​History of Drama

(The term ‘drama’ comes from the Greek word meaning ‘action’)

I. PREHISTORY - 600 B.C.

A. Shamanism- Shaman is a priestly figure who communicates directly with the gods
through ritual for the benefit of the community
Employed were elements of performance such as characterization, dialogue, music
song, dance, etc
Had paint on face/ wore masks

B. Dance- Animal imitation, pantomime, gymnastics, rhythmic movement, sometimes with the
addition of masks and costumes.

C. Storytelling- myths and stories have certainly entertained and educated human beings since the
the beginning of language
Drama is probably the oldest form of storytelling

D. Ritual- as early as 2500 B.C. a ritual depicting the myth of the god Osiris (called the god of the
Afterlife/ Underworld/ Dead ) in dramatic form began to be performed annually in Egypt.
This was the first recorded performance

II. 600 B.C.- 1 A.D.- GREECE 6​th​ CENTURY

A.Origin of Greek Theater

● flowering of Greek drama had its roots in Greek religion

● primitive celebrations in honor of the god of wine and fertility,
Dionysus. (The masks of comedy and tragedy are said to represent the two sides
of Dionysus- full of joy but prone to sadness.)
● They are symbols of the ​ancient Greek​ ​Muses​, ​Thalia​ and ​Melpomene​.
● Thalia was the Muse of comedy (the laughing face), while Melpomene
was the Muse of tragedy (the weeping face).
● The festival was called Dionysia- it was held in March and included a group of
chanting dancers around an alter
● the dithyramb (hymn) they chanted evolved into Greek tragedy and the
dancers became known as the chorus. The chorus could have up to 50
people.

Festival ended with a competition between playwrights. Each competitor presented a Tragic Trilogy- three
plays on the same theme and one Satyr play in which the same theme was treated as a comic version of a
mythological subject
The winning playwright, and the choregos, or city-appointed producer, were awarded the coveted laurel wreath

Thespis was the earliest recorded actor. He is often called the Father of Tragedy. He was the winner of the first
theatrical contest in Greece. Thespis of Attica was said to have “invented” acting (that’s why actors are still
called Thespians) by designating one member of the chorus to stand apart from the others and respond to
them(this actor was called the protagonist)
 THE THEATER

● The theater itself evolved from a clear space at the foot of a hill into a grand, open-air amphitheater.
● The theater was carved from a hillside, providing bench-style seating for very large crowds- could hold
up to 14,000 people. They took place during the day.
● The first seats in Greek theatre were wooden but around 499BC stone blocks were used to create stable
permanent seating. They were called ‘Prohedria’ which were reserved for priests and few most respected
citizens

● Orchestra- stage- was about 78 feet

● Paradoi- corridors/large arches in front of stage where the chorus entered the orchestra or dancing place
As the chorus entered, they would sing a song to present info already given

● Skene- where actors changed their costumes/masks (first used in 465 B.C.)

● Proscenium- raised platform

The Staging of Greek Drama

● the addition of one actor by Thespis was followed by the addition of two or more actors which
means most plays from this period had only three actors playing all the major roles
● how did three people play all those parts? Use of masks made it relatively simple for one actor to
play several parts
● Actors wore tall headpieces and large masks. Those who had tragic roles wore elevated shoes to put
them above other actors. Those with comedic roles only wore a thin soled shoe.
● The masks may have acted as mini megaphones to project actor’s voice- voice and body motions
were very important- people in the back row may not have been able to hear but the gestures help
reveal emotion
● masks were made of leather, wood, clay, linen and had intensely exaggerated facial features and
expressions. It was easy to tell difference between a lover or a villain.
Also allowed them to play ‘god’ roles.
● when playing a female role the male actors wore a ‘prostemeda’ – wooden
structure that imitated the female figure
● long speeches were given, usually directed toward audience, than to other characters
 ● scenery was slow to develop and remained fairly limited. Shift scenes were
accomplished through use of a periaktoi- triangular prisms that could be
pivoted to reveal three different backgrounds

● They felt that “violence must take place off-stage out of sight of the audience” so the death of a
character was always heard behind the skene

● Usually a messenger or other character would enter and tell about a murder, suicide, etc

● Sometimes a wagon called an ​Ekkyklema ​would be wheeled in containing the mangled or bloodied
bodies

● One other scenic device played an important part in many Greek plays- This was a crane-like
machine by which an actor playing the part of a god and riding in a large basket could be lowered
onto the stage from above. This ​Deus ex Machina​ (god from the machine) (pronounced doo ex ma
kana) was used as a device to conveniently assist the human characters in solving their problems
through divine intervention
(in modern day, the dues ex machina is when divine intervention is employed to get the protagonist out of a
sticky situation or untangle an ugly plotline)​(classic example of ​deus ex machina​ is at the end of J.R.R.
Tolkien's ​Lord of the Rings​ trilogy. It occurs when Sam and Frodo, inescapably in the midst of Sauron's armies
at the top of Mount Doom, are miraculously rescued by giant eagles)

● Theater was an all-day event starting at dawn and ending at sunset

● Comedies, tragedies and satire all came from Greek drama
● Greek actors did not speak, they sang. This resulted in Operas
the most famous Greek plays- “Prometheus Bound”, ‘The Persians” “The Life and Love of Athena”

III. ROMAN THEATER

● the Romans borrowed from Greek Theater

● the word ‘play’ comes from Roman Theater
● Pompey the Great erected first permanent theater in Rome- seated @ 17,000 people
● had both ampitheaters, which were for races and gladiator events and theaters, which
were for plays, pantomimes, mimes, choral events. The semi-circular shape helped
with acoustics
Roman plays took 2 forms:
1. translations of Greek plays into Latin
2. plays based on farcical situations and physical humor
* Roman mime- most popular of stage entertainments. Short scenes given by two
or three actors with spoken dialogue. They often did impersonations of public
figures. The action of the scenes were set on streets/outdoors and the conflict derived from
eavesdropping
* Pantomime- given by a single dancer; some were just dancing, some with
music, some with music and words. They were full of indecent humor,
outlandish buffoonery, political farces and sexual inuendo. They became so
gross that people became to discount them
*they also introduced musical accompaniment
*they bent toward mostly low comedies b/c they had mass appeal but in time they were
condemned by all decent Romans and by the church

​IV. Dark Ages 500-1000AD

 ● Fall of the Roman Empire/Dark Ages contributed to about a 2000 year draught where
not a single great play was written. The Christians opposed theatrics, thus there was
no theater in the Roman Empire during this time.
● Some say theater’s memory was kept alive only in the performances of street players,
jugglers, acrobats and animal trainers
● However, while such troupes did help to maintain certain aspects of theatrical art,
particularly that involving stock characters, the Church itself contributed to the
preservation of theatre.

V. MEDIEVAL DRAMA

● It’s ironic that the church, which caused theaters to be outlawed as the Roman Empire declined and
fell, was one of the primary reasons drama got its rebirth
● This resulted from the Church's need to establish itself in the community -- a
community still steeped in pagan ritual and superstition which manifested itself in
seasonal festivals- usually at Christmas and Easter.
● The Church ultimately linked its own religious holidays with these seasonal festivals and began to
use dramatic form to illustrate the stories underlying these holidays so as to reinforce their religious
connotation and to better communicate the stories to an illiterate congregation.
● At first the parts played in these simple religious re-enactments of the nativity and adoration of the
Magi were played by priests in the sanctuary of the church. In other words, priests impersonating
biblical figures acted out scenes from holiday stories. Eventually they grew more elaborate and
needed to be moved outside
● Known as passion plays, miracle plays and morality plays, they continued their close connection
with the Church and church holidays, but began to introduce elements of stock characters that were
more contemporary in nature.
Passion plays- a dramatic presentation depicting the Passion of Christ

Miracle plays- portrayed temptations and challenges facing humans between heaven and hell. They dramatized
the lives of Roman Catholic saints- the most popular subjects were the Virgin Mary and St. Nicholas

Morality plays- They were allegories. They dealt with principals of right and wrong. Characters stood for
abstract qualities like “greed” or “ambition” or “love”. Taught how to live a Christian life and how to be saved

VI. RENAISSANCE (1300-1600)

● was the ‘rebirth’ of the classical Greek and Roman plays

● the Renaissance had less influence on theater in England than in Italy
● redevelopment was first in Italy- they developed the picture frame stage (proscenium) with which we
are so familiar with today
● then moved to France, then to England
● opera arose during the Renaissance in an attempt to revive the classical Greek drama in which song,
dance and dialogue were combined
● First playhouse opened
● The stages on which the works of a growing body of "play-makers" were performed evolved from
the use of the enclosed courtyards of inns to stage performances.
● These "apron stages" were surrounded by galleries and were therefore "open" stages. Indeed, they
were so "open" that members of the audience not only sat in the galleries surrounding the stage on
three sides, and in the ground space around the elevated stage, but on the stage itself.
● The emphasis was on dialogue as opposed to blocking or action
● plays still had a moralistic tone but were more about loyalty to government than religious virtue
● Performance of plays by traveling troupes were often banned inside city because:
1. fear of the traveling performers carrying the plague
2. patrons who had too much to drink might cause civil unrest
3. women of “ill repute” hung around the areas surrounding play houses and public inns where
performances took place

VII. ELIZABETHAN

● most notable playwrights – Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson

● plays were performed in open air theaters, most popular was the Globe built in
1599
● plays encouraged a more natural style of speaking- more natural acting
● plays were written in verse- mostly iambic pentameter
● Theatre in France, and subsequently in England, was beginning to focus more on the mechanics
of scenery and spectacle. The plays themselves were often masques in which costume, dance and
clever scenery and scene changes were more emphasized than acting and plot. (although the Globe
had no scenery)
● theater was a vital force in people’s lives
● theaters closed from 1642-1660 because it was considered immoral by the
Puritans
● in 1662 women were first allowed to appear onstage

VIII. 18​th​ CENTURY

● more plays were written for and about the middle class
● the themes and language of Shakespeare’s plays were now considered out of date
● emphasized a more natural form of speaking and acting that mimicked life.
● audiences were finally banned from the stage
● the actors now performed among the furnishings, scenery and stage settings.
● Plays now dealt with ordinary people as characters and sentimental comedy and moralizing domestic
tragedy
● commercial theatre began to make its appearance in the colonies of North America.
● First theater built in Williamsburg, VA in 1716. It was called the Play House and was used for over
3 decades. In 1745 it was converted to a municipal hall and after that, the building was eventually
taken down

IX. 19​th​ CENTURY

● Gas lighting was first introduced in 1817 and by the end of century, electrical lighting- with that
came lighting effects
● plays focused on emotion more than rationality. Concentrated on the spiritual- subject matter was
often drawn from nature
● more on action and spectacle. Elaborate mechanisms for the changing and flying of scenery were
developed (elevators, revolving stages, etc)
● appearance of great playwrights such as Henrik Ibsen , George Bernard Shaw and Anton Chekov

X. 20​th​ CENTURY
● In the early part of the 20​th​ century, musical drama came to dominate stages in New York and
England
● commercial theatre advanced full force, manifesting itself in the development of vastly popular
forms of drama such as major musicals like Oklahoma! and Showboat
● shows like Phantom of the Opera and Miss Saigon offered competition to the new film industry
but ultimately, the cost of producing major shows such as these, combined with the organization
of actors and technical persons in theater, have limited what live theatre can do in competing with
Hollywood.
(but those of you who love theater know that there’s no comparison!)…. ☺