Blog 1

I don't know much about the history of theatre. Honestly I have never been interested in acting, reading plays, or the meaning behind theatre. However, the main aspect of theatre back then that is interesting to me is how and why they built the theatres the way they did? What gave them the resources to know how to shape a coliseum? I found that the theatre of Herodes Atticus was originally built with a cedar wood roof which provided better acoustics. We know this knowledge now, but how did the people back then come to figure things out. I know Greeks were one of the smartest people as a society and I would like to know more about them and how they learned to build, live, and act as a society. I would like to find out about each theatre’s back round, and why they were built the way they were?

theatre origins

Western Theatre traces its origins to the ancient Greeks for whom theatre was originaly a religios practice. Diyoneses, god of pleasure, theatre, and wine, was primarly the honored diety, however Apollo, god of music, order, and strength, also played a pivitol role in many of the plays. the plays generaly rvolved around the lives of prominent Greek figues and addressed the question "how should we live?" plays were extremely philisophical and addressed moral codes. Tragedies occured from the imbalence of society's order and chaos, represeted by Diyonises and Apallo. For example, in Oedipus Rex, the tragedy results as a disruption in the natual cycle due to Oedipus's act of patricide and the children born to him by his mother. this represents an over abundence of the dyonicean side of the greek psyke. in Antigone, in contrast, the overpowerment is on the side of the Apallonian, the laws of the society call for antigone to not pay proper honor to the gods and the dead and thus result in everyones death. the concept of the comedy/tragedy masks comes from greek theatre as they wore large exagerated costumes. also the idea of Deus ex Machina was born in this theatre. the gods or other dieties such as the oracle at delphi or the seers made frequent apperences which stressed the importance of religios observance portents from the gods etc... the most famous of the playwrites from this time was Euripadies. the most famous plays were probably the Oedipus trilogy mostly Oedipus Rex. These shows were performed in the apetheatres, natural cutouts in the land which provided great acoustics. The plays were performed as part of festivals to celabrate particular gods and the plays performed often reflected accordingly.

Meditation 1 - Theatre History

Unfortunately, I had very little experience with theatre history. I have not taken very many formal drama courses and have never really had the opportunity to study the development of theatre throughout time, but I am very excited to get to do so this semester. My high school English classes always focused more on the actual texts than on the plays’ backgrounds. However, I did enjoy learning about Greek mythology and culture while studying “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey”. I found it fascinating that the gods of ancient Greece were treated not only as religious figures, but also as characters in stories and plays. What did this imply about the society’s beliefs? Why do we no longer see gods or idols portrayed in modern literature or theatre?

In addition to Homer’s poems, I have looked at many of Shakespeare’s plays in high school in the United States and in France. We studied Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, and Midsummer Night’s Dream, but we never discussed how these plays compared to other are works of the same time. Hopefully in this class, we will get to examine the history behind these plays. What makes Shakespeare so remarkably different from other playwrights to follow? How did he help shape theatre of the sixteenth century? What historical events in Shakespeare’s plays are accurately depicted in his work?

I also learned some theatre history while traveling in Europe. I learned about French Theatre while seeing a show in Paris, and I also took a foot-tour of the Acropolis in Athens and saw the Theatre of Dionysus. Both of these experiences were educational, and it made me wonder - how did modern theatre get to be the way it is today?

All in all, I am very excited to be in this class this semester. I feel like I have scraped the surface in terms of theatre history, and I feel like this class will give me the chance to dig in.

Our First Post

Why is drama so interesting to people. I think perhaps theatre can be the only real avoidance from drama. During the Greek and Roman times, performances and festivals with performances would be provided as a distraction from the state’s distress. Of course the playwrights did not necessarily distract the citizens, but rather drew from events and issues surrounding society. They made fun of it like in Lysistrata and The Clouds and The Frogs. Of course, by teasing certain events or historical figures, the playwright could serve as a ‘distraction’ while circumventing discreet significant observations of society. For example, in The Clouds, Aristophones makes fun of Socrates and the Sophists, and basically the intellectual movement at the time. If mankind did not have drama would it have art? What else could move us to tears, other than the follies of our own souls presented before us in poetic irony; and indeed, to incite laughter on the melancholy of life’s continuous comedy? Story telling is one of the most fundamental tools to communicate experiences.

Amanda Mims' Meditation #1

I would like to think that I know a lot about theatre and theatrics and what not. I was heavily involved in theatre in high school so I was not only in many plays but I read many as well. I also took a course where all we did was read Shakespeare and it was wonderful. I have read quite a few of the Greek tragedies as well like Antigone, Medea, The Odyssey, and Oedipus Rex to name a few. I learned in my high school theatre class as well as in my art history class about amphitheatres and how they used the space. I also remember that men played all the roles. I also vaguely remember that in Ancient Greece they would wear giant masks during the performance so that the entire audience could see emotions and so that men could be women. This is where the tragedy and comedy masks originated, and now they stand for theatre in general and the range of emotions that can be expressed. As I said earlier I have read many of Shakespeare’s plays, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, Taming of the Shrew, King Lear, Richard III, Merchant of Venice, Othello, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, The Tempest, and Much Ado About Nothing so I feel that I have a good grasp on Shakespeare. I hope to learn more about Roman theatre, I know the Romans were influenced by the Greeks in everything that they did so I’m anticipating that they are similar. I really don’t know much of anything about medieval theatre, and most of what I know about Elizabethan theatre is Shakespeare so I would like to broaden my knowledge of those things. I’m so excited to be taking this class because I have yet to take a history class and I really enjoy history and I believe that taking a theatre history class will not only enlighten my theatrical side but my interest in history as well because plays are art and art imitates life and is also a fabulous social commentary.

Theatre: It is mostly Greek/Shakespeare to me

Title/Subject: Meditation 1

My high school wasn’t exactly keen on supporting theatre as an extracurricular activity, let alone on allowing the extensive history of theatre to be taught as a class. As a theatre major, I definitely feel like I have some significant catching up to do. Last spring I took an introductory theatre course to do just that. On the whole the class was very informative, but there simply was not enough time to thoroughly investigate the origins of this art. We were only able to read one Greek tragedy (The Bacchae of Euripides). This play left quite an impression on me. It was so bizarre and fascinating to be engaging with something so ancient and then finding that I could actually relate to and genuinely enjoy its content. The course also provided a little taste of how a play like The Bacchae may have been performed. I learned about the dues ex machina not only as a plot device but also as a physical machine.

As a performer, I have virtually no experience with this vast period of theatre history. Until very recently, I had not even seen one of Shakespeare’s plays performed on stage in its entirety. Also very recently, I had the opportunity to take a peak at the replica of the Globe Theatre in London. Like many others, I felt a bit let down by the whole shebang. I figured we would be able to actually go into the playing space and look around a bit but they protect it like it is this authentic fragile thing. I hope to learn more about what this period in theatre was actually like when it was alive and well. I am excited about having this opportunity to read and discuss Shakespeare and other influential playwrights of the past.

Greg Blog #1

I don’t know very much about the history of theatre. I only know what little I learned in high school or had to look up on the internet for help with a crossword puzzle. I have works by Shakespeare such as Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, A Midsummer’s Nights Dream, and some sonnets. I have also read the Greek epics, The Odyssey by Homer, and the Iliad by Virgil, though I know next to nothing about Greek plays or playwrites

What I would like to learn from this class is the different time periods where the more radical changes in theatre occurred, and the reasoning for said changes. The time period is so enormous that it would be hard to nail down a single period that was the most influential in the evolution of theatre, but a period I would be most interested in learning about is the medieval period, after the Roman Empire but before the Renaissance. From what I have seen or read, they had actors entertain them by singling or juggling, but the drama from the time is largely overshadowed by the technology and philosophy of the Roman Empire, and the Cultural Revolution of the Renaissance. I am hoping to learn a lot from this class.

HIstory

My personal experience about theater and theater history is very little. I am one of the clean slate people that were talked about the first day. The only experience I have with theater is some of the readings I had to do in high school English class. Hopefully, this will be a good opportunity to expand my knowledge about topics that I am unfamiliar with in my background. The main question I have, would be where and how this exactly started, and why it has stuck around for such a long time.
Since I am unfamiliar with this topic area I had to search on the internet to find more information. I simply searched “history of theater” and came up with some interesting information. In the beginning of Greek theater the performances were done in hillside ampitheaters. The lines were not merely spoken by the players of the role, but were more chanted. “Actors” were not in the first Greek plays. The people who were on the stage typically wore masks and walked around in large boots to increase their height. The two typical plays were tragedies and comedies. The comedies took place in a small winter festival compared to the large spring festival that the tragedies took place during. Overall the tragedies have become better known than the comedies. http://www.tctwebstage.com/ancient.htm
I think this story makes since, especially how the tragedies have survived the years better than the comedies. This seems true because with my little knowledge about theater, I have read some tragedies, but I do not remember any comedies. This seems to be a credible source with some interesting and valuable information. This is a good start for me, but hopefully this class will help me to have a better understanding of theater in general.

Act One, Scene One

My history with theatre is mainly musical, and by taking this class I hope to change that. Excluding my aforementiond appearance as Julius Caesar in a video for English in high school, I’ve never been in a play, so my experience in that aspect of theatre is fairly limited.

My particular area of interest is Shakespeare – I love his writing, especially his tragedies, and I’ve read a few of his plays. My father was a theatre major, and I managed to pilfer an old textbook of his – the complete works of Shakespeare. I would really love to get into his head, per say – to understand what would drive someone to write such things the way he did; with beauty and poetry, but also with sadness and tragedy. I did a fair amount of research on him in high school, so I know a good deal about his life for the most part. It is also of interest to me the way his works are modernized in films as of late. Even so, I’d love to learn more.

Shakespeare isn’t all I’m interested in of course. I’m excited to get into Greek tragedies, among other things. I would also like to know more about Moliere and his works. Through this class I hope to gain an expanded knowledge of the people, plays, and other aspects of theatrical history.

My History with Theatre History

Theatre history is one of my weaker points when it comes to the dramatic arts. I do find it interesting, but I personally would rather watch plays than read about them. This is not to say that I find the history of theatre boring or unimportant; I actually think it is a crucial and essential part of theatre. Theatre has been around as an outlet for people to confide in for centuries. To better understand what makes a good actor or a good play or director or whatever, the knowledge of what past plays work (and why) helps a great deal.

Forgive my digression. To restate, I do not know much about theatre history other than that from my English classes. I did participate in Academic Decathlon, so I will be able to recognize some plays and playwrights during the Renaissance era. Shakespeare interests me greatly, of course. I find his tragedies to be interesting, but I am in love with his other works. His epics. Henry V is the perfect example. I have always wanted to use the famous monoluge of "Once more unto the breach dear friends" in an audition, but the opportunity has never arissen.

All in all, I hope to gain an overall knowledge of the trends and patterns of theatre. I want to be able to understand why certain plays were written so I can also get into the heads of the characters more thoroughly.

Blast from the Past

My theatre history experience consists of everything I have done in high school. In my AP English class we read Macbeth and Hamlet, and in my Repertory Theatre class we did a huge lesson of theatre history completely from the beginning. From that, I learned whatever I can remember now, which isn’t a whole lot since we covered a few hundred years in about three days. But I do remember things about Moliere, Shakespeare’s life, and Commedia Dell arte. I think that Commedia was the most entertaining to study because it is so physical and fast moving. I also love how they use the same type of characters for each show, with the Harlequin and the jester.
We also did a show called “Theatre Through the Ages” in which we would perform scenes from many different shows including Commedia, and many period pieces, and some Shakespeare. I got to direct a scene from The Taming of the Shrew which was a very unique and fun thing to do. Other than that, I don’t know a whole lot of the history of theatre, but that is why I am in this class, so I can learn and actually remember information about the history. I want to learn where plays started, and how they have evolved over time, and the technical aspects of Greek and Roman theatres.
For our Thespian Inductions we also give speeches about the beginning of Thespis and the creation of theatre (and more so, the International Thespian Society). We described Thespis being the first actor, and how theatre moved throughout the ages into the theatre it is today. I guess throughout my involvment in theatre, I have learned a lot about theatre history!

Meditation #1

Title/Subject: Meditation #1

I have performed and read many plays throughout high school, so my personal experience is larger than my research experience, but I am looking forward to learning more through this class. History plays a vital role in all aspects of life, for me personally, it is an exciting pastime. As far as theatre history goes, I am not as well versed as I hope to become, I know some about the Greek influence in the creation of Theatre.

Since Moliere is one of my favorite playwrites, I did some biographical research on him and I discovered information I never knew about him. The following is an excellent link if you would like to learn more about his biographical information. http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Theatre/Moliere/moliere.shtml

As for Madea, which is one of my favorite Greek tragedies, I tried to Google it, but all I could come up with was a movie called "Madea's Family Reunion", which is not what I was looking for. We had read it aloud in class once, and I just find the story so intriguing, the way she sacrificed her own children in order to cast revenge on her ex, Jason, it's just so morbid. I know about Homer, "The Illiad", "The Odyssey", both interesting epic tales. If you want a modern version of "The Odyssey", I would recommend the movie "O' Brother Where Art Thou?", with George Clooney. I find it interesting that such ancient works are still popular and are continuously reinvented to create modern movies, with mass appeal.

Shakespeare is another excellent example of adaptations that are popular. His same story line, modernized. I have performed different Shakespearean plays in the past, so I know some Shakespearean history. I enjoy Shakespeare, but I just think it is incredibly overdone. A great link for more Shakespearean information is http://absoluteshakespeare.com/

Through this class, I want to know more, information I wouldn't learn in a regular "theatre class". Important theatre history, dates and people who changed the course of theatre and made it what is today.

Meditation #1

Title/Subject: Meditation #1

I have performed and read many plays throughout high school, so my personal experience is larger than my research experience, but I am looking forward to learning more through this class. History plays a vital role in all aspects of life, for me personally, it is an exciting pastime. As far as theatre history goes, I am not as well versed as I hope to become, I know some about the Greek influence in the creation of Theatre.

Since Moliere is one of my favorite playwrites, I did some biographical research on him and I discovered information I never knew about him. The following is an excellent link if you would like to learn more about his biographical information. http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Theatre/Moliere/moliere.shtml

As for Madea, which is one of my favorite Greek tragedies, I tried to Google it, but all I could come up with was a movie called "Madea's Family Reunion", which is not what I was looking for. We had read it aloud in class once, and I just find the story so intriguing, the way she sacrificed her own children in order to cast revenge on her ex, Jason, it's just so morbid. I know about Homer, "The Illiad", "The Odyssey", both interesting epic tales. If you want a modern version of "The Odyssey", I would recommend the movie "O' Brother Where Art Thou?", with George Clooney. I find it interesting that such ancient works are still popular and are continuously reinvented to create modern movies, with mass appeal.

Shakespeare is another excellent example of adaptations that are popular. His same story line, modernized. I have performed different Shakespearean plays in the past, so I know some Shakespearean history. I enjoy Shakespeare, but I just think it is incredibly overdone. A great link for more Shakespearean information is http://absoluteshakespeare.com/

Through this class, I want to know more, information I wouldn't learn in a regular "theatre class". Important theatre history, dates and people who changed the course of theatre and made it what is today.

Meditation #1 -- Katie Marchant -- 1/30/07

My theatre history background is basically the plays I read in my high school English classes. These plays include Antigone, The Odyssey, Shakespeare and then more modern stuff like A Raisin In The Sun and Death of a Salesman. In my AP English 5 class we read lots of Shakespeare, including Othello, Oedipus Rex, King Lear, Hamlet, Macbeth, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. We also learned a little Shakespearian history about the Globe Theatre and Shakespearian England, not that I remember a lot of it! What I know about the beginning of theatre is what I learned in C/I with Kirk like Ian talked about in his meditation, the first person to step out of the chorus etc. I hope to learn more about why people started the theatre in the first place and what it came from.
I also really want to learn about the technical side of theatre history like I said in class. Because I am a technical theatre person I don’t have as much interest in the acting side of the history compared to the technical aspects. I hope that in this course I will have the chance to learn and even research these technical aspects because I believe that it will help me later on in my career if I stick with my plan to be a production manager for a major performing arts company.

First Post

Title/Subject: Questions about the origins and practices of theater

I know theatre only from a performers standpoint that and what I learned in C/I, I’ve heard the myth about Thespis the first actor, the first guy to step out of a chorus. In regard to the performers stand point, I learned what I needed to in order to do well, stage direction, curtain calls, and how to act. But I’ve always wondered why did the need for representation start? Why do humans need to reenact events or enact new ones? What drove early playwrights? Where did the ideas for these plays come from? I’m going to learn the history of the career I’m planning to pursue.
I don’t know much about the origins of theatre so I looked up the origins of the first actor Thespis at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thespis and it provided some clarity. In actuality Thespis seems to have been the first actor with written script as opposed to oral and/or improvised, since there were cave paintings of plays from way earlier in civilization, known as the Sorcerer. I knew there was little evidence to back it up but I was not aware that Thespis had become some superstitious mischievous spirit. Which leads me to another question where did all the superstitions of theater come from? Why do we call Macbeth the Scottish play? Why do we say break a leg instead of good luck? So I decided to look that up as well at http://lecatr.people.wm.edu/theatrical_superstitions_and_saints.html apparently to break a leg is supposed to outwit demons, who according to Evan Morris must be rather dim by now. Also there is a technical explanation, in tech theatre a curtain is called a leg, which could mean by breaking a leg the show is so good you have a million curtain calls.
It’s the peculiarities of theatre that interest me in a lot of ways, and the origin seems a little bit vague so I hope that it is cleared up in DDA 1.

Assignment: First Meditation

Please know that you can post anything to the class blog at any time. It makes a particularly useful space to articulate an idea, or ask a question, that we did not have time to cover in class.

Assigned posts for the blog - and there will be more details on these later this week - are called meditations. If a specific task or topic has not been provided for a meditation, presume that your subject should be the assigned reading or material for that week in the course.

Your first meditation should be posted no later than 12:00 noon on Wednesday (before our next class meeting). Consider the questions I posed to you in class today (Monday): what do you know about theatre, and about theatre history? What experience do you have with theatre from this period (600 BCE - 1850 CE)? What questions do you have about this period? What makes you curious about the material this course covers? These questions should inform not only this meditation but future ones as well.

Address this question: What do you know about the origins of theatre? How did theatre begin?

If you know little or nothing about this, find a source or two. If you know something about this, track down your sources - where did you get this information? Provide, in your meditation, not simply a summary of this data, but your own response to and evaluation of this information. Do you buy into it? Does this story make sense? Include not only a citation of your source, but some evaluation of it.

Meditations do not need to be comprehensive, but they should be complete - at least 150 words, and addressing at least one single idea with some depth. I recommend that you write in the first person; be prepared, however, to defend any claims you make with evidence or argument to support your views.

Introduction (Spring 2007)

Welcome to the blog-based on-line discussion area for THEA 142, Development of Dramatic Art I, taught at Austin College in the Spring of 2007. This blog is designed to address issues and ideas relating to the theory, literature, and history of theatre from its origins in ancient Greece to the rise of Romanticism in the late 18th century.

I'd like to establish several basic rules for the discussion:

(a) maintain respect for all participants at all times; when you wish to argue, make your point substantively, and be sure that you have made every attempt to understand the original post to the best of your ability;

(b) stay on topic; any and all connections are welcome (and on many browsers, you can include these connections in the form of hyperlinks or images), so long as they ultimately connect to the subject or discussion at hand;

(c) if you are a student in the course, BE SURE to keep a BACKUP COPY of any and all posts that you make; I would suggest that you compose your remarks in a word processor and simply paste them into blogger, as this host cannot guarantee the safety of data posted to its site;

(d) cite absolutely any and all sources for quoted or paraphrased material. Hyperlinks would be particularly welcome.

We'll make up the rest as we go along. Enjoy!