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Theatre Survey section 001 Martin Wootton

Compare and Contrast Greek Drama with Medieval Drama

The Greeks were the first in Europe to have a theater. This newly found expression became very popular and endured throughout history. After the Greeks, the next wave of theatre happened in the medieval era. The Greek and the Elizabethan Theatre had similarities such as the purpose, techniques of acting, and presentation. However the Elizabethan theater was distinctly structured due to the culture their prominent religion. The purpose of theatre has remained the same even when the style has changed. Theatre is more than simple entertainment but it is about the human experience. It is about the manipulation of human emotions, to be able to tell a story and have the audience echo the feelings and passion while gaining a better understanding about their society. Another similarity is that the Greeks believed that violence must take place off stage. This belief carried through to the Elizabethan theater which also avoided bloodshed on stage. Brutality and murder usually was mentioned by the actor who simply retold the event that already happened at a different location. Some more techniques that the Elizabethans and the Greeks both employed are the basic vocal projection and the gestures of performers. Both had large audiences that required strong vocal skills to reach the members in the back. The Globe Theatre could hold three thousand people while the Theatre of Dionysus could house

about eighteen thousand spectators, comfortably. Both theatres productions took place out side and had small entrance fee that benefited the theater. The structure of the two theatres was very different. The Theatre of Dionysus was built in the fifth century BCE and was giant open-air auditorium, with rows of seats in a semicircle, on the slope of the Acropolis, in Athens. While the Globe Theatre was built in the red light district in London and was a much smaller, white washed, circular, wooden building. Scenery started with the Greek, Sophocles, however it was very simple, a stage props were also very uncommon. The machinery used to represent the Greek gods like lightning and thunder or ropes that lift people were called deus ex machina, literally meaning god from the machine. Later stage curtains came so that the props and scenery (more common and elaborate) could be changed. Much less was left up to the imagination of the audience. The first rows in Greek theater was reserved for the important member of society, the Priest were in the very front, then the officials, then guests of honor, then in the back was the rest of citizens. However, in Elizabethan time the nobles sat in the mezzanines or private balconies to remotely view the performance. However to tell a story though a characters point of view, the Greeks wore masks which heightened the sense of remoteness and is what allowed the act of pretending to be someone else to be tolerated by the society. The Theatre of Dionysus was built in honor of the god, Dionysus, who represented both wine and fertility. The original purpose of theatre was a ceremonial retelling of the story of t Dionysus which slowly grew to the stories of multiple gods and then the stories of men. However in the center of the theatre still stands the alter of Dionysus. Religion in Medieval times barely tolerated theatre. It was unmoral to have

women play womens roles until the 1660s because theatre was thought to be no place for a decent woman. Although the worlds of Medieval and Greek theater have a similar purposed many things culturally are different and influence the theatre making each unique to their time Today both styles of theatre are preserved in the texts of the great playwrights of the era.

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