Transcript Background: The Theater and the Players Before there were theaters… Acting was originally a transient endeavor.

Background:
The Theater
and the Players
Before there were theaters…
Acting was originally a transient
endeavor. In other words, it was like
the circus in that the performers
traveled from town to town to put on
shows
 They often set up in “innyards” (the
courtyards of inns)

The Theaters
The first successful theater was built by
James Burbage in 1576
 It was called….
 Get ready to be astounded….
 THE THEATRE!

Other theaters:
The
 The
 The
 The
 The

Curtain
Swan
Rose
Red Lion
Globe
We’re Closed!
The theaters closed from 1592-94
 The Black Plague
 Makes sense—
 Would you want to sit in a relatively
small space with thousands of possibly
contagious people?

Heading to the play

How do you envision people “going to
the theater” today?
It’s time to don
your doublet!
Tighten your trussing!
Get on your galligaskins!
Females, fit on your
farthingales!
Smooth your stomachers!
Remember your ruffs!
Slip on your shoes!
And grab your gloves!
Gentlemen?
Ladies?
Is everybody ready?
We’re going to the theater!
The Globe!
Shakespeare’s
theater is located
just outside of
London, England.
A
white
The
young
men
are
It’s
afternoon,
time
for
flag
is
dressing
up
to
take
the
the
play
to
start.
flying.
female roles.
There’s a
The
stage
is
a
lower
class
play today!
profession, and no women
The wealthy are in the
upper decks.
The poor people are in the
“pit.” They are known as
“the groundlings.”
THE GLOBE
 The
Globe theater was built in
the Southwark district of
London in 1599.
 The location was considered the
“sporting district”- a place for
cock-fighting, bear-baiting and
other bawdy attractions.
View of the Globe
The Globe Theater was open air (no
roof) & three levels high.
Stats
The
Globe could fit
between 2,000 to 3,000
spectators.
The
plays were about three
hours long.
Scenery
 The
actors had costumes and
props, but no background
scenery.
 A change in the scene was
indicated through speeches or
narrations Shakespeare wrote
into the play.
Special effects
Pig blood
 Trapdoors in ceiling and floor (heaven
and hell)
 Some housed in the little building on
top called the “HUTS”
 Cannon balls
 Deus ex machina

Fate of the Globe
 The
original Globe stood until
June 29th 1613.
 Unfortunately,
it caught on fire
and burned to the ground when
a cannon was fired during a
performance of Henry VIII.
Politics, Religion, and the
Theater
The
Globe was rebuilt in
1614, but in 1642 a more
religious regime came into
power and closed all theaters
in England.
Rebuilt (again)
Interior
Distance view
William Shakespeare
Have you heard these phrases?
I couldn’t sleep a wink.
 He was dead as a doornail.
 She’s a tower of strength.
 They hoodwinked us.
 I’m green-eyed with jealousy.
 We’d better lie low for awhile.
 Keep a civil tongue in your head.

They are just some of
the many expressions
coined by that master
of language, William
Shakespeare.
Sources Used

Fashion pictures from High Fashion in
Shakespeare’s Time by Andrew
Brownfoot, Five Castles Press Ltd., 1992

Shakespeare’s Book of Insults, Insights,
& Infinite Jests, by John W. Seder,
Templegate Publishers, 1984
 The Story of English by Robert McCrum,
et. al., Penguin Books, 1987