Hey everyone! This is my final post! It will include information about what the theaters looked like, what all the actors wore, and much more! I am so excited to share all of the information I have learned with you. So, let's get started! I will be starting off with what the theaters looked like, because that is something that interested me. As, you know, I already posted some information about this on my preview post, but I will remind you some more. The theaters were called theatrons, and they were these huge, round auditoriums outside. In the middle, there was the orchestra, and surrounding it were the benches where the audience sat. The orchestra was basically the stage, where everything happened. Theatrons were open-air structures on slopes of hills. The core of any Greek theatre was the orchestra. The The skene was behind the orchestra. The skene was a building that was used for the storage of costumes and props. Actors usually got ready before the show in the skene.
The actors and their costumes were also very interesting. The actors always wore masks to their plays. Also, the director, actors, and dramatists were all the same person. At the very beginning of theatre, there was only one actor. Everyone believed that a story could be told with only one person. Later, there were three actors, and a separate director. Today, most Greek tragedy plays are based on Greek mythology. Theatre started in 700 B.C., and Thespis was considered to be the first Greek actor. He was a poet, and also known as the inventor of tragedy. Thespis created musicals, when actors included music with their words. He was very famous in Ancient Greece, and he honored Dionysus. While tragedy was a big thing, there was only one actor on stage. Comedy started a short while after that. It was very important in theatre. That was when three actors were on the stage. Now, one question that I would really like to know is, how has theatre changed since Ancient Greece? Well, first of all, most plays today have at least 20 to 30 actors. There is also a director, a producer, a choreographer, etc. There are so many people that help with plays today. In Ancient Greece, there were only a couple actors, and a director. I think people have seen how much we need, in order to make a play really work. Also, we now have so much technology that we have used to our advantage, instead of actual objects like the Greeks used. I think another reason might be that so many genres have developed. Fantasy, action, fiction, sci-fi. All of those genres need many people to make the play actually work. In ancient Greece, the actors also used masks as their characters. Today, some plays use masks, but most don't, and that is also another reason why we might need many people to tell a story instead of just one or two. So, as you can see, there are so many reasons why theatre has changed, and we are a big part of it. As you know, Thespis was the first Greek actor, but how did it get started? Was there a specific person who started it, or was it something else? Well, I know the answer to that. There were many religious festivals to honor Dionysus, god of passion and wine. There were often performances that were performed by a a large chorus. Later, Thespis came along and introduced the concept of an actor. He would bring one person up to interact with the chorus, and then eventually, this idea extended, and it went from one actor to three. So, we now know a whole bunch about what happened on stage, but what happened behind the stage? Now, you know what happened in the skene, where everybody got dressed and ready for the performance, but that is just the main point. There was not always a skene, because sometimes there was not always room for one. A skene was a way for actors to change quickly in between scenes if they needed to. It was also a good place for actors to practice their past quickly before the show. The skene was a simple wooden structure, that later became a series of complex stone buildings. The skene was also sometime a "hidden stage". The actors would be inside and would make certain noises. The audience would then have to guess what noises they were making from the inside. It was a good place to play games, and prep before the show. In conclusion, a lot has changed since the Ancient Greek times, but at the same time, a lot has stayed the same. We have also added on to theatre as time has gone by. I am personally grateful that the Greeks came up with this wonderful concept of theatre, because it does not only serve as entertainment, but also as a fun hobby for me and many others. I love to act, and I am glad that I got some background information on where it came from. It has been really fun making this blog, and learning so much about Ancient Greek theatre. Thanks for reading! Hi everyone! This is a post to give you a preview of what is going to be in my final post. I have learned so much about Ancient Greek theatre, and I want to tell you all about it. During my research, I discovered many things, but one thing that I thought was very interesting was the actual theater itself. It was all outside, and it was huge! The theaters were called theatrons, and they were all one big circle. There was the stage, benches surrounding the whole theatron for the audience, and the orchestra behind the stage. Actors always wore masks to show a complete feeling. It is also much easier to show the feeling with a mask, than showing it yourself. For example, if the character was supposed to be angry, their mask would show that expression. Now, that is just general information. My next post will have all kinds of different information on theatre and what happened behind the scenes! Thanks for reading!
"Ancient Greek Theatre". Greek Theatre. April 8, 2014. <http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/Theatre/> I think this website is trustworthy because it says everything about Greek Theatre. It tells us about all the types of theatre, about Dionysus, the costumes, the stage, and so much more. It is also written by a university, and the fact that it is makes me feel like I can trust the website. Englert, Walter. "Greek Theatre". Greek Theatre. April 10, 2014. <http://academic.reed.edu/humanities/110tech/theater.html#origins> This website seems trustworthy because there is a lot of useful information about Ancient Greek theatre. There are many paragraphs, and information telling me all about the origin of theatre, who some famous actors were, and what some popular plays were. Ley, Graham. A Short Introduction to the Ancient Greek Theatre. Chicago. University of Chicago. 1991. Print.
This book is trustworthy to me because books are almost always a source that someone can trust. Also, in the table of contents, there is a long list of things to know about Ancient Greek theatre. Here are three guiding questions about Greek theatre:
1. How did acting get started in a Ancient Greece? 2. How has theatre changed since Ancient Greece? 3. Was acting considered a job, or just something to do for fun? If you would like, go ahead and research these question to get the answers! Hi guys! I'm Ella, and I am here to tell you about theater in Ancient Greece. I have always been interested in theater and Greece, so I am really excited to learn more about this topic. I will be writing specifically about the most famous plays, what they were about, and who was in them. I might even get into the most famous actors and actresses. The reason I chose this topic to learn and write about is because I have loved to act and sing for a very long time, and I am familiar with it in America. However, to learn about it in a different country, hundreds of years ago, would be really cool. I have also always been interested in Greece. I've read many books and stories about it, and I would like to learn more. I am excited to share my experience with all of you!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSRLK7SogvE |