Greek drama originated from ritual dances performed in honor of Dionysus. The Festival of Dionysus featured competitions where playwrights would present three tragic dramas and a satyr play. Over time, Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides expanded Greek drama by increasing the number of actors and adding elements like scenery. Plays would be performed outdoors in an amphitheater for audiences of up to 10,000 people, with actors wearing masks and costumes to depict different characters.
Greek drama originated from ritual dances performed in honor of Dionysus. The Festival of Dionysus featured competitions where playwrights would present three tragic dramas and a satyr play. Over time, Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides expanded Greek drama by increasing the number of actors and adding elements like scenery. Plays would be performed outdoors in an amphitheater for audiences of up to 10,000 people, with actors wearing masks and costumes to depict different characters.
Greek drama originated from ritual dances performed in honor of Dionysus. The Festival of Dionysus featured competitions where playwrights would present three tragic dramas and a satyr play. Over time, Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides expanded Greek drama by increasing the number of actors and adding elements like scenery. Plays would be performed outdoors in an amphitheater for audiences of up to 10,000 people, with actors wearing masks and costumes to depict different characters.
○ Deus ex machina- God From the Machine ○ The festival of dionysus- ■ Poets competed for prizes by presenting 3 tragic dramas ■ They had 12-15 dancers and 2-3 actors who presented the dialogue ■ They performed in an amphitheater and sometimes performed to an audience of 10,000 ○ Aeschylus ■ Wrote 90 plays only 7 survived ■ Added a second actor to the stage ■ Agamemnon tells of taking the Greeks across the sea for the Trojan war. This is one of the most famous plays. ○ Sophocles ■ Wrote 123 plays only 7 survived ■ Added a third actor to the stage and increases the size of the chorus from 12 to 15 ■ He added scenery ○ Euripides ■ Wrote 92 plays and won 5 times ■ Pacifist and free thinker ■ Lived alone in a cave and got ripped apart by dogs ■ Medea ○ Meander ■ Wrote over 100 plays only one complete script survived ■ Invented situation comedy ○ Aristophanes ■ Wealthy aristocrat who invented satire ■ Lysistrata, The Frogs ○ Masks ■ Actors wore masks of each character ● 1 character could have 7 different mask for their expressions ■ Had built in megaphone to amplify voice ■ Wore Cothurnus (platform shoes) to be seen more clearly ○ Performed in an amphitheater ○ No women could act ○ No violence on stage only off stage ○ Costumes ■
● Nile Birch - Basic Drama Projects Book:
○ Drama was born out of the dance out of the dance of primitive people, when instinctive rhythmic movements and desire to imitate evolved into pantomimes that told, showed, or mimicked something ■ Such dances that were around during the time were dances to transition boys into manhood, imitate hunts or battles, or religious dances to appease gods. ● From these dances often evolved rituals. A representative for the gods (such as the medicine man, shaman, witch doctor, or priest chanted while the tribe assisted or watched. ○ Greek theatre had its beginnings in the Dionysian rites that paid homage to Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility. ■ Out of these dithyrambic rituals developed tragedy, which literally means goat song. Scholars disagree as to why it is called this. ■ Greeks had four Dionysian festivals. The festival took place in Athens. It lasted five or six days. ● Theatre production and acting was restricted to males. ● Each day a different dramatist was featured, offering four plays: a trilogy (three tragedies around one theme), a satire (provided comic relief). ○ Plays were performed out-of-doors. ○ Costumes of both the actors and the chorus consisted of standard Greek attire. These costumes were often colorful and had patterns embroidered on them. ○ Drums were used for thunder
● Rachel Prusso - Online Research:
○ The greeks often had festivals to celebrate Dionysos, the god of theater. ○ Before the greeks, there was only one actor on the stage, but they introduced having two or three actors. ○ Used open air amphitheaters ○ Comedies, drama/tragedies, ○ Painted plays onto vases ○ Dancing and chanting ○ Dialog instead of monologue ○