This is about western classical theater/opera.

1. By: Ms. Mary Ibeth T. Pauya

2. Theater began from myth, ritual and
ceremony. Early society perceived
connections between actions
performed by groups of people or
leaders to a certain society and these
actions moved from habit, to
tradition, to ritual, to ceremony due
to human desire and need for
entertainment.

3. Theater means ―place of seeing,
but it is more than the buildings
where performance take place. To
produce theater, a playwright writes
the scripts, the director rehearses the
performers, the designer and
technical crew produce props to
create the scenes, and actors and
actresses perform on stage.

5. It began around 700 B.C. with festivals
honoring their many gods such as, Dionysus
(Di-on-i-sus), the god of wine and fertility.
This religious festival was called, ―The Cult
of Dionysus. The city-state of Athens was
the center of a significant cultural, political,
and military power during this period and
where the festivals and competitions were
usually performed.

6. The three well-known Greek tragedy
playwrights were Sophocles, Euripides
and Aeschylus.
The theater of ancient Greece consisted
of three types of drama: Tragedy,
Comedy and the Satyr play.

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Tragedy is a compound of two Greek words, ―tragos or
"goat" and ―ᾠδή (ode) meaning "song, referring to goats
sacrificed to Dionysus before performances, or to goat-skins
worn by the performers.
In Greece, tragedy was the most admired type of play. It
dealt with tragic events and have an unhappy ending,
especially one concerning the downfall of the main character.
Thespis was the first actor and introduced the use of masks
and was called the "Father of Tragedy”.

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• The actors, directors, and dramatists were all the same
person. After some time, only three actors were allowed
to perform in each play. Due to limited number of actors
allowed on-stage, the chorus played a very active part of
Greek theatre.
• Music was often played during the chorus.
• Men performed songs to welcome Dionysus and women
were not allowed to perform.
• Competitions in song, dance, music, scenic
representation and bodily exercises were done during
the festivals.
• And to promote a common identity, Athenians spread
these festivals to their numerous allies.

9. Comedy plays were derived from imitation; there were no
traces of their origin. Aristophanes wrote most of the
comedy plays.
Out of these 11 plays, Lysistrata survived, a humorous tale
about a strong woman who led a female coalition to end
war in Greece; Cyclops, an adventure comedy by
Euripides

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Satyr plays contain comic elements to lighten the overall
mood or a serious play with a happy ending. The satyr
play was a short, lighthearted tailpiece performed after each
trilogy of the tragedies. It is an ancient Greek form of tragic
comedy.
It featured half-man / half-goat characters known as
Satyrs. They were awful, ridiculous, and usually drunk. The
Satyr characters lusted after everyone on stage, and they
delivered the most humorous lines, often at the expense of
others.

12. Theatre buildings were called a theatron. The theaters were large, open-air
structures constructed on the slopes of hills.
They consisted of three main elements:
• the orchestra,
• the skene, and
• the audience.

13. Orchestra: A large
circular or rectangular
area at the center part
of the theatre, where
the play, dance,
religious rites, and
acting took place.

15. The theatre of ancient Rome started in the 3rd century BC. It had varied and
interesting art forms, like festival performances of street theatre, acrobatics,
the staging of comedies of Plautus, and the high-verbally elaborate tragedies
of Seneca.
Although Rome had a native tradition of performance, the Hellenization
(historical spread of ancient Greek culture) of Roman culture in the 3rd
century BC had an intense and energizing effect on Roman theatre and
encouraged the development of Latin literature.

16. According to Roman historian Livy, in the 4th century BC, the
Etruscan actors were the first who experienced theater.
While in 240 BC, Roman drama began with the plays of Livius
Andronicus, remained popular throughout late Antiquity. By
the mid 4th century AD, 102 out of 176 ludi publici (public
games) being dedicated to theatre, besides a considerably
lower number of gladiator and chariot racing events.

17. The Triumvir Pompey- was one of the first permanent (non-wooden)
theatres in Rome whose structure was somewhat similar to the theatron of
Athens. The building was a part of a multi-use complex that included a large
quadriporticus ( a columned quadrangle), directly behind the scaenae fron-,
an elaborately decorated background of theatre stage, enclosed by the large
columned porticos with an expansive garden complex of fountains and
statues. There were rooms also that were dedicated to the exposition of art
and other works collected by Pompey Magnus which were located along the
stretch of covered arcade.

19. The usual themes for Roman theater plays were chariots races,
gladiators, and public executions. The Romans loved a good
spectacle. They loved to watch combat, admired for blood
sports and gladiator competition. The more realistic the
violence, the more it would have pleased Roman audiences. The
Christians however opposed the barbaric themes of the plays
and closed down all theaters.

20. Comedy plays were popular too in
the Roman Theater from 350 to 250
B.C.E. and women were allowed to
perform on stage.

21. Create a summary of what is the Ancient theater all about,
their background, types of play/opera, the place and
where it is inspired from.

22. Don't hesitate to ask any questions!