well.

Stone seats. Stage rises to between 8-13 feet, stretches up to 140 feet, and is 6-14 feet in depth. Paraskenia are eliminated. Proskenia is one story with several openings at the back known as "thyromata." Columns eventually added.

Technitai = Artists. Much like the Actor's Equity Association. Actors, chorus members, playwrights, and various other theatre personnel belonged to it and had to be hired to perform.

Traveling players who presented a variety of entertainments, including juggling, acrobatics, wordless dances dramatizing fables, and sketches with dialogue.

Menander is the only playwright who's plays have survived. New Comedy was more realistic, more down-to-earth, and its comedy arose not from satire and extreme exaggeration but from the foibles, pretenses, and complications of the everyday life of Greek citizens. No fantasy, politics, sharp topical observations of the plays of Aristophanes, or chorus. Became subtle comedy of manners and well-wrought intrigue which focused on domestic situations and bourgeois life in the cities. Chorus only apparent in musical interludes between acts.

(c. 342-291 B.C.E.) Great writer of new comedies; used stock characters; situational comedies concerned with ordinary happenings of contemporary life. "Samia (The Girl from Samos)", "Aspis (The Shield)", "Epitrontes (The Men Who Went to Arbitration)", "Perikeiromene (The Girl Who Had Her Hair Cut)", "Sicyonius (The Sicyonian)", and "Misoumenos (The Chief Aversion)". "Dyskolos (The Grouch)" was discovered in 1957 and first performed in about 317 B.C.E.