Transcript Theater history Powerpoint

Greek Theater
By Mr. Healy
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Dionysus- Greek God of wine and fertility
City Dionysia- Ritual ecstatic celebration of god of wine and
fertility
Orchestra- Greek for “dancing place”, semi circle where chorus
performs and acting takes place
Skene- A large rectangular building situated behind the
orchestra, used as a backstage. Actors could change their
costumes and masks.
Thespis- Greek chorus member who thought of the idea of
wearing masks and acting
Tragedy- Deals with high status, beautiful characters in tragic
situations
Comedy- Funny plays that deal with ugly, low class people
Satyr plays- rude comedies starring men as satyrs, or half men
half goats. These were the servants of Dionysus
5th century BC- was the high period for greek drama- Aeschylus,
Euripides, and Sophocles all produced their plays in this era
Terms
Chorus- A body of men who sung lines
from the play. Usually commenting on the
dramatic action
 Dithyramb- Choral song that tells a
Greek myth
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Terms continued
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Greek theater, and therefore theater itself.
Originated in Athens around 700 B.C.
Athens was the center of Greek
government and also worship
Theater arose from the festivals
celebrating the god Dionysus
The main festival was called City
Dionysia
Theater originates from some pretty
raunchy Greeks
Origins
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Ecstatic ritualized celebration of Dionysus
Led by drunken men dressed up as goats
because goats were thought of as sexually
potent
Chorus would sing Dithyrambs
Soon performances became competitive and
actors began to take the stage
Plays were submitted and performed and
then judged
Winners had their names inscribed in stone
at the venue ensuring glory for all time
City Dionysia
First man to play a character on stage is
credited as Thespis
 Originally a member of the chorus, he
began to stand alone and assume
different masks depending on what
character from the story he was playing
 More on masks later
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Origins of acting
There were three types of plays presented
at the festival
1. Tragedy
2. Comedy
3. Satyr Plays
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Origins of Dramatic Genres
Type of play focusing on upper class or
noble characters and their downfalls
 The 3 most famous Tragedians are
Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles
 Some famous Greek Tragedies are
Oedipus Rex,
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Tragedy