Introduction to Ancient Theatre
The origins of Greek theatre surface in the 6th century BCE. Choral songs called dithyrambs would be chanted at festivals in honour of Dionysos, the Greek god of wine and theatre. The dithyramb developed into drama when, according to Greek tradition, the playwright Thespis enhanced the chorus by adding an actor who wore masks to portray different characters. This introduced the possibility of dialogue between the actor and the chorus, and allowed a more complex form of storytelling to develop.
The term tragedy derives from the Greek tragos, meaning goat. This may have referred to the performances taking place during the sacrifice of a goat. Some scholars think that it referred to the later drama competitions, with the winner being awarded a goat as the prize.
The main characteristic of Greek drama was the interaction between the chorus and the protagonist. Plays were largely made up of long speeches and songs, but the visual aspect of Greek tragedy was very important. Well known playwrights such as Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides all brought their own unique twists to the performance aspects of Greek drama, increasing or reducing the number and role of the chorus or actors. As competition increased, the number of actors on stage was limited to three. This meant each actor would take on multiple roles, so the use of masks, costumes, voice and gesture became very important in distinguishing characters.
Greek tragedies were almost always inspired by events in Greek mythology and religion. This was serious subject matter, often dealing with morals, right and wrong, and tragic no-win predicaments. Comedies were also fairly standardized. They took place in three parts: the parados, the entrance and performance of the chorus; the agon, a witty debate or verbal match between the main actors, with spectacular plot elements and scene changes; and the parabasis, when the chorus spoke to the audience, often speaking as the poet. The performance finished with the exodos, the grand finale song and dance routine by the chorus.
Comedies addressed the pressing events of current times. There were two genres of comedy, new and old. Old comedy tended to poke fun at politics and world issues, whereas new comedy was influenced by the Roman version of comedy, which consisted of romantic comedies and domestic jokes. Famous comedic playwrights Aristophanes and Menander would commonly poke fun at politicians, philosophers and fellow playwrights.
Plays were performed in outdoors in an open-air theatre with tiered seating. The middle of the theatre was the orchestra, a large circular dancing floor where the action happened. In the centre of the floor was an altar to Dionysos. Behind the orchestra was a stage-building and dressing room where actors could change their characters, called the skene. Painted scenery could be added to help the audience visualise a setting. The audience was seated in the auditorium, which developed into the well-known semi-circular design that enhanced both the viewing and auditory experience. The Roman design became an enclosed amphitheatre, with seating all around the central performance area.
The size of some theatres meant that individual features could be difficult to distinguish. The wearing of masks made characters easier to distinguish from each other and from the chorus, who also wore masks. Over time, the masks became more expressive, and features of character types became more extreme and standardized, meaning each character could be immediately identifiable.
