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.