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.